Helping the tween with clothes shopping…

Clothes shopping for my daughter has changed over the past year or two. Whereas before she would be happy to have me go shopping and choose things I thought she would like to wear, she is now hitting the pre teen years, and has moved into the stage where she very much wants to choose her own clothes, that fit her style and taste, but as she is still reliant on me for her budget, she and I have to work together to find things she will be happy to wear, but also fit in with my spending limits and boundaries as to what is ok for her to wear. The memories I have of going shopping with my own mother and the arguments about what I wanted to wear, but what she didn’t like and what she wanted me to wear, but that I didn’t like, are quite strong, so whilst I feel that I should have a bit of say in what clothes are chosen, I want to accommodate my daughter’s style and taste and allow her to have freedom to express herself through her clothes, within reason and common sense. She has very different tastes from me, but it has been fun, mostly, shopping with her.

One thing I do insist on, is spending money on clothes that will last, look good, and are not just going to be worn once or twice before they are declared not what she likes. I ask her to think about what she is buying and how often she will wear it, what she will wear it with, and what occasions. She is quite sensible and practical, but also much more “girly” than me, so she likes to opt for dresses and outfits that I wouldn’t choose myself, but that do suit her.

I tend to prefer classic brands that will stand the test of time, and whose clothes are classic with a twist. One of my favourites is Esprit, which makes some lovely items that suit my tweenager perfectly.

This season she is adamant that she wants dungarees (which makes me feel so old, I wore dungarees as a child of the 80’s) and she loves them for comfort and for dressing up and dressing down.

She is also loving tunic style dress tops, paired with leggings and boots, and unlike me prefers darker colours. So she loves this sort of dress top to wear for casual and out and about. 

This year she has also declared she wants a proper “grown up coat” and she has her eye on something really classic but suitable for winter. She has good taste, I think.

Clothes shopping with my tween is much more fun than I thought it would be and she and I are both learning what works and the way things are going, she will be better dressed than me, perhaps I need her to take me shopping…? 😉

*this is a collaborative post, images are used with permission*

 

Posted in Family Life and Parenting and tagged clothes shopping, fashion and style, fashion for kids, Parenting tweenagers, teen fashion.