Clothing for tweens

[Beeswing]

My daughter is 9 and is getting to a point where she wants to pick
clothes for herself. We were in a hurry yesterday and she needed a few
new tops and pants, so my husband and I took her down to Sears with
express purpose of looking at the Lands' End stuff. Well, it's between
seasons, and there really wasn't much. So instead of just conceding the
whole thing as a loss, my daughter and husband started piling up some of
the cheapler made Sears stuff to try on.

I had told my husband if he wanted to look at clothes for our daughter
in general, I wouldn't take her Sears, we'd go somewhere else. I got
frustrated because the clothes they happened to be picking out weren't
very good quality (thin material and so on). Finally, I did pull the
now-disgruntled family out of there empty handed. Later in the day, we
picked up some pants for my daughter from Old Navy and some shirts from
the Nordstrom Rack. Now mind you, these items were priced within a few
dollars of the Sears stuff...I tried to explain to my daughter that it
wasn't the price on your outfit or the label on your clothing, but
whether or not something is reasonably well made and would hold up after
several washings.

We're just starting this learning curve, she and I both. I'm not stuck
on Old Navy or the Rack, and I'm not interested in paying big bucks for
kids clothes. And I do want The Kid to feel like she has a say in her
clothes. Where are good places to take The Kid where she can look around
at reasonable-quality, mid-priced clothing and pick (pretty much) at
will? I know a lot of people are fans of Target, but though there's some
things I do find there, they aren't my place of choice. Any other places
a tween can roam around and shop, and still come away with clothes Mom
will approve of?

Thanks.

beeswing

[H Schinske]

wrote:

> Where are good places to take The Kid where she can look around
>at reasonable-quality, mid-priced clothing and pick (pretty much) at
>will?

Frankly, you can't beat secondhand clothes for this kind of thing. It's usually
very obvious which stuff isn't wearing well -- the clothes that are going to
pill and look nasty already are. Plus she can make a few mistakes and learn
something without busting the budget.

It is a lot harder to shop for specific stuff at a specific time, though, and
you'd still have to veto sleazy stuff. There are a few consignment stores
around that would have higher-level things, but they are more expensive, and do
tend to peter out around this age (though I did get some nice stuff at the
Ballard Me'n'Moms the other day -- Sophia got a red velour dress, just big
enough on her that I think it will work for next winter, and a pair of Gap
jeans, and Emily got a brand-new-looking Ralph Lauren plaid flannel shirt, and
the total was under $20).

--Helen

[Kevin Karplus]

In article >, H Schinske wrote:
> wrote:
>
>> Where are good places to take The Kid where she can look around
>>at reasonable-quality, mid-priced clothing and pick (pretty much) at
>>will?
>
> Frankly, you can't beat secondhand clothes for this kind of thing.

I agree with this, especially if the child is growing fast still or
changing taste in clothing. Also, the training in how to find the
good stuff among the junk in the second-hand stores will be invaluable
in college. Seeing how some clothes continue to look good despite
changing trends in fashion, while others look incredibly stupid, can
also help in developing taste that resists the churning of the fashion
industry, so that as an adult one can assemble a long-lasting wardrobe.


--
Kevin Karplus http://www.soe.ucsc.edu/~karplus
life member (LAB, Adventure Cycling, American Youth Hostels)
Effective Cycling Instructor #218-ck (lapsed)
Professor of Biomolecular Engineering, University of California, Santa Cruz
Undergraduate and Graduate Director, Bioinformatics
Affiliations for identification only.

[Karen G]

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.

Karen

[LFortier]

Beeswing wrote:

> We're just starting this learning curve, she and I both. I'm not stuck
> on Old Navy or the Rack, and I'm not interested in paying big bucks for
> kids clothes. And I do want The Kid to feel like she has a say in her
> clothes. Where are good places to take The Kid where she can look around
> at reasonable-quality, mid-priced clothing and pick (pretty much) at
> will? I know a lot of people are fans of Target, but though there's some
> things I do find there, they aren't my place of choice. Any other places
> a tween can roam around and shop, and still come away with clothes Mom
> will approve of?


I have issues with my 10 year old on sizing (she's tiny), so
we tend to shop for pants, anyway, at a few stores where we
can get slim sizes plus the adjusting hidden elastic
waistband thingy. Old Navy, Gap (costly, but will actually
fit the child) and Target are some of our staples.
Interestingly, I've found more inappropriate clothes (read:
sleazy) at department stores than these chains. JC Penney
has great stuff in the catalogs, but some of the stuff on
the floor is, shall we say, a bit mature for my child. She
likes to shop in the Lands' End and LL Bean kid catalog.

Mom to a future clothes horse-
Lesley

[Louise]

On Mon, 23 Feb 2004 14:27:22 EST, "Beeswing" > wrote:

>My daughter is 9 and is getting to a point where she wants to pick
>clothes for herself. We were in a hurry yesterday and she needed a few
>new tops and pants, so my husband and I took her down to Sears with
>express purpose of looking at the Lands' End stuff. Well, it's between
>seasons, and there really wasn't much. So instead of just conceding the
>whole thing as a loss, my daughter and husband started piling up some of
>the cheapler made Sears stuff to try on.
>
>I had told my husband if he wanted to look at clothes for our daughter
>in general, I wouldn't take her Sears, we'd go somewhere else. I got
>frustrated because the clothes they happened to be picking out weren't
>very good quality (thin material and so on). [...].I tried to explain to my daughter that it
>wasn't the price on your outfit or the label on your clothing, but
>whether or not something is reasonably well made and would hold up after
>several washings.

I don't live in the US and can't suggest specific stores, but I
thought I'd comment on some of the family-dynamics stuff.

First of all, it sounds as if you and your husband don't quite have
the same ideas about clothes-shopping priorities. One way of
resolving this would be for your husband to leave the clothes-shopping
to you, but I don't think that's ideal. And you've already learned
the problems of going shopping in a hurry without an agreement ahead
of time of what to expect.

As you say, it's hard to teach about clothing quality without giving
the message of "buying labels". You could try letting her make some
of the choices herself now, and talk later about how well different
things lasted. If the Land's End turtleneck still looks nice next
year, and the Walmart licensed-character one has been in the mending
pile since it was a month old, point that out.

