How much do you spend on school clothes?

[rantnnravin]

My DD12 will be starting public school this year and I was wondering how much I should budget for a school-appropriate wardrobe.
I've just gotten so used to replenishing uniforms for the past 7 years.
(And her grandmothers have been really great about filling in for all the rest )
Do 7th graders still wear clothes from Justice?
Where should I be looking?
TIA for any help

 

[momof3ds]

First, check for a dress code before you shop. Many public schools have one or have a uniform policy.

Then ask the 7th grader for a few places they would like to shop at. You can check prices online and might even find better deals online than in the stores.

I shoot for about 2 weeks worth of outfits for each kid (and extra underwear and socks).

My kids are all younger and have a dress code so I get most of their stuff at Target and children's place.

 

[rantnnravin]

momof3ds: thanks for the reply -
No - we are definitely going from uniforms to Non-uniforms. I'm used to spending about $150 a year for outgrown pieces (the initial outlay was abut $300 6 years ago)

So what do you guys think would a "reasonable" budget for a new wardrobe for a 7th grader? is $300 enough? $400? $500?

(I get my summer paycheck next week and I need to set $$ aside)
Thanks!

 

[wishesuponastar]

Well, maybe you could figure on $15 to $20 for shirts and $20 for pants if you shop at Kohls??

 

[maggs1035]

I have already started buying, old navy has pants and long sleeve shirts on clearance, and other stores like Jc Penny's, has great clearance of winter stuff got shirts for $3 etc. Jc Penny's has a no problems return policy!

 

[Anne34]

Most 7th grade girls don't wear Justice anymore. They shop at Aeropostale, American Eagle, Hollister. I know we were just in Aeropostale yesterday and they had most of the store on sale. T-shirts were mostly under $10 and shorts were buy 1 get 1.

Also, ask around your area for what most of the girls are wearing. Also find out if you have to have a certain length for shorts. Our dress code states that shorts must go down to the tips of your fingers (bermuda length?) and tank tops must be two fingers wide. It is difficult to find the correct length shorts and we only have a few for school.

Don't buy too much because she will probably outgrow it before she wears it again next spring. I would wait until laster fall (late sept/oct) when they start wearing pants to buy those.

 

[rantnnravin]

Thanks Anne.
You would think, teaching middle school, that I would know what they are wearing - but i can't stop them in the hall to check their labels . I DO see a lot of AP, Hollister, and A&F sweatshirts and the like and was just wondering what a wardrobe like that might cost.
I like your idea about waiting for fall too. Maybe start her off with a week's worth of anchor pieces and do a little more every other week as she's exposed to different styles?

 

[mrsbornkuntry]

It's kind of hard to say, I would figure out how many outfits you want to have and then estimate from that. I have boys so this will be different probably, but just as an example, I buy my boys about 4 pair of jeans and about 10 new t-shirts to start out with. Then as the weather cools I add some long sleeved shirts/hoodies. No one will notice if they wear the same pair of jeans, but they will pay attention to tops. My daughter is at an age where I don't buy her as many clothes because she's stopped growing as much.

I only buy socks and underwear as needed, but usually the best sales for them are before school starts and at Christmas time.

Don't forget to figure in shoes, those are usually my biggest expense because a pair of good quality shoes will be worth the original expense.

Around here 7th graders are wearing Hollister, Aeropostale and American Eagle, but what is popular depends on your area, just pay attention when you're out and see what the teens are wearing. They are out of Justice. Just a tip, I would only get a couple things in the "popular" name brands, then fill in with less expensive ones. DD wears hoodies every day because of the school a/c so I always get name brand hoodies, but her tops are whatever we find that are cute so maybe JcPenney, Old Navy, Target or Kohls. That way she still "fits in", but I can still keep it in a reasonable budget. Also Plato's Closet is a good second hand store for name brands.

 

[mrsbornkuntry]

Thanks Anne.
You would think, teaching middle school, that I would know what they are wearing - but i can't stop them in the hall to check their labels . I DO see a lot of AP, Hollister, and A&F sweatshirts and the like and was just wondering what a wardrobe like that might cost.
I like your idea about waiting for fall too. Maybe start her off with a week's worth of anchor pieces and do a little more every other week as she's exposed to different styles?

Oh, along the same lines as this, when it starts getting cooler don't buy too much because alot of these stores will have deals in Dec. so if you can wait that's a great time to shop for name brands. And if the kids in your area are still into it, Aeropostale is by far the least expensive.

 

[wishesuponastar]

When does Aero have BOGO sales?? I never knew about that.

 

[scootch]

I have no clue since my girls go to a catholic school and we have uniform exchange, so I literally dont' have to spend hardly anything on school clothes....but I do buy here clothes for parties and such. A couple outfits at Abercrombie and American Eagle runs a couple hundred dollars. If you can keep her in Aeropostale, their clothes are much cheaper. Depending on how big your dd is, my dd going into 7th grade still loves Justice clothes as do all her friends. Also, Abercrombie does run some sales, so sign up for their emails. You can usually print the coupon and take into the store. When dd goes to a non uniform school, i am worried about the cost of shoes I can see her wanting ones to match certain outfits.

