Clothing for tweens

"dragonlady" wrote in message
...
Plus, if you can stand going into Filene's basement (the original, not
one of the suburban knock offs) and have time to really shop, you can
find some amazing bargains!

I think I spent the greater part of my childhood following around my
mother in the Sear's Bargain Basement. (It was located at the original
"flagship" Sears store.)

That brought back memories!

beeswing

"Karen G" wrote in message
...
I think everybody runs into this. It might be a good time to teach
her
some of the rudimentary sewing skills and talk about how things wear
and
wash. Then go shopping. I personally think JCPenney is a pretty good
place to go with kids that age. *Most* of the stuff is tasteful.
What
isn't is another good spring board for discussion. The sales are
pretty
good too.

I don't sew, myself, besides the basic mending and hemming type stuff.
We have just started (like this weekend started) talking in passing
about clothing construction and materials. Looks like we should do some
more of it.

Penney's has been a favorite up until now, but this last weekend the
selection was dismal. I'll try back when the spring stuff starts coming
in. I've had good luck there in the past.

beeswing

"Cathy Kearns" wrote in message
m...

Are you in the USA? Limited Too is a moderate tween store.
The clothes are meant to look like the teen styles, but the pants
aren't as low and the shirts don't show tummies. (Trendy, but not
sleazy.)

Thanks for the recommendation. I keep forgetting about the Limited Too.
I should check it out.

Another similar chain my kids like is Zutopia.

We don't have them locally, but a quick check of their web site lists
them as a division of Wet Seal, which we do have but I haven't been in.
I don't know if Wet Seal is appropriate for tweens, though...I had
thought they were solidly for teens.

My younger one (age nine) isn't into trendy at all, so she sticks to
Land's End, Gap Kids, Old Navy, and there's a store called
The Children's Place that has clothes in the same vein.

I love Lands' End and buy from them a fair amount. I'll have to check
Gap Kids more closely...I've only been in there briefly. And we've
gotten gifts of Old Navy clothes in the past, so I know my daughter
likes their stuff.

On the slightly
lower end, Mervyns has some good jeans/staples, but
also cheaply made stuff, so watch out.

We have Mervyns locally, too, but I haven't been in there for a few
years. Thanks for all the ideas.

My kids are still in the
size 6X to 12 slim range, so these stores fit that okay.

My problem is my older daughter is in high school, so these stores
don't
really fit the bill on style anymore, though size wise they still fit.
She
has her own clothes budget, and goes with
Nordstom's Brass rail, some Mervyn's and some Macy's, along
with the Zutopia stuff. She shops sales. It seems size 00 is about
the same
at size 12 slim, just longer and more expensive.

My third grader is wearing a 10/12, so I think I'm going to have the
opposite problem in a year or two: finding clothing in the junior
section that's suitable for a younger kid. I'm not at all looking
forward to that.

beeswing

"Banty" wrote in message
...

As an ex-preteen with fitting problems (I'm very tall), I must admit I
shudder
whenever someone suggests thrift and strictly sales shopping for
preteens.
Would that! Even without selections being very limited just by what
may fit, I
can imagine (read: remember) that having a decent selection of stuff
that was
fairly fashionable, without having to work miracles of imaginative and
resourceful eclectic taste in the aisles of a Goodwill store, would be
a very
important factor in shopping for preteen clothes. So I'm with ya on
the
mid-level stores! (Yes - I know some have that eclectic-resourceful
second-hand
clothes knack, but that's not every girl or every parent!)

I dressed my kid as an infant and toddler largely from the Goodwill
store near where I worked and was very successful at finding things at
the time. Kids that age wear their clothes for minutes at best before
they outgrow them. But now that my kid is older and the only store I
have easy access to is in the middle of town (in other words, very
picked over) -- I've hardly had any luck. I stumble on things every once
in a while, and I can even find new clothing there occasionally, but
it's not the rule. For me, Goodwill shopping makes for a fun adventure
every once in a while, but not a great ongoing source of clothing.

I second someone else's comment on ON clothes being not the greatest
wash after
wash. What I've found works for my son and nieces and nephews are
J.C. Penny's,
Aerocrombe sales, and Gap sales. Department store stuff is iffy
sometimes -
odds are increased for durable wear by looking for 100% cotton or 98%
cotton
with elastomer fabrics. Gap Kids, if there are any still around (ours
closed)
was always a good source for up to pre-teen clothes as well.