Have you been keeping track of how much a season it takes to clothe
your daughter? If you move towards a clothing-allowance model, it's
useful to know how much money is appropriate. (For us, I think it
started at $35CDN a month for a 12yo 5 years ago, with shoes, boots,
coats, and dressy outfits bought separately.)

Other posters have suggested encouraging thrift-shop shopping. This
is more likely to work well if (a) parents wear some second-hand
things themselves, (b) other peers boast about their thrift-shop
finds, and/or (c) the kid has some incentive to save money on
clothes, such as making an allowance go farther. Our older teens buy
many of their clothes at an army/navy surplus store and at Mark's Work
Warehouse.

I noticed elsewhere in the thread that different posters use the word
"sleazy" in either the sense of shoddy goods made of poor-quality
fabric, or the sense of clothing in poor taste. They strike me as
quite different objections, and it occurs to me that kids and
teenagers probably wouldn't be aware of the first meaning.

Louise

[beeswing]

I wrote, earlier:

> my daughter and husband started piling up some of
>the cheapler made Sears stuff to try on.

Um, "cheapler"?

Obviously, I had trouble deciding between "cheaper" and "cheaply"...but I
hadn't meant to split the difference. OOPS!

beeswing

[Claire Petersky]

"Kevin Karplus" > wrote in message
...
> In article >, H Schinske
wrote:
> > wrote:
> >
> >> Where are good places to take The Kid where she can look around
> >>at reasonable-quality, mid-priced clothing and pick (pretty much) at
> >>will?
> >
> > Frankly, you can't beat secondhand clothes for this kind of thing.
>
> I agree with this, especially if the child is growing fast still or
> changing taste in clothing. Also, the training in how to find the
> good stuff among the junk in the second-hand stores will be invaluable
> in college.

Ditto -- I did a ton of shopping for my 11 year old at the Bellevue Goodwill
Store, and we got lots of nice, fashionable stuff that fit (she'd outgrown a
bunch of her old clothes) for a very reasonable price.


--
Warm Regards,

Claire Petersky
Please replace earthlink for mouse-potato and .net for .com
Home of the meditative cyclist:
http://home.earthlink.net/~cpetersky/Welcome.htm
New Tiferet (http://www.tiferet.net) CD out -- contact me for copies.

[Kevin Karplus]

In article >, Louise wrote:
> I noticed elsewhere in the thread that different posters use the word
> "sleazy" in either the sense of shoddy goods made of poor-quality
> fabric, or the sense of clothing in poor taste. They strike me as
> quite different objections, and it occurs to me that kids and
> teenagers probably wouldn't be aware of the first meaning.

I believe that "sleazy" started as a technical term for fabric that is
woven with fewer threads per inch than the yarn and weave structure
call for. It results in a fabric in which the yarns tend to slide
against each other producing holes. It also tends to tear easily,
though that is a function of the yarn type and quality as well.

Because sleazy fabric is cheaper to make, the word came to refer to
anything cheaply made, and later to products for the "common" taste.
It's meaning has drifted further until it often means "trashy" or
"slutty".

Personally, I prefer to reserve "sleazy" for describing cheaply made
fabric with a loose weave, and to use other words for the other
meanings it has acquired.


--
Kevin Karplus http://www.soe.ucsc.edu/~karplus
life member (LAB, Adventure Cycling, American Youth Hostels)
Effective Cycling Instructor #218-ck (lapsed)
Professor of Biomolecular Engineering, University of California, Santa Cruz
Undergraduate and Graduate Director, Bioinformatics
Affiliations for identification only.

[Rosalie B.]

x-no-archive:yes


Louise > wrote:

>On Mon, 23 Feb 2004 14:27:22 EST, "Beeswing" > wrote:
>
>>. [...].I tried to explain to my daughter that it
>>wasn't the price on your outfit or the label on your clothing, but
>>whether or not something is reasonably well made and would hold up after
>>several washings.
>
>I don't live in the US and can't suggest specific stores, but I
>thought I'd comment on some of the family-dynamics stuff.
<..>
>Have you been keeping track of how much a season it takes to clothe
>your daughter? If you move towards a clothing-allowance model, it's
>useful to know how much money is appropriate. (For us, I think it
>started at $35CDN a month for a 12yo 5 years ago, with shoes, boots,
>coats, and dressy outfits bought separately.)

This was my thought too although I would not have expressed it so
elegantly. If the child buys the clothing herself with her own money
and finds out what the difference is between shoddily made clothes and
well made clothes, it's much more of a lesson than if her mom just
tells her.

I never shopped at a thrift shop on any regular basis, although I was
out with dd#1 and dd#2 and some accident happened to a wool coat dd#1
was wearing. I took it to the cleaners which was right there, and
then I didn't have anything for dd#1 to wear, so a went into an
adjacent consignment/thrift shop and bought her a sweater that someone
had hand knitted out of that variable color yarn. Would never have
picked it out on purpose, but it became one of our favorite garments.

In any case, buying stuff from a thrift shop someone would still have
to have instruction on how to tell the lesser quality clothing from
the better quality clothing.
>
>Other posters have suggested encouraging thrift-shop shopping. This
>is more likely to work well if (a) parents wear some second-hand
>things themselves, (b) other peers boast about their thrift-shop
>finds, and/or (c) the kid has some incentive to save money on
>clothes, such as making an allowance go farther. Our older teens buy
>many of their clothes at an army/navy surplus store and at Mark's Work
>Warehouse.
<..>
>Louise

I got a clothes allowance when I was 12, and I started to make some of
my own clothes as my mom sewed many of my clothes for me (before and
since). I had been used to picking out patterns and material for her
to make things from. So I had been used to assessing the qualities of
material for clothing.

In my case, the allowance didn't work too well because I'd rather have
the money than the clothes - I was an extremely unfashion-conscious
child, and my criteria for clothes was a) was it comfortable and b)
were the colors nice. Trying on clothes was (and still is) anathema
to me. So I buy all my clothes by catalog now.

