Tween school clothes shopping?

[mjkacmom]

to PP (justthe8ofus)-I think that each poster has a right to dress his or her child how they like. I find your comments rude and uncalled for.

You are not kidding! I'm not going to force my tween to wear Walmart's finest, just to make a statement - let's face it, they have the rest of their lives to find their nitches - JH can be rough (around here the kids come from 5 elementary schools), and kids are just looking to target those who don't fit in. I just do it without breaking the budget. BTW, my other kids get Target, Khols, and hand-me-downs - I don't see the purpose of name brands for kids who could care less.

 

[mrsbornkuntry]

Wow some of you people are off the charts Is this thread for real?

Thongs for middle schoolers?!?!?

My 10,11,12 yr old has to have all name brands...etc

Afraid your child won't fit in or be made fun of if they don't have the "it" brand on?!?!

What bad 80's movie do you people live in? Really?

My 12 and 13 yr olds have gotten a good laugh out of this thread so I guess thanks for the entertainment.

Okay, while my middle schooler won't be wearing a thong, I remember middle school and yes, kids really are made fun of for not having the right clothes. Probably more so now than when I was a kid. You know, some areas are different based on what stores are available, etc., but my family was poor and I didn't have nice clothes at all and not only did I get made fun of, but it also affected my self esteem. That's great that your kids don't have those issues at their school, but I think that's rare, or maybe it's just more common in high school than middle school, but we've moved 15 times in the 13 years Dh and I have been married and we have decided this will be our last move, I want to make the transition as easy as possible for my kids. My tweens are really scared to start middle school so I want to make sure they fit in.

Yes, I feel it's superficial, but kids are superficial. And clothes are important as much so as an adult as when they're teens (such as dressing appropriately for a job or social function).

 

[Justthe8ofus]

You are not kidding! I'm not going to force my tween to wear Walmart's finest, just to make a statement - let's face it, they have the rest of their lives to find their nitches - JH can be rough (around here the kids come from 5 elementary schools), and kids are just looking to target those who don't fit in. I just do it without breaking the budget. BTW, my other kids get Target, Khols, and hand-me-downs - I don't see the purpose of name brands for kids who could care less.

Where in my post did I say that you should shop at Walmart? So Walmart is the only other store that sells clothes?

People can buy their kids whatever they want. Go for it. I am just really amazed at some of the posts in this thread. That is what I posted.

People have different values and priorities in life that is clear. It's a marketers dream that's for sure. I live in a very affluent area and honestly kids are not making or losing friends based on their clothes. It does seem that some people try to over compensate with their kids clothes.

 

[sk!mom]

I will probably be flamed here and I didn't read all the replies so this may have already been brought up - I thought this was budget board. Getting young teenagers underwear from Victoria's Secret - what happened to Wal-Mart and Target? Abercrombie - I don't even want my children walking into that store with it's pictures on the wall! I realize that I may be a little bit protective AND my children have not hit that age yet, still they want to look nice. We also are 2 1/2 hours away from a mall and I am able to dress them stylish and cute without the high price stores mentioned. We manage with Target, JC Penny's and Dillards sales. By the way, my 9 year old takes after her 6'4" daddy and looks like she is 13 so we can't go with the children's stores.

Victoria's Secret and Abercrombie were mentioned over and over because- the OP's question was, "what's in for the tween crowd?" Not "Where's the cheapest place to buy clothes?" I'm certain that the OP is well aware that she could shop at Target and WalMart and call it good.

As far as this being a budget board- it's a Disney Board- which is not a cheap vacation so most of us here are trying to get what we want at the best price not necessarily the cheapest option.

Come back in a few years when your children are tweens and let us know if they don't wish for the brands mentioned. No, you won't have to buy it but girl's especially often wish for it.

 

[sk!mom]

Wow some of you people are off the charts Is this thread for real?

Thongs for middle schoolers?!?!?

My 10,11,12 yr old has to have all name brands...etc

Afraid your child won't fit in or be made fun of if they don't have the "it" brand on?!?!

What bad 80's movie do you people live in? Really?

My 12 and 13 yr olds have gotten a good laugh out of this thread so I guess thanks for the entertainment.

So wanna tell us what stores/brands your teens like or just feeling snarky?

 

[dawgsgirl]

Flip flops rule in the south. I'll bet your daughter decides to wear them. At least they are cheap!

 

[stitchlovestink]

Wow some of you people are off the charts Is this thread for real?

Thongs for middle schoolers?!?!?

My 10,11,12 yr old has to have all name brands...etc

Afraid your child won't fit in or be made fun of if they don't have the "it" brand on?!?!

What bad 80's movie do you people live in? Really?

