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Tween Clothes and Budget


rainbowmama
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If you have a tween girl, how do you handle clothes shopping? She's grown out of last year's summer clothes, of course. Last fall, she really wanted more control over her clothes. She bought fewer, more expensive clothes than I picked for her in the past. I worried she didn't have enough clothes, but she promised that she would stay on top of her laundry, so I conceded. This did not work well: I had a lot of emergency, late night laundry blitzes and days where she wore dirty clothes. I ended up giving her mostly clothes for Christmas to compensate. We don't really have a big gift holiday in summer. I don't want to go through the stress of her having too few clothes again because of her more expensive taste. How do you all handle your kids' budding independence around clothing style? 

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Resale shops and thrift shops! We love them. We find really cute, name-brand things, and it allows us to buy many more pieces. I still use eBay sometimes, too.

 

I have had mixed experiences with resale shops. I have pretty severe animal dander allergies: even after washing stuff, sometimes I still end up allergic to things I buy second hand. My daughter's animal dander allergies are less severe than mine, but since she has them too, I've felt reticent buying used unless I know they don't have cats or dogs.

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My kids do have smaller wardrobes in those fast growth spurt years. We get some quality pieces, like American Eagle jeans that I can get in "short" and don't have to hem (I get them when they are on sale--Black Friday is great because they're 40% off). My dds are picking out their own fashionable stuff at Old Navy or H&M where prices are a lot cheaper than American Eagle. I also had to make a huge mental adjustment when they moved out of kids' clothes. It just costs more to dress teens. So much out there doesn't meet my acceptability standard, and when it does, it sells out quickly, so don't wait for a sale  (I picture lots of parents out there frustrated with the too-short shorts or too-sexy shirts--what's with all the off-the-shoulder shirts for people who wear bras??? When you find something cute and reasonably priced, it will disappear quickly).

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Mine are both tween boys. My DS12 has been growth spurting and DS11 just started gaining in height so we gave up on budgeting and just buy a size bigger for jeans whenever we get their sizes on sale. For shirts, DS12 can wear the same size as my husband so we only need to buy a few polo shirts for him which is quite easy to get on sale since he doesn't care which brand. My DS11 is more picky and smaller size so he gets 6 tops per year. We do have to run a laundry load every 3 to 4 days.

 

When I was a tween, I reached my maximum size when I was 11 years old. My mom let me buy 8 full outfits so I have a set for every day of the week and a spare. Formal clothes for weddings and other events were separate from the clothes budget.

Edited by Arcadia
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DD has a cousin who is 4 years older and has been a source of hand me downs. We have probably seen the end of that, though, as my niece stopped growing a couple of years ago. 

 

Goodwill is our friend. We will shop there, and then fill in essentials we don't find there buying new (as well as buying new underwear/bras). I have also taught DD the value of the clearance rack. Her favorite store by far is Justice, although Kohl's is her go-to for jean shopping and Target for bras.

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Consignment sales here have much better prices than consignment stores. No sales tax.

 

Consignment, thrift and deeply discounted sales are how we do it. Tight budget here; regular retail is not an option.

 

Summer is easier because mine practically live in a swimsuit, and shorts, tshirts and sundresses are cheap compared to winter clothes. No coats!

 

I spend about $150 total for each kid, for the spring/ summer/early fall and that includes a new swimsuit, sometimes two, for each kid.

Edited by ScoutTN
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If you have a tween girl, how do you handle clothes shopping? She's grown out of last year's summer clothes, of course. Last fall, she really wanted more control over her clothes. She bought fewer, more expensive clothes than I picked for her in the past. I worried she didn't have enough clothes, but she promised that she would stay on top of her laundry, so I conceded. This did not work well: I had a lot of emergency, late night laundry blitzes and days where she wore dirty clothes. I ended up giving her mostly clothes for Christmas to compensate. We don't really have a big gift holiday in summer. I don't want to go through the stress of her having too few clothes again because of her more expensive taste. How do you all handle your kids' budding independence around clothing style? 

 

I think that is where the problem is.   You were doing her laundry.  

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It sounds like fewer, better quality clothes is a good start to a good plan! They will likely hold up to being laundered more frequently.

 

However, DD still needs enough clothes. And "dirty" meaning worn once or twice but really is OK is not the same as muddy, dried sweat, and random food stains, KWIM?

 

Depending on her tastes, needs, and budget, she might do better with a mix of qualities.

 

Sundresses she'll only wear a few times to church, graduation or birthday parties should be bought as inexpensively as possible. Check for those unbelievable sales at Old Navy, you'll likely find dresses for $8-&12!