If she likes a particular type of clothing like Lands End, one
possibility is to shop in their Overstocks catalog, or just do the
shopping from the JC Penny catalog or from the internet to start with.

grandma Rosalie

[beeswing]

I appreciate the ideas on thrift store shopping and have considered that, given
that we live near a good-sized Goodwill. I've gotten my daughter clothes there
through the years, but never with her tagging along. She's expressed some
interest in doing so, so it would be easy enough to try bringing her and
letting her pick for herself. Thanks for the suggestion.

In asking this question, though, I was more looking for ideas on mid-level
stores that sold reasonable-quality new clothes tweens would like. I'm
relatively new to tweendom. I'd never shopped at an Old Navy before last
Sunday; Sears had been a disappointment; and when I looked at JCPenneys on my
own, the day before, the selection was dismal -- and Penneys has been my
favorite up until now. I'm not a big fan of Target (though I haven't ruled it
out; we bought a fair amount of stuff there when The Kid was younger). I've
barely stepped my foot into the Gap because it seems too expensive for my
blood. I do like the Bon but haven't found much there lately; Nordstrom is
pricey (though I find an occasional bargain at the Rack): and so on ...I was
thinking there might be some places parents with more tenure with the
tween-and-older set could suggest that I'm overlooking.

Catalog and online shopping is fine, as far as it goes, and I do a fair amount
of that. I also like eBay. Unfortunately, my daughter is between sizes in
pants, so it helps to be able to try things on. So brick and mortar would be
better right now.

A clothing allowance is a good idea, but one I'd rather save until she's older.

Thanks for *all* the ideas folks are offering. Whether or not they directly
answer the question I was trying to phrase :), they are all good and will help
in the long run.

beeswing

[Scott]

======================================= MODERATOR'S COMMENT:
would like a 2nd on "slutwear" when juxtaposed with specific stores. Probably OK but worth a second look from someone.
=================================== END MODERATOR'S COMMENT

beeswing wrote:
> [snip]

I speak as someone whose daughter is really quite a clotheshorse,
and a definite shoehound.

We get most of DD's clothes from Lands End, still (but the wife
works there -- we'd be crazy not to use their employee discount).
DD does express an interest in clothes from "cooler" places --
Old Navy (which sells clothes of very dubious quality, IMO)
and the Gap, but mostly ON. She also will tag along with
her Mom to Target (Tarzhay Boutique as we call it) and buys
stuff there.

Thankfully, DD is rather stingy with her money. I don't think
she's bought anything for full price. Her favorite item
at the moment is a pullover fleece sweatshirt, $1.99 from
Old Navy. IME (admittedly very limited), you can find some
good bargains in the sale racks. Wife will sometimes splurge
and buy DD something trendy -- a fake fur jacket from the Gap,
for example, but still it was on the sale rack (a winter
coat bought in January).

We avoid JCPenney, and Sears (even though the wife gets an
employee discount there, too, because Sears owns Lands End)
mostly because that requires a trip to a <shudder> mall,
which we will avoid at all costs. The ON and Gap stores
are in shopping centers that are marginally more palatable.

DD has not expressed any interest in SlutWear from, say,
Express, or Limited, Too. I rather doubt she'd be allowed
to wear such things to school. The only clothing item
now in that category is a pair of jeans that ride too
low on the hips.

It'll be interesting to see how things change next year when
DD starts middle school.

scott DD 10.5 and DS 8

[Tracey]

In my area, Kohls has a good selection of decent quality, non-trampy clothes
at reasonable prices. They also have excellent sales on a regular basis.

Filenes also is a good choice here in New England. They are slightly more
expensive than Kohls, but they too have excellent sales on an almost weekly
basis.

I think a big part of your problem right now is that the stores are right in
the middle of switching from the fall clearance to the new spring clothing
lines. In a couple of weeks, there will be a bigger selection of
non-clearance items to choose from.

Good Luck,
Tracey in CT



"beeswing" > wrote in message
...
> I appreciate the ideas on thrift store shopping and have considered that,
given
> that we live near a good-sized Goodwill. I've gotten my daughter clothes
there
> through the years, but never with her tagging along. She's expressed some
> interest in doing so, so it would be easy enough to try bringing her and
> letting her pick for herself. Thanks for the suggestion.
>
> In asking this question, though, I was more looking for ideas on mid-level
> stores that sold reasonable-quality new clothes tweens would like. I'm
> relatively new to tweendom. I'd never shopped at an Old Navy before last
> Sunday; Sears had been a disappointment; and when I looked at JCPenneys on
my
> own, the day before, the selection was dismal -- and Penneys has been my
> favorite up until now. I'm not a big fan of Target (though I haven't ruled
it
> out; we bought a fair amount of stuff there when The Kid was younger).
I've
> barely stepped my foot into the Gap because it seems too expensive for my
> blood. I do like the Bon but haven't found much there lately; Nordstrom is
> pricey (though I find an occasional bargain at the Rack): and so on ...I
was
> thinking there might be some places parents with more tenure with the
> tween-and-older set could suggest that I'm overlooking.
>
> Catalog and online shopping is fine, as far as it goes, and I do a fair
amount
> of that. I also like eBay. Unfortunately, my daughter is between sizes in
> pants, so it helps to be able to try things on. So brick and mortar would
be
> better right now.
>
> A clothing allowance is a good idea, but one I'd rather save until she's
older.
>
> Thanks for *all* the ideas folks are offering. Whether or not they
directly
> answer the question I was trying to phrase :), they are all good and will
help
> in the long run.
>
> beeswing
>
>

[Cathy Kearns]

"beeswing" > wrote in message
...
> In asking this question, though, I was more looking for ideas on mid-level
> stores that sold reasonable-quality new clothes tweens would like. I'm
> relatively new to tweendom. I'd never shopped at an Old Navy before last
> Sunday; Sears had been a disappointment; and when I looked at JCPenneys on
my
> own, the day before, the selection was dismal -- and Penneys has been my
> favorite up until now. I'm not a big fan of Target (though I haven't ruled
it
> out; we bought a fair amount of stuff there when The Kid was younger).
I've
> barely stepped my foot into the Gap because it seems too expensive for my
> blood. I do like the Bon but haven't found much there lately; Nordstrom is
> pricey (though I find an occasional bargain at the Rack): and so on ...I
was
> thinking there might be some places parents with more tenure with the
> tween-and-older set could suggest that I'm overlooking.