My 12 and 13 yr olds have gotten a good laugh out of this thread so I guess thanks for the entertainment.

I've read all the posts on this thread and no one mentioned thongs until you did. Just because someone suggested buying undies at Victoria's Secret doesn't mean that they have to be thong undies. the girls my DD12 goes to MS w/ do NOT wear thongs!! There might be some that are a little 'flashy' but (no pun intended) the girls don't want that much 'cheek' showing when they change for gym class.

 

[Twins]

"Thong" might mean something different to people from different eras or from different regions. I'm in my 40's and from the upper midwest. When I was growing up thongs were what people call flip-flops today. We have regional differences in the words we use.

Not defending anyone, but I can understand how things could get misinterpreted.

My 14 year old wears only a certain kind of Levi's and white gym shoes. He likes hoodies and polar fleece in the winter and short sleeve t-shirts in the spring/summer. He does not like shirts that have store/company logos on them.

 

[mjkacmom]

Where in my post did I say that you should shop at Walmart? So Walmart is the only other store that sells clothes?

People can buy their kids whatever they want. Go for it. I am just really amazed at some of the posts in this thread. That is what I posted.

People have different values and priorities in life that is clear. It's a marketers dream that's for sure. I live in a very affluent area and honestly kids are not making or losing friends based on their clothes. It does seem that some people try to over compensate with their kids clothes.

Maybe you live in East Jabbib or East Bumblef*ck, but I'm guessing that the majority of tweens/teens are concerned with their clothing (and hair, shoes, accessories, etc.). They were when I was growing up, and they are now. I'm guessing most of the parents on this thread have NORMAL kids, who are concerned with NORMAL tween/teen issues. I don't think people are compensating - we live in an affluent area (well, high COL anyway), but I'm betting that in less affluent areas, kids are still checking out what everyone is wearing.

However, you won't find me spending a lot of $ on expensive vacations - we had a great time camping last month! It's all about priorities...

 

[stm61]

if you don't know where you'll be living I'd wait until you're sure what district the kids will be in. I'm in SC, near the NC border, and here it varies a great deal from school to school. Alot of it seems to be dependent on where the kids are coming from: the born and raised here group doesn't seem to care to much about brands, the northern imports are VERY into brands. Nobody take that personally, I'm just telling how it is here! Also, uniforms are being required by more and more schools here (not like private school uniforms, just certain colors and/or styles). Some districts have one school in uniforms and the next closest isn't. I'd really hesitate to buy anything until you have more of an idea what area you'll be in. Now if you want to know about York/Chester Counties in SC just let me know!

 

[IDoDis]

Wow some of you people are off the charts Is this thread for real?

Thongs for middle schoolers?!?!?

My 10,11,12 yr old has to have all name brands...etc

Afraid your child won't fit in or be made fun of if they don't have the "it" brand on?!?!

What bad 80's movie do you people live in? Really?

My 12 and 13 yr olds have gotten a good laugh out of this thread so I guess thanks for the entertainment.

Where DO you buy the clothes for your tweens/teens? I'll bet most of us here on this board are well aware of how to find a sale. I can dress my kids cheaper in the hip fashions by knowing how to shop the sales and markdowns. When my kids were little they lived in Gymboree, but I never paid more than 50% of the full price, and back then, they had sales with things up to 80% off. I'd stock up at the end of year sales for the following year at a fraction of the price. People used to always comment on how cute the kids looked, but little did they know I was getting the stuff cheaper than they were paying at Wal-Mart or JC Penney's.

Just yesterday DD and I were at Aeropostale and she bought 2 shirts for $5 each and she found a pair of shorts at AE for $15.99. She was using the rest of her birthday giftcards.

So, I don't see why it's a big deal to keep your kid in fashion if you can do it for less than the "discount chains." My DD has never worn or even remotely wanted a thong, either. She is so modest that she wouldn't even go with me into VS when I wanted to look around for myself! She waited in the mall on a bench!

 

[kristilew]

Is anyone else having trouble with modesty issues? Other than t-shirts (and I don't mean those skin-tight, wafer-thin things stores want you to buy five of so you can get the "layered look"), so many things seem so low cut. Is there a fashion statement for this age that provides more coverage?

On the modesty thing, I agree it's tough. There is a great little book you can get at Christian book stores called "Secret Keeper" all about the power of modesty. It gives girls good reasons to be modest without being overly preachy. (It is Christian, though, so if that's not your belief system, skip it) It is a short easy read with a section of basic tests for clothing - although I found MY clothing doesn't always pass (do as I say, not as I do.... )

This doesn't help with the fashion offerings of course, but at least gives you an argument base when dd heads to the store.