 

Shorts, like denim and khaki, can be worn more frequently with a wider variety of tops and might do well in a better quality.

 

Camisole tank tops where she'd want a wide variety of colors? I think Walmart has them for $1.98.

 

Polo or t shirts probably mid range for price and quality. Super trendy tops likely to be out of style by Septemeber? again go cheap.

 

Before heading out to shop, have a list of what she has that still fits or is in good shape. Then she can buy things to go with what she has.

 

What does she do all summer? If she spends most of her time at the pool, two good swimsuits will be more useful than a dozen cute tops.

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At that age (and all through high school), my girls loved shopping at consignment and thrift stores.  I'd get them a few new, kind of good quality (but always still on sale!) staples like a couple pairs of shorts and a few sleeveless shirts and a pair of sandals for the summer, for example.  But they got most things at second hand stores.  We have one good consignment store in our town, and I tend to bring a pile of clothes there a few times/year to sell.  My girls know they can go there anytime they want (they can walk there from our house!) and exchange whatever credit is on our account for something they think they could use.

 

Edited by J-rap
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I have had mixed experiences with resale shops. I have pretty severe animal dander allergies: even after washing stuff, sometimes I still end up allergic to things I buy second hand. My daughter's animal dander allergies are less severe than mine, but since she has them too, I've felt reticent buying used unless I know they don't have cats or dogs.

 

I understand! We have allergies here, too. The used clothes always go straight into the laundry room, still bagged, and I dump them right from the bag into the washer. If you are sensitive even after washing, though, I can see how that would be a problem!

 

I've found lower cost cute clothes at The Children's Place (not sure how old your daughter is; they usually have free shipping and good sales) and H&M. If there is a particular brand she is looking for and you know her size, you can try eBay. Sellers will tell you if they have pets in their home or not. Often it is already in the listing.

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Perhaps reminders about changing into grungy things at home so she can rewear nicer out of the house things several times. There's no need to wash a pair of jeans that have just been worn to the store.

 

Also, my kids might splurge on 2-3 pair of nice jeans but 5-6 cheaper but still cute tops. The jeans can be worn with a variety of tops.

 

 

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I have an 11 year old. For the winter, I happened on a great sale at Crazy 8 - $5 per shirt & leggings. Unfortunately, she has outgrown the store's biggest size now. She's in that in-between junior and kid sizes. 

 

If you can't do secondhand:

 

H&M

Justice

Kohl's

Target/Walmart/Kmart for cheap shorts

Sears

Old Navy

Marshall's

 

When my oldest was this size, I happened upon a Heartstrings outlet store that had a sister brand (kcparker?) that went to size 20. I bought several dresses - middle will wear those this year.

 

Possibly ebay if you can find brands/sizes that fit because you can ask about animals?

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Have you seen ThredUp? It's online resale. Most of the things we've bought there look new, and it's around 70% off of the retail price. My 10 and 11 year old girls *love* ThredUp.

 

Sent from my XT1094 using Tapatalk

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depends upon budget.

 

finances  were extremely tight when 1dd  was that age.  we had to go together, and the sale rack was it.

2dd .. . I was forced to loosen things a bit (which meant she didn't get as much) because her arms are so long (6'1" fingertip to fingertip) and her shoulders are nearly as wide as a 6' tall man.

 

my friend who had no serious budget constraints - taught her girls about money by giving them their budget to do with as they saw fit.  if she spent $200 on a coat - that meant she'd wait awhile for anything else.

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Target clearance racks. We check there before we buy anything. Best for dresses, sweaters, sweatshirts. Occasionally skirts and sweat pants or yoga style athletic pants and shorts. 

 

Charlotte Russe sales and clearance racks. Not super great quality, but very inexpensive for my tween and teen that want to buy new things with every penny that get their hands on. Maxi skirts are sometimes $10. Even I got one. 

 

Jeans I do Penneys. Our problem is that my kids need longs. Penney's will have good back to school sales on jeans and we can occasionally find a size long in store without having to order. 

 

Old Navy, always has sales. Good for lots of stuff. 

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One thing that might help a little is one of those hanging sweater racks. I have used them to put outfits together for the week for my kids. If she had to lay out all her clothes for the week on the weekend, there wouldn't be any laundry emergencies.

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Could you buy a core wardrobe in budget friendly options then let her add some fun and more expensive things to that? This seems to be what's happened with my 12 yr old. I tend to find a couple of styles she likes in each type of clothing respecting her general taste then buy enough of that to cover day to day wear then she'll add a few tops or other bits as she comes across things she likes.

Edited by lailasmum
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