 

[NYCDiane]

My DD12 will be starting public school this year and I was wondering how much I should budget for a school-appropriate wardrobe.
I've just gotten so used to replenishing uniforms for the past 7 years.
(And her grandmothers have been really great about filling in for all the rest )
Do 7th graders still wear clothes from Justice?
Where should I be looking?
TIA for any help

I think you'll find yourself spending much less on regular clothing than you would have on uniforms.

Anyway, about Justice. I think the cutoff on Justice is 6th grade. I know that toward the end of 6th, my daughter and her friends wanted nothing to do with Justice and they all moved on to AE, Aeropostale, etc. That will be short-lived, however, because in 8th grade, they all moved on to Forever 21, H&M, etc.

PLEASE do yourself a favor and sign up for their emails, catalogs, etc. You'll get coupons before you go shopping and save yourself some money!

 

[Hannathy]

Remember to that when school starts it will be hot, so probably for the first month she will wear her summer clothes. I would buy very little before school. Let her see what the kids are wearing. I never bought a lot at one time. Usually for my DD we would buy only a couple new pieces and then as the year went on buy something when she saw something or if she needed a new shirt for a dance or something.

 

[daileyad]

Maybe start her off with a week's worth of anchor pieces and do a little more every other week as she's exposed to different styles?

This My kids moved from one public school to another public school this past year (within the same town) and what the kids were wearing was totally different. Took care of all those jeans that were a particular style that I searched high and low for over the summer

 

[scrapquitler]

I have already started buying, old navy has pants and long sleeve shirts on clearance, and other stores like Jc Penny's, has great clearance of winter stuff got shirts for $3 etc. Jc Penny's has a no problems return policy!

I would buy just a few outfits now, and wait until after school starts to buy the rest. First, things will go on sale for much less a few weeks after school starts, and secondly, it will give your daughter a week or two to observe and see what the 'right' clothes are for the new school. I mean it would not be good to buy a bunch of stuff for her and then have her come home and say I don't want to wear that because 'nobody else does'

That said, I usually spend no more than $200 for back to school shopping for my 15 year old DD. I buy one pair of new shoes, a couple or 3 pairs of jeans, socks, underwear and a few tops. That's it. But then every few months, I'll buy a new outfit (her birthday is in October, then comes Christmas, etc). We do try to buy everything so that it is all pretty much mix and match, so we don't have tops that go only with one particular pair of pants, etc. My DD tends to wear a tank top or t-shirt with a zip hoodie and a pair of jeans or shorts. Pair those with either her fake uggs, converse sneakers or flip flops. That's kind of the 'uniform' at the local high school

I shop at Walmart, target, old navy, JCPenney, Kohls.

 

[disneychrista]

$150 in the fall
$100 in Spring
$75 in Summer

 

[deniselozano]

I usually replace my 9 year olds season of clothing for around $100. We shop at a local kids consignment sale called Just Between Friends. They are everywhere and even have uniforms!

 

[angierae]

My DD17 doesn't care anything for labels (she has actually said "Why would I want to buy a shirt that has the name of a store on it?!") and shops at Kohls or JCP (with the occasional piece from Hot Topic thrown in) and for back to school we usually get 3-4 new outfits, new shoes, underwear, socks, etc. Jeans and pants we buy as needed and she always seems to have new shirts - a tee-shirt she falls in love with, etc.

I don't think we ever spend much more than $300 for back to school stuff, but we buy clothes when she needs it, not all at once now that she's not outgrowing stuff every six months.

 

[peytonfinnmom]

So I shop for my niece for her school clothes among the 3 kiddos I have but mine are under 5. She is 13 and goes to public school. I YARD SALE like mad over the summer! Her fav stores are aero, hollistor, Delia's, and clothes from kohls. If I had to buy new from aero and hollistor I would be broke in no time and walk out with only a few things. Just last Saturday I hit a yard sale where a lady advertised teen clothes. She had a lot of like new and some new and asked $2 a shirt and $2 for shorts and pants. I even got an aero jacket for $3 and some really nice hoodies and sweaters. Just at that one yard sale I spent about $52 and I got 10 shirts, 3 pairs jeans, 2 khakis, 2 shorts, 3 hoodies, 4 sweaters, 1 jacket and 2 pairs of shoes! I even got some earrings and necklaces that the lady threw in that were from gap and aero. Every single item was name brand and 5 of the items I got still had tags! Good luck with your shopping as this is such a hard age for some kids depending on the school they go too and how picky the kids are with clothes.

 

[rantnnravin]

totally forgot i have to include shoes!

really appreciating all the viewpoints - thanks!
keep 'em coming!