I really don't care what is on the shirts of other people, it's their choice. Polo, Brooks Bros, Calvin Klein, Nautica, and most other brands have some sort of logo on their clothing. It isn't anything new and if anyone doesn't want to promote a brand they don't like they can choose not to buy it.
I don't know why anyone would care what brand someone else is wearing.
There are several of us buying stuff for these kids. I'm certain that there will be repeats. I will probably succumb to what they want.
I do notice that the pieces I buy from these stores that don't have the big name across the front do not get the wear that the logo plastered shirts do.
I guess because my own kid isn't a teenager yet, it makes me cringe to go into these stores. I went to Abercrombie (the store for the younger set) and it was still over the top with their suggestiveness. When I bought something for my nephew (something he asked for last year) from A&F, I had to carry around a bag that had a young boy's nude chest around for the rest of my shopping trip, with my DD(5) at the time, non-stop questioning the boy on the bag.
The style for these girls are to wear their shirts skin-tight, and my niece is already showing signs of anorexia. She didn't eat any Thanksgiving dinner, and pushed the little bit of stuff around her plate. I knew she had been at her dad's house, and he said... "she ate a half a bowl of cereal this morning." It's been that way for several months now. She wears a size 0 at these stores, and they still hang loose on her. She is 5'3. She noticed me looking at her oddly, and said.. "It's cold, I'm going to go put on my jacket." Well, it wasn't cold at all. We were all quite toasty in there, actually. At the beach, she was scary skinny. She's a thin girl anyway, but I've never seen her look like that before, and is boy crazy. I was boy crazy, but I actually had a good dad in my life, and her's stinks. She'll do whatever she can for boy attention. At the beach, she walked up to this boy and said, "I think you're cute. You should come see me later." I about died. She looks 16.
I guess I'm just kind of over the new age of tween/teen. I got really frustrated because I had to make my cousin's kids put their phones up so they would stop texting nonstop and actually look up from their phones when I took them on vacation this past spring break. I know we have all had our annoying ages, but this particular set is hard for me to deal with. Thankfully, they are not all like that, and hopefully it's about being in a small town with nothing else to do. This kid needs guidance, and I'm not there to give it to her. Her mother gives her none (mom's older two kids by first marriage have both tried to commit suicide), and her father is a self-centered, redneck loser. He cannot be bothered. They are divorced and the mom uses her daughter against her dad. It's all a shame.
The clothes, when in reality, have nothing to do with all of this, and is just a symptom... but it's about the only thing I can do (not encourage). Before she got older, she loved being around me, but now that she is older and knows that I'm wise on what she is doing... she rolls her eyes at me and gets attitude.
I think the bookstore is a good call, even though it'll probably go unused. I did buy her a nice handbag. I usually go all out, but I'm not going to go crazy like I usually do this year.
I'm sure I'll get flamed somehow.. if I don't reply immediately, it's because I'm at Homegoods.