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.)
Another similar chain my kids like is Zutopia. 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. On the slightly
lower end, Mervyns has some good jeans/staples, but
also cheaply made stuff, so watch out. 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.

[dragonlady]

In article >,
(beeswing) wrote:

> I appreciate the ideas on thrift store shopping and have considered that,
> given
> that we live near a good-sized Goodwill. I've gotten my daughter clothes
> there
> through the years, but never with her tagging along. She's expressed some
> interest in doing so, so it would be easy enough to try bringing her and
> letting her pick for herself. Thanks for the suggestion.
>
> In asking this question, though, I was more looking for ideas on mid-level
> stores that sold reasonable-quality new clothes tweens would like. I'm
> relatively new to tweendom. I'd never shopped at an Old Navy before last
> Sunday; Sears had been a disappointment; and when I looked at JCPenneys on my
> own, the day before, the selection was dismal -- and Penneys has been my
> favorite up until now. I'm not a big fan of Target (though I haven't ruled it
> out; we bought a fair amount of stuff there when The Kid was younger). I've
> barely stepped my foot into the Gap because it seems too expensive for my
> blood. I do like the Bon but haven't found much there lately; Nordstrom is
> pricey (though I find an occasional bargain at the Rack): and so on ...I was
> thinking there might be some places parents with more tenure with the
> tween-and-older set could suggest that I'm overlooking.
>
> Catalog and online shopping is fine, as far as it goes, and I do a fair
> amount
> of that. I also like eBay. Unfortunately, my daughter is between sizes in
> pants, so it helps to be able to try things on. So brick and mortar would be
> better right now.
>
> A clothing allowance is a good idea, but one I'd rather save until she's
> older.
>
> Thanks for *all* the ideas folks are offering. Whether or not they directly
> answer the question I was trying to phrase :), they are all good and will
> help
> in the long run.
>
> beeswing
>
>

Surprisingly, one place my kids (now 18 and 21) insist on continuing to
shop is a store that specializes in school uniforms. The slacks they
carry are Dickies (I think that's how it's spelled) which are similar in
quality and style to Dockers, but much less expensive. Plus, if we shop
there in June and July, we get a discount, and they do cheap hems for
free -- since DD#2 has her Mom's short legs, this is particularly
welcome.

meh
--
Children won't care how much you know until they know how much you care

[dragonlady]

In article >,
"Tracey" > wrote:

> In my area, Kohls has a good selection of decent quality, non-trampy clothes
> at reasonable prices. They also have excellent sales on a regular basis.
>
> Filenes also is a good choice here in New England. They are slightly more
> expensive than Kohls, but they too have excellent sales on an almost weekly
> basis.

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 a big part of your problem right now is that the stores are right in
> the middle of switching from the fall clearance to the new spring clothing
> lines. In a couple of weeks, there will be a bigger selection of
> non-clearance items to choose from.
>
> Good Luck,
> Tracey in CT
>
>
>

> >
>
--
Children won't care how much you know until they know how much you care

[Beeswing]

"Scott" > wrote in message
...
>
> It'll be interesting to see how things change next year when
> DD starts middle school.

Thanks for the ideas.

I anticipate that it's going to be a real eye opener for us,
clothingwise, when The Kid starts middle school. The elementary school
she goes to mandates a uniform, which means a minimum of fuss as far as
what to wear. We trip over some of the issues during breaks, but over
all we get off easy.

I hated the idea of uniforms when she started at the school, but as it
turns out, I've been really glad of them.

beeswing

[Beeswing]

"Tracey" > wrote in message
. com...
> In my area, Kohls has a good selection of decent quality, non-trampy
clothes
> at reasonable prices. They also have excellent sales on a regular
basis.
>
> Filenes also is a good choice here in New England. They are slightly
more
> expensive than Kohls, but they too have excellent sales on an almost
weekly
> basis.

We don't have Kohls or Filenes out here, though I've seen Kohls, at
least, on line.

> I think a big part of your problem right now is that the stores are
right in
> the middle of switching from the fall clearance to the new spring
clothing
> lines. In a couple of weeks, there will be a bigger selection of
> non-clearance items to choose from.

I'm sure you are right on this. Saturday, I tried to do some clothes
shopping for myself for the shoulder season. Id didn't have any more
luck finding clothes for me than I did looking for clothes for my
daughter.

Thanks.

beeswing

[Beeswing]

"dragonlady" > wrote in message
...
> Surprisingly, one place my kids (now 18 and 21) insist on continuing
to
> shop is a store that specializes in school uniforms. The slacks they
> carry are Dickies (I think that's how it's spelled) which are similar
in
> quality and style to Dockers, but much less expensive. Plus, if we
shop
> there in June and July, we get a discount, and they do cheap hems for
> free -- since DD#2 has her Mom's short legs, this is particularly
> welcome.

Funny -- my daughter's elementary school requires school uniforms; most
of what The Kid wears comes from http://www.frenchtoast.com. She's happy
enough with it, and it makes it easy on my husband and I. I'd bet almost
anything, though, when she hits middle school, she won't come near
anything vaguely uniformlike voluntarily. :) Except maybe her scout
uniform at meetings...if we're lucky.

beeswing

[Banty]

In article >, beeswing says...
>
>I appreciate the ideas on thrift store shopping and have considered that, given
>that we live near a good-sized Goodwill. I've gotten my daughter clothes there
>through the years, but never with her tagging along. She's expressed some
>interest in doing so, so it would be easy enough to try bringing her and
>letting her pick for herself. Thanks for the suggestion.

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!)

>
>In asking this question, though, I was more looking for ideas on mid-level
>stores that sold reasonable-quality new clothes tweens would like. I'm
>relatively new to tweendom. I'd never shopped at an Old Navy before last
>Sunday; Sears had been a disappointment; and when I looked at JCPenneys on my
>own, the day before, the selection was dismal -- and Penneys has been my
>favorite up until now.

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.

Banty

[Beeswing]

"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

[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

[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

[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

[Banty]

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

[Cathy Kearns]

"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
>
>
>
>
>

[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

[Banty]

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...)

[Beeswing]

"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

[Robyn Kozierok]

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)

[Claire Petersky]

"Banty" > wrote in message
...
> 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.

My experience with local thrift stores is that they have greatly upgraded
from what they once were. In terms of merchandise being hit-or-miss, our
local Goodwill is closer to shopping at say, Ross Dress For Less (where you
never know if you'll find the bargain of the century, or a bunch of shopworn
crap) than say, a garage sale. Many times what I find there is new or
indistinguishable from new, and there's many standard and fancier brand
names on the clothes.

Flip side is that I am not sure what they are doing with many of their
donations. I don't see anything looking worn or out of date in their stores,
which means that all those worn and out-of-date clothes that get donated to
them goes...where?


--
Warm Regards,

Claire Petersky
Please replace earthlink for mouse-potato and .net for .com

[Cathy Kearns]

"Beeswing" > wrote in message
...
> "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.

Aeropostale is kids? Around here it's adult sizes only.
(My eldest would love to fit into Aerospatiale clothes

[LFortier]

Claire Petersky wrote:

>
> Flip side is that I am not sure what they are doing with many of their
> donations. I don't see anything looking worn or out of date in their stores,
> which means that all those worn and out-of-date clothes that get donated to
> them goes...where?



Someone else will know better I'm sure, but apparently
Goodwill sends literally tons of stuff to third world
countries. It's somewhat controversial, for reasons having
to do with undercutting developing textile industries.

Lesley

[Leah Adezio]

Beeswing > wrote in message
...

> I anticipate that it's going to be a real eye opener for us,
> clothingwise, when The Kid starts middle school.

When having to shop for an 11 year old girl (for a foster child 'giving
tree' thing at work), I ended up at WalMart and found a number of nice,
decently made, modestly priced items in the Mary Kate and Ashley [Olsen]
line. Since I didn't know this child at all, I was really struggling with
buying items that were fashionable, yet somewhat more conservative. I used
the 'would I let my daughter wear this' as a guideline, fwiw. The line is
designed for 'tweens, and although there are things like crop tops for
summer, overall, I was impressed with how 'non trampy' the clothes were --
cutesy, yeah. Definitely geared towards girls who are more 'girly girly',
but enough basic jeans and pants that weren't cut too low on the hip, some
adorable peasant style tops, skirts that weren't too short and *tons* of
accessories, so that girls who aren't into all the glitter and sparkly stuff
will find items they like, too.

Their clearance racks were actually pretty well loaded right before the
holidays, with a good deal of 'basic' items, so last summer's clothes on
clearance this winter were ones that probably wouldn't be out of style this
upcoming summer.

I know for my boys, I can find good sturdy basics at WalMart at reasonable
prices, even now that they're both wearing mens' sizes.

If you hit Macy's clearance racks at the right times, you can find *great*
bargains on higher end clothing there, too. One year, I got YS a fabulous
Tommy Hilfiger down jacket that was originally $120.00 US for $15.00 (and it
was big enough that he got 2 seasons out of it and it held up *very* well.
And if you have the Kohl's chain near you, their clearance racks are up to
80% off lowest prices right now -- I got a load of well made shirts and tops
for my sons and spent a grand total of about 50.00 for the bunch.

YS just got a gift card from Old Navy for his 14th birthday and I must
admit, we've never shopped there, so this should be interesting. :)

Whatever store I'm in, I *always* hit the clearance racks first and move on
from there. :) :)

Leah

[Leah Adezio]

Beeswing > wrote in message
...
>
> "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! :)

Ah, but Filene's [original] basement is an experience like no other. I went
to school in Boston my freshman year in college and immediately sought out
the Basement. When my parents came up to visit me for parents' weekend, I
took my mother there and it was like she'd become a woman possessed! Since
Mom was always a very laid back person, it was an absolute hoot to see her
become this, well....shopping shark. :)

Meek little old ladies become savages there. Children are sacrificed to the
Shopping Gods. World title prizefighters had absolutely nothing on the
shoppers at Filene's Basement. They would run like rabbits from mountain
lions. :)

Leah


>
> beeswing
>
>
>

[Louise]

On Tue, 24 Feb 2004 21:13:58 EST, "Claire Petersky"
> wrote:
>Flip side is that I am not sure what they [ Goodwill] are doing with many of their
>donations. I don't see anything looking worn or out of date in their stores,
>which means that all those worn and out-of-date clothes that get donated to
>them goes...where?

Um, maybe this shows a side of parenting that I don't feel like
admitting that I even know this.

Around here, they throw things out and lock their dumpster. Despite
this, some local teenagers manage to acquire quite useful clothing
from the Goodwill dumpster. (I think possibly even a blouse that I
wear to work, but I'm not sure I want to know.)

We also have a Free Clothing Drop-In in town. Goodwill has refused to
give their cast-offs to the Free Clothing Drop-In. I don't give
clothes to Goodwill.

And we have people from the Diabetes Society who collect used clothes
and household goods door-to-door, then sell them to Value Village. I
can't decide whether that's clever niche fundraising or slightly
misleading.


Louise

[beeswing]

Claire Petersky wrote:

>Flip side is that I am not sure what they are doing with many of their
>donations. I don't see anything looking worn or out of date in their stores,
>which means that all those worn and out-of-date clothes that get donated to
>them goes...where?
>

Oh, *that one* is easy. They go to *our* local Goodwill.

For a while, there was even an area where you could buy clothing by the pound.
I never ventured there, and I can't say whether or not it's still open.

beeswing

[beeswing]

>When having to shop for an 11 year old girl (for a foster child 'giving
>tree' thing at work), I ended up at WalMart and found a number of nice,
>decently made, modestly priced items in the Mary Kate and Ashley [Olsen]
>line. Since I didn't know this child at all, I was really struggling with
>buying items that were fashionable, yet somewhat more conservative. I used
>the 'would I let my daughter wear this' as a guideline, fwiw. The line is
>designed for 'tweens, and although there are things like crop tops for
>summer, overall, I was impressed with how 'non trampy' the clothes were --
>cutesy, yeah. Definitely geared towards girls who are more 'girly girly',
>but enough basic jeans and pants that weren't cut too low on the hip, some
>adorable peasant style tops, skirts that weren't too short and *tons* of
>accessories, so that girls who aren't into all the glitter and sparkly stuff
>will find items they like, too.
>
>Their clearance racks were actually pretty well loaded right before the
>holidays, with a good deal of 'basic' items, so last summer's clothes on
>clearance this winter were ones that probably wouldn't be out of style this
>upcoming summer.
>
>I know for my boys, I can find good sturdy basics at WalMart at reasonable
>prices, even now that they're both wearing mens' sizes.

I don't shop at Walmart, but when my MIL would take my daughter shopping, she
usually took her there. They'd always come back with some nice things. My
favorite store sort of similar to WalMart is Fred Meyer's, which is (I think) a
regional chain. I do a fair amount of my clothes shopping there.

>If you hit Macy's clearance racks at the right times, you can find *great*
>bargains on higher end clothing there, too. One year, I got YS a fabulous
>Tommy Hilfiger down jacket that was originally $120.00 US for $15.00 (and it
>was big enough that he got 2 seasons out of it and it held up *very* well.

We have a Macy's equivalent, the Bon Marche, recently bought out by Macy's and
renamed (not surprisingly) the Bon-Macy's. I do shop there a lot, both for The
Kid and for myself, and I agree with you about the sales. Another place that
usually treats me well (and has good sales!) is JCPenney.

>And if you have the Kohl's chain near you, their clearance racks are up to
>80% off lowest prices right now -- I got a load of well made shirts and tops
>for my sons and spent a grand total of about 50.00 for the bunch.

We don't have Kohl's, unfortunately.

>YS just got a gift card from Old Navy for his 14th birthday and I must
>admit, we've never shopped there, so this should be interesting. :)

Take notes and report back, okay? :)

>Whatever store I'm in, I *always* hit the clearance racks first and move on
>from there. :) :)

You are a woman after my own heart. :) I come from a long line of sales
shoppers...there's me, my mother, and her mother before her....

Thanks for the ideas.

beeswing

[beeswing]

Robyn Kozierok wrote:

>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.

You're right...I've had good luck finding The Kid dresses at Goodwill...and at
least one of them was brand new.

Of course, *now* she only wants to wear pants.

beeswing

[Rosalie B.]

x-no-archive:yes


LFortier > wrote:

>Claire Petersky wrote:
>
>>
>> Flip side is that I am not sure what they are doing with many of their
>> donations. I don't see anything looking worn or out of date in their stores,
>> which means that all those worn and out-of-date clothes that get donated to
>> them goes...where?
>
There are some things that are just good for rags. There are some
things that aren't even good for rags. If it isn't any good at all-not
even for rags, I throw it out. I donate my useable used stuff to the
Salvation Army.

People who sell vintage clothing on e-bay haunt the second hand
stores. They do not want new up-to-date clothing. The older the
better, especially if it is in good condition.

I've sold very worn but originally designer clothes from the 60s that
I can't wear anymore for $50-60 on ebay. Apparently there's some kind
of reunion in Vegas of people who are Elvis groupies (called something
like Viva Las Vegas), and anything from the early 60s sells for big
bucks.
>
>Someone else will know better I'm sure, but apparently
>Goodwill sends literally tons of stuff to third world
>countries. It's somewhat controversial, for reasons having
>to do with undercutting developing textile industries.
>
I used to buy my girls tough-skin jeans for boys from Sears. They
wore better than the girls stuff. Then one day, I found that dd#3 was
14 and receiving an award that she didn't have ANY girls clothes, and
she'd gotten hips so the boys jeans and cords didn't fit well anymore.
We had an emergency shopping trip.


grandma Rosalie

[Banty]

In article >, Cathy Kearns
says...
>
>
>"Beeswing" > wrote in message
...
>> "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.
>
>Aeropostale is kids? Around here it's adult sizes only.
>(My eldest would love to fit into Aerospatiale clothes
>

At least in my family, the small sizes fit by age 10 or so. And the styles are
youthful enough to be attractive to preteens.

Banty

[H Schinske]

wrote:

>Oh, *that one* is easy. They go to *our* local Goodwill.
>
>For a while, there was even an area where you could buy clothing by the
>pound.
>I never ventured there, and I can't say whether or not it's still open.

I am almost sure I know the very store. Even I can't find anything worth buying
there, so it's not just you!

--Helen

[Tracey]

"Claire Petersky" > wrote in message
news:nFS_b.54239$4o.72070@attbi_s52...
> Flip side is that I am not sure what they are doing with many of their
> donations. I don't see anything looking worn or out of date in their
stores,
> which means that all those worn and out-of-date clothes that get donated
to
> them goes...where?

Usually sold by the pound to resellers and sent to foreign countries where
they are resold to consumers.
There was a big article about this in the New York Times Magazine about a
year or so ago. Salvation Army and Goodwill make most of their money from
the thrift stores by selling almost all the donations this way.

[Penny Gaines]

Beeswing wrote in >:

> 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.

One thing I am doing with my 7yo daughter is to buy plain clothes and sew
on decorations. For instance yesterday she wore a stripy top we had bought,
with a butterfly patch we had sewn on. You need minimal sewing skills for
this, and could even use some kind of glue. Basically I'm trying to get
her to realise you can wear designer style, without designer prices.

(Her little sister doesn't care what she wears, as long as it is "boyish".)

--
Penny Gaines
UK mum to three

[Barbara]

Banty > wrote in message
SNIP
> 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.
>
> Banty

That clearly may be a YMMV thing, or perhaps the quality changes as
the sizes get bigger. We've been quite pleased with the quality of ON
clothes over the years. One's pants are almost exclusively ON. After
a year of almost weekly washes, and both school and playground wear,
the chinos generally still look good enough to wear for religious
services. The quality of the shirts is variable, but I don't think
that we've ever had an ON shirt wear out before it was outgrown.
(Oddly, we have had problems with Gap polos sprouting holes at the
placket.) One is also very sensitive about the feel of his clothing,
and has no complaints about the *hand* of ON clothes.

Barbara

[Kevin Karplus]

In article >, Rosalie B. wrote:
> x-no-archive:yes
>
>
> LFortier > wrote:
>
>>Claire Petersky wrote:
>>
>>>
>>> Flip side is that I am not sure what they are doing with many of their
>>> donations. I don't see anything looking worn or out of date in their stores,
>>> which means that all those worn and out-of-date clothes that get donated to
>>> them goes...where?
>>
> There are some things that are just good for rags. There are some
> things that aren't even good for rags. If it isn't any good at all-not
> even for rags, I throw it out. I donate my useable used stuff to the
> Salvation Army.
>
....
>>Someone else will know better I'm sure, but apparently
>>Goodwill sends literally tons of stuff to third world
>>countries. It's somewhat controversial, for reasons having
>>to do with undercutting developing textile industries.

Santa Cruz has several thrift stores and used-clothing stores, ranging
enormously in quality and price. In this small city (about 55,000
people) we have Goodwill, Salvation Army, St. Vincent De Paul, Thrift
Center Thrift Store, and Front Street Thrift Store in the phone book
under "thrift stores". Also under "clothing used" and "clothing
vintage" we have Ample Annie Plus Sizes, Baby Bloomers, Closet Capers,
Cognito Clothing, Echo Clothing, The Wardrobe, Moon Zoom, Once Around
Lightly, and Volume. (I don't recognize all the names, so some of
these stores may have gone out of business since the phone book was
printed last year---the turnover of stores in the used clothing
business is pretty high.)

At the very low end of the price and quality range, there is a
Goodwill Bargain Barn, where the stuff that was not selected for the
Goodwill store is piled up in huge bins and is sold by the pound. It
was a good place to get things for very low prices, if you were
willing to go through a lot of junk. It is also a good place to pick
up things that people are getting rid of in large quantities, like
exercise equipment, which there is not sufficient room for or demand
for in the stores. If you are planning a theatrical production that
needs a lot of props or an art project that needs weird junk, it's a
great place to browse.

Thrift stores in rich communities and neighborhoods tend to have
better selection at better prices than thrift stores in poorer
communities, where the clothes that are donated are generally lower
quality and the thrift stores are picked over more thoroughly.

--
Kevin Karplus http://www.soe.ucsc.edu/~karplus
life member (LAB, Adventure Cycling, American Youth Hostels)
Effective Cycling Instructor #218-ck (lapsed)
Professor of Biomolecular Engineering, University of California, Santa Cruz
Undergraduate and Graduate Director, Bioinformatics
Affiliations for identification only.

[H Schinske]

wrote:

>One thing I am doing with my 7yo daughter is to buy plain clothes and sew
>on decorations. For instance yesterday she wore a stripy top we had bought,
>with a butterfly patch we had sewn on.

I discovered the other day that my daughter (9) had been putting a crazy-quilt
patchwork yoke on one of her dresses. Fortunately it was not a crucial wardrobe
item, and hadn't cost much originally.

This is the girl who needs to be told that a pincushion full of pins is NOT
something that is appropriate to have floating around in your backpack.

--Helen

[Robyn Kozierok]

In article <nFS_b.54239$4o.72070@attbi_s52>,
Claire Petersky > wrote:
>
>Flip side is that I am not sure what they are doing with many of their
>donations. I don't see anything looking worn or out of date in their stores,
>which means that all those worn and out-of-date clothes that get donated to
>them goes...where?
>

Our Goodwill? I rarely bother going in there as there seem to be many
worn or just not very good to begin with items there. I have gotten
a few bargains of the century there, like a winter jacket for $1 on an
"all children's items for $1" day and a ton of "nightshirts" for my
oldest son, on a .25 T-shirt sale day. I also get some pretty good
kids' paperbacks there.

We have a couple of higher-end consignment shops that I prefer. In fact,
we don't have many of the clothing chains locally, so sometimes the best
place to find those brands is the consignment shops :)


--Robyn (mommy to Ryan 9/93 and Matthew 6/96 and Evan 3/01)
Check out the new TCP/IP Guide! http://www.tcpipguide.com

[Iowacookiemom]

>You are a woman after my own heart. :) I come from a long line of sales
>shoppers..

Try the websites for the several sources named -- including Kohls, if there's
not one in your area (I've lost track; this is a surprisingly long thread!).
Many have "bargain" or "sale" areas -- I check the Old Navy site almost weekly
for sales.

We've had fairly good luck with the quality of Old Navy, but we mainly buy
jeans, socks and underwear there. We have a steady supply of t-shirts from the
student organizations and athletic department at the college my husband and I
work at...it's great now that Henry can wear and adult M or L -- we get his
size now, since both of us have t-shirt drawers filled to the brim!

I agree many of the Old Navy shirts are poor quality, but Henry grows so fast
that he rarely wears them out before he outgrows them! Ditto jeans.

-Dawn
Mom to Henry, 11.5 years
5'6" and climbing...

[animzmirot]

>
> You are a woman after my own heart. :) I come from a long line of sales
> shoppers...there's me, my mother, and her mother before her....
>
Me too. If it's not on sale, I don't buy it. I'd recommend checking
Marshalls and TJMaxx as well. DD does really well at our local Marshalls. If
you have a Loehmanns, you might want to look there in the petite sizes.

I'd skip Old Navy. The clothes, IMO, are trampy and very poorly made.
Nothing we've ever purchased there has lasted well. I like the Gap Outlet,
but DD would rather DIE than wear anything purchased there. She likes
Abercrombie, but again, too expensive and too trampy for our tastes. Other
people feel differently...but that's just a YMMV.

Marjorie

[dragonlady]

In article >, "Beeswing" >
wrote:

> "dragonlady" > wrote in message
> ...
> > Surprisingly, one place my kids (now 18 and 21) insist on continuing
> to
> > shop is a store that specializes in school uniforms. The slacks they
> > carry are Dickies (I think that's how it's spelled) which are similar
> in
> > quality and style to Dockers, but much less expensive. Plus, if we
> shop
> > there in June and July, we get a discount, and they do cheap hems for
> > free -- since DD#2 has her Mom's short legs, this is particularly
> > welcome.
>
> Funny -- my daughter's elementary school requires school uniforms; most
> of what The Kid wears comes from http://www.frenchtoast.com. She's happy
> enough with it, and it makes it easy on my husband and I. I'd bet almost
> anything, though, when she hits middle school, she won't come near
> anything vaguely uniformlike voluntarily. :) Except maybe her scout
> uniform at meetings...if we're lucky.
>
> beeswing
>
>
>
>

My kids don't buy ALL their clothes there -- just the pants. But they
LOVE the pants.

(And DD#1, especially, buys LOTS of her clothes at 2nd hand stores. She
makes her own style, but has an amazing ability to put stuff together
that, somehow, works. She even rented a vintage dress for her prom -- a
20's dark blue velvet thing that was stunning on her.)

meh
--
Children won't care how much you know until they know how much you care

[animzmirot]

"Leah Adezio" > wrote in message
...
>
> Beeswing > wrote in message
> ...
> >
> > "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! :)
>
> Ah, but Filene's [original] basement is an experience like no other. I
went
> to school in Boston my freshman year in college and immediately sought out
> the Basement. When my parents came up to visit me for parents' weekend, I
> took my mother there and it was like she'd become a woman possessed!
Since
> Mom was always a very laid back person, it was an absolute hoot to see her
> become this, well....shopping shark. :)
>
> Meek little old ladies become savages there. Children are sacrificed to
the
> Shopping Gods. World title prizefighters had absolutely nothing on the
> shoppers at Filene's Basement. They would run like rabbits from mountain
> lions. :)

I spent many a childhood afternoon with my grandmother, the shopping shark,
at Filenes Basement, with my mother along for company. My mom swears that
Filenes Basement (the original in Downtown Crossing) pales in comparison to
the original Loehmanns, where there were no changing rooms and women walked
all around the store in their underwear. Sigh...that would have been
interesting! As a kid, I remember going to Loehmanns with my mom and being
so surprised at the communal dressing rooms. It was a great lesson in 'we
come in all shapes and sizes' for me.

I miss that kind of shark-like shopping. We just don't have shopping
challanges anymore, and IMO, that's a shame.

Marjorie, competitive shopping wannabe
>
> Leah
>
>
> >
> > beeswing
> >
> >
> >
>
>

[H Schinske]

wrote:

>My mom swears that
>Filenes Basement (the original in Downtown Crossing) pales in comparison to
>the original Loehmanns, where there were no changing rooms and women walked
>all around the store in their underwear.

I can remember being told about *some* sale or other that it was the "done
thing" to wear a leotard, tights, and a slip-on skirt to the sale, because then
you could try on almost anything in the aisles.

--Helen

[dragonlady]

In article >,
"animzmirot" > wrote:

> >
> > You are a woman after my own heart. :) I come from a long line of sales
> > shoppers...there's me, my mother, and her mother before her....
> >
> Me too. If it's not on sale, I don't buy it. I'd recommend checking
> Marshalls and TJMaxx as well. DD does really well at our local Marshalls. If
> you have a Loehmanns, you might want to look there in the petite sizes.
>
> I'd skip Old Navy. The clothes, IMO, are trampy and very poorly made.
> Nothing we've ever purchased there has lasted well. I like the Gap Outlet,
> but DD would rather DIE than wear anything purchased there. She likes
> Abercrombie, but again, too expensive and too trampy for our tastes. Other
> people feel differently...but that's just a YMMV.
>
> Marjorie
>
>

I have a friend who always shops for her daughters at Old Navy, because
the girls are very tall, and she says they have good sizes. As a devout
Mormon family, they don't wear anything that could even remotely be
called "trampy". I've been in there a couple of times, and seen basic
pants and shirts -- nothing I can imagine being called trampy. Same
with Abercrombie -- though I haven't been in one, my kids have been sent
stuff from that store and it was basic sweat shirts and long sleeve
shirts. So it must be possibe to get "not trampy" stuff there, too.

meh
--
Children won't care how much you know until they know how much you care

[Cathy Kearns]

"H Schinske" > wrote in message
...
> wrote:
>
> >My mom swears that
> >Filenes Basement (the original in Downtown Crossing) pales in comparison
to
> >the original Loehmanns, where there were no changing rooms and women
walked
> >all around the store in their underwear.
>
> I can remember being told about *some* sale or other that it was the "done
> thing" to wear a leotard, tights, and a slip-on skirt to the sale, because
then
> you could try on almost anything in the aisles.

My roommates and I used to do that shopping the warehouse district
while we were in college. Lots of great buys, but communal dressing
rooms if there were dressing rooms at all. Then again, back then
leotards and wrap skirts were the fashion, and common everywhere.

[Rosalie B.]

"Cathy Kearns" > wrote:

>
>"H Schinske" > wrote in message
...
>> wrote:
>>
>> >My mom swears that
>> >Filenes Basement (the original in Downtown Crossing) pales in comparison
>to
>> >the original Loehmanns, where there were no changing rooms and women
>walked
>> >all around the store in their underwear.
>>
>> I can remember being told about *some* sale or other that it was the "done
>> thing" to wear a leotard, tights, and a slip-on skirt to the sale, because then
>> you could try on almost anything in the aisles.
>
>My roommates and I used to do that shopping the warehouse district
>while we were in college. Lots of great buys, but communal dressing
>rooms if there were dressing rooms at all. Then again, back then
>leotards and wrap skirts were the fashion, and common everywhere.

My mom taught us how to try things on without a dressing room. Only
needs that you not wear trousers. You don't have to wear a wrap skirt
and a leotard, although it helps if your dress isn't too tight and/or
doesn't have tight armholes or is a bit stretchy. Any regular skirt
and a fairly loose pullover will work.

You either put the thing you are trying on under what you are wearing
and then take what you are wearing off, or you put what you are trying
on, on top of what you are wearing and then take what you are wearing
out from under it.

If you are trying on trousers, you don't even have to take the top
garment off if you don't want to - just lift and bunch.

We use to shop at Loehmans and they had communal dressing rooms, but
my that time, we'd been used to undressing in front of other females
for PE and showering in gang showers so the communal part wasn't a
problem.



grandma Rosalie

[LisaBell]

On Thu, 26 Feb 2004 19:50:40 EST, "Rosalie B."