school clothes shopping?

[Sara Noel]

Do you decide on everything or do you let your child(ren) have input?
How do you handle things if you can't afford clothing they want? How do you feel about clothing trends and fitting in?

[Hoppscotch]

Buying clothes for school was always a struggle, especially when kids have not a clue as to the cost.
When they got to about 10 is when the struggles began.
I have 3 girls and although they are now grown this is what I did.
First set a budget, each of the girls got exactly the same amount.
They could decide what they wanted but that was all they were getting!
I went with each one and held the money.
And held my tongue! LOL!
They quickly learned that they cannot buy a pair of sneakers for $100 and have nothing else for school.
They got smart quick.
It worked from day one and squabbles about the purchases ended.
I did the same for Christmas.
I always have a surprise for them as well, but I let them pick out their own clothes. They also knew anything inappropriate was not even a consideration.
Still today, my girls are 33, 28 & 25 and they get their money in advance, they shop and bring it home for me to wrap. They still get a surprise - usually jewelry.

That's how I settled shopping for school clothes!

[imagine]

I use to always pick for them. (taking into account things like if they prefer snaps or buttons etc and what fabrics were less itchy)

I think as the get older they feel how they dress is more important either because of finding their own style or wanting to be like others. I'm also leaning toward this being an important part of becoming the adult you are meant to be.

Now I have a almost 13 year old boy and a 9 year old girl so I let them have more say, as long as it fits the school and family dress code. So far they haven't asked for anything inappropriate or not in the budget. If they do my plan is: inappropriate items are not up for negotiation or purchase from anyone.and I think if something is over budget then they can chip in on the purchase or possibly receive it as a gift (Christmas or Birthday)

[onencgirl]

Most schools here wear uniforms so after the initial investment the cost is fairly low. I expect to see all of our schools here to follow soon.

[happy4ofus]

My oldest is only 7, so i still have alot of input to what she wears for school.

I like the idea of allowing them to shop for their own things, that way it teaches them how to manage money and try to figure out ways to get more for their money.

[phoeny_moonstar]

We have a set amount of money that DD is allowed to shop for herself. She has a certain amount of items she must get within that budget. She also gets to pick 1 new pair of sneakers and 1 new pair of dressy shoes that are both 20$ or less. After that I will pick up random clothes usually a size or so too big for her and put them away.

[MRAHoffman]

My son wears uniforms and while some schools require they by a particular brand or from a particular store, ours does not. Last year I went to the thrift store and bought 9 pr of Izod pants for him for this year and next ALL for $4. I bought some red shirts at Kohls on clearance last year and his shoes still fit. All he needs are a few more undershirts, 1 long sleeve shirt, 2 pr of shorts and fall jacket and winter coat/snow pants and I am done.

Do you decide on everything or do you let your child(ren) have input? he has input though this summer he wanted a pair of tennis shoes from Payless and while generally in the past they have done well by me, he had the shoes 3 weeks and the soles had worn out 2 quarter size holes so I had to by a 2nd pr. I spend as LITTLE as I can on clothes, but I am being a little more insistent on paying a little more (Kohls/Penneys) for shoes.

How do you handle things if you can't afford clothing they want? I tell him, this is how much I would pay for something and that if he wants something more extravagent, he can do extra chores for extra money to make up the difference.

How do you feel about clothing trends and fitting in? Even though he goes to a private school, I see the kids (many of his friends parents are doctors and lawyers) wearing EVERYTHING. His 2 best friends dads are attorneys and in BOTH families they don't hesitate to admit that some of the kids clothes come from Walmart/Thrift stores and welcome hand me downs from my son...even though there are some in EVERY group, VERY few "snobs" at his school AND being that he is more "artistic" he tends to wear what HE likes rather than what everyone else is (several of his friends wear Keen shoes, but he doesn't like them and that's just fine w/ me

[Dancing Lotus]

This year my mother wanted to take dd shopping. She said it was a fun thing just for her and she could pick what ever she wanted , regardless of cost as long as it wasn't inappropriate.

Well dd thought it went well. She loves everything she bought but she is quickly learning she didn't make the best choices. It's only day three of the school year and she already doesn't' know what to wear because everything she bought was FOR COLD WEATHER.. HUmmm.. it's Florida just how many days do you think you are going to be able to wear those arm warmer thingy's and heavy weight pants? LOL ~!
I can even understand why the stores are selling that stuff yet, she won't be able to wear any of it until January.