There's something going on with my news server here, and I seem to have
missed the ON comment you're referring to. Just from my own limited
experience (we've gotten gifts bought from ON), their quality seems to
vary. I bought one of their shirts (from the Goodwill, actually), and it
has held up well, while other stuff of theirs we've received looks to be
on the flimsy side. The khakis we bought look solid enough, but we'll
see.

JCPenney has generally been good to me before this week, and as I've
said elsewhere, it's looking like I need to take a closer look at the
Gap (especially around sale time, as you mentioned). My husband won't
shop at Abercrombie's because of their marketing practices and ads, but
we won't get into that here -- the store does look to be very popular
with the tween and teen set, though. By the way, I also look almost
entirely for cotton clothing, and I'm liking the
cotton-with-a-tad-of-spandex stuff, too (I buy a lot of that for
myself).

Thanks for all the ideas.

beeswing

In article , Beeswing says...



I dressed my kid as an infant and toddler largely from the Goodwill
store near where I worked and was very successful at finding things at
the time. Kids that age wear their clothes for minutes at best before
they outgrow them. But now that my kid is older and the only store I
have easy access to is in the middle of town (in other words, very
picked over) -- I've hardly had any luck. I stumble on things every once
in a while, and I can even find new clothing there occasionally, but
it's not the rule. For me, Goodwill shopping makes for a fun adventure
every once in a while, but not a great ongoing source of clothing.

Right. When my son was younger than his current 11 years, when the growing was
fast and the tastes pretty basic (and not so peer-scrutinized), it made a lot of
sense to check the second hand stores. But even then, they weren't the best
ongoing source - I'd have to be able to browse the more often than possible to
assemble everything he needed. There's a lot to be said for going to store X to
find Y when Y is needed (and to find Y in size 10 indigo, grey, and olive).
Although second hand stores are wonderful for historical-figure school projects
and plays.

Banty

"Beeswing" wrote in message
...

JCPenney has generally been good to me before this week, and as I've
said elsewhere, it's looking like I need to take a closer look at the
Gap (especially around sale time, as you mentioned). My husband won't
shop at Abercrombie's because of their marketing practices and ads, but
we won't get into that here -- the store does look to be very popular
with the tween and teen set, though. By the way, I also look almost
entirely for cotton clothing, and I'm liking the
cotton-with-a-tad-of-spandex stuff, too (I buy a lot of that for
myself).

Abercrombie is great if your kid wants to look like a teen
before they are average teen size. My tiny high schooler
shopped there a lot in junior high, just to get clothes that
looked like everyone else, who were shopping at American
Eagle. However, my fourth grader would not be caught
dead in these clothes. They tend toward the older look:
low cut jeans, unfinished seams, very short skirts.


Thanks for all the ideas.

beeswing

"Banty" wrote in message
...
There's a lot to be said for going to store X to
find Y when Y is needed (and to find Y in size 10 indigo, grey, and
olive).

Right now, this is what's most important to us. We seem to run ourselves
too ragged already to spend much time shopping. My husband wants to
shop, if at all, in what he calls "tactical strikes" -- get in, get what
you need, get out.

beeswing

In article , Banty says...

What I've found works for my son and nieces and nephews are J.C. Penny's,
Aerocrombe sales, and Gap sales.

That's Aeropostale, Aeropostale.

Banty (mixed up as usual...)

"Banty" wrote in message
...
In article , Banty says...

What I've found works for my son and nieces and nephews are J.C.
Penny's,
Aerocrombe sales, and Gap sales.

That's Aeropostale, Aeropostale.


Oh, well, then *that's* different!

Actually, I don't know a thing about Aeropostale. A quick check of the
web shows that they do have a store locally (broadly speaking), but it's
a bit of a distance from us. They also have a store, however, right by
where The Kid's *auntie* lives. Maybe auntie can take The Kid shopping
sometime?

beeswing

My best uses for second-hand stores have been either "playclothes"
(extra jeans/sweats/shorts that don't need to be in great condition)
or dress clothes. Since dress clothing is often worn once and then
sold used, they are usually in great shape and at a fraction of the
original price. Of course, it's rather hit or miss. Not good for when
you need something *now* but I often keep a stock of dressy stuff to
grow into if I happen to find it, as all my boys are slim, so if I
find a slim outfit, I'm pretty sure at least one of them will get
some good use out of it. We dress up for holidays several times
a year, so I always need to have a couple of decent dressy outfits
in each of the boys' sizes.

--Robyn (mommy to Ryan 9/93 and Matthew 6/96 and Evan 3/01)