 

[Priorityonecb]

The thongs that were mentioned mid thread were in reference to flip flops...not panties!!

 

[Becky2005]

THIS has been an interesting read. My DD will be a Freshman next year and we managed to make it through the entire MS experience without buying anything from most of the stores mentioned.

She also still wears what would be considered "little girl" underwear. I don't think it was a problem -- she never mentioned anything and not only did she have to change for gym class she was a cheerleader so had to change for practices. She's just happy it FITS (finding clothes that fit her in general are a problem).

Of course, we do have the advantage of she doesn't fit into the Junior clothes so even going into the big brand name stores (yes people wear them here), wouldn't have mattered because they didn't make the clothes small enough for her. We actually DID venture into those stores because we were looking for a specific type shirt and their XS's were too big on her. She pretty much lived in jeans, t-shirts & jean jacket. Part of her issue is she *has* to wear a special t-shirt under her clothes & she wears a back brace so all clothing MUST conceal the back brace and hide the t-shirt (or mostly hide the t-shirt) -- hence the reason for the jean jacket or a light jacket of some sort she wore all the time.

Justice tended to be the store that worked well for us if it wasn't basically Kohl's, etc... We did manage to find a couple things in DEB's.

I have one going into 6th grade so it will be interesting to see what happens then. He is even less caring what other people think that DD is.

 

[happycampers]

On the modesty thing, I agree it's tough. There is a great little book you can get at Christian book stores called "Secret Keeper" all about the power of modesty. It gives girls good reasons to be modest without being overly preachy. (It is Christian, though, so if that's not your belief system, skip it) It is a short easy read with a section of basic tests for clothing - although I found MY clothing doesn't always pass (do as I say, not as I do.... )

This doesn't help with the fashion offerings of course, but at least gives you an argument base when dd heads to the store.

Thanks for the book reference. That would definately go along with our belief system. I'll try and find that one. Sounds like it would reinforce what Mom is saying. It helps to have a backup. I think she understands what I'm telling her, but it's still frustrating trying to find clothes that pass both the modesty test and the "fashion" test.

 

[mjkacmom]

THIS has been an interesting read. My DD will be a Freshman next year and we managed to make it through the entire MS experience without buying anything from most of the stores mentioned.

She also still wears what would be considered "little girl" underwear. I don't think it was a problem -- she never mentioned anything and not only did she have to change for gym class she was a cheerleader so had to change for practices. She's just happy it FITS (finding clothes that fit her in general are a problem).

Of course, we do have the advantage of she doesn't fit into the Junior clothes so even going into the big brand name stores (yes people wear them here), wouldn't have mattered because they didn't make the clothes small enough for her. We actually DID venture into those stores because we were looking for a specific type shirt and their XS's were too big on her. She pretty much lived in jeans, t-shirts & jean jacket. Part of her issue is she *has* to wear a special t-shirt under her clothes & she wears a back brace so all clothing MUST conceal the back brace and hide the t-shirt (or mostly hide the t-shirt) -- hence the reason for the jean jacket or a light jacket of some sort she wore all the time.

Justice tended to be the store that worked well for us if it wasn't basically Kohl's, etc... We did manage to find a couple things in DEB's.

I have one going into 6th grade so it will be interesting to see what happens then. He is even less caring what other people think that DD is.

It's funny - dd11 wasn't into clothes until last year, when puberty started. Now that she is curvy, much taller than a year ago, and has gotten her period, bam - she loves clothes, and really cares what she looks like!

 

[nataliz]

Delia's is also another popular place (along with AE, etc.) around here. They have lots of cute graphic tees and tanks. If you don't have a store near you they do have a catalog and website. Here's a link for you:

http://store.delias.com/

 

[fakereadhed]

There is some good advice here, but I would personally just buy a couple of outfits from Aeropostale(they are less expensive than AE and Hollister) and wait until the kids are in school. Believe me, they will be asking for stuff soon enough!

Kudos to this homeschooling mom who is trying to make sure her kids get off on the right foot at school! They are so lucky to have an awesome mom like you.

 

[Jacklynn]

When I was in high school I mostly got my clothes from Kohls, and Aeropostle.

 

[sk!mom]

I guess this thread spurred me to check out the clearance areas at the stores mentioned.

Yesterday, I got two camis at AE for $5.95 each. DD12 wears a cami or two almost everyday. Alone in the summer and layered with tees to school. The fit of the AE camis seems best for her.

At Hollister, I got 2 shirts for $11.90 each, bermuda length shorts for $14.90, and flip flops for $12.90.


My point being- hit the clearance areas from time to time. There's almost always something for a good buy. We never pay full price.