[miss_thrifty]

My oldest 16 son usually picks his own, i give him a set amount and also take him shopping. So so latley there been that happy medium and he does fairly good. Last year I bought the clothes he bought the school supplie he wasnt working a summer job.
And so far he saved anyhting yet ughhh from this one.
The 13 yr old son- he's not particular at all and will wear hand me downs as long as their simple with not alot of patterns on them. I find for him alot of cheap names at value village sometimes and his fav are hoodies, doesnt have to be brand name.

[Thevail]

My 16 year old daughter.. the social butterfly and fashionista du jour... is a little tricky to shop for. It isn't that she cares about the brand names, it's all about the cut and the colors for her. And the details. Sweaters without hoodies are "gross", etc. Anything that looks brand spanking new is way to "poseur" for words. Having your whole outfit match is unbelievably "cracker jack box", etc. etc. etc.

So now she shops almost exclusively at thrift stores. She finds much better quality clothing that way, and can mix and match from a few different decades worth of details and colors. The difference is.. since fashion is such a big deal to her, we tend to spend a little bit more overall. But it's her hobby as well as her school shopping so...

And the one time she brought home something inappropriate, I cut it up with scissors in front of her.
Brutal, but not negotiable means, not negotiable. I told her I'd do the same to anything her friends give or loan her that doesn't meet standard too. (I am SO mean...)

[Neeley]

Both our 16 year old and 13 year old (will be 14 in less than 2 weeks) pick out all of their own clothes.

I have always allowed them to choose the clothes they liked. It may not always be what I would have chosen, but I'm not the one wearing it. If they are comfortable and feel good about themselves in what they are wearing then all is good with me. I feel like being a tween/teen can be tough enough on a young person. I don't want to make it any tougher on them by putting them in clothing they are uncomfortable in.

When we go out together as a family, they know what style of their clothing DH and I prefer they wear and normally pick out something everyone is happy with.

Our kids have very different styles. DS is all about looking good, stylish, preppy clothing. He hangs out with an athletic crowd who are all about the latest and greatest. DD is more of the artsy, individualistic type. She may wear something fashionable and trendy one day and the next she looks like a poster child for Hot Topic clothing. She really doesn't follow the crowd. Her motto in life is not to think outside of the box, but to think way outside of the box's box.

As far as their clothing budget, we really don't do one. We buy them things all through the year. Shoes are a big expense for both of them. They both love shoes end each have several pair. The guys here are more into having numerous pair of shoes than the girls are. Most of them have at least five to ten pair. DS being a 12 to a 12 1/2 wide makes for costlier shoes that are often times difficult to find.

[jamie79]

When they were little I picked out what they wore, As they got older the had their say. Neither boy is a clotheshorse or into name brands and understood at an early age the word NO.

[MommyBliss]

My youngest who is 4 is happy if we remember dinosaurs and lots of green. My next boy is 7 and he's a little skater in the making. He loves skater gear and sweatshirts. We've been lucky to pick up tons of those at the thrift store, but also at sales. His only obsession is his tennis shoes. He's very picky about them and I allow that.

My girls are 10 and 8, one is a tween completely and the other is our resident fashionista. Both are girlie girls and I don't mind what they like. More expensive brands are found on ebay or bought as a Birthday or Christmas present. I love Target's clothes, perfect spot for all their basics like jeans, pants, skirts. My youngest daughter probably has the most clothes, but my oldest is the most expensive. It really depends on what they need as to what the budget is per child. I buy a lot in advance, but with the growth spurts becoming a bit more unpredictable it can be hard on tops. I find lots of great jeans at the thrift store.

[zakity]

My 13 yr old wants plain t-shirts (no words or patterns) and jeans or jean shorts. Actually, if I can find orange t-shirts, he is on cloud 9.

My twins (11 yrs old) don't really care as long as it matches the other one. They are into matching or the same shirt only in different colors.

As for inappropriate, I lucked out. They are boys: no Daisy Duke shorts, no short skirts, no make up. They all prefer plain t-shirts with no writing. If it has writing, they don't want a "name brand" on it. like it can say "football", but no "Levi" or "Ambersomething and Fsomething" on it.

[guest002]

Well, my son is only 8 but he gets very limited input. He prefers polo styled shirts over t-shirts and jeans over shorts. That's fine. I find the sales and use them to my advantage. I let him pick colors with in the sales. No rude sayings or skulls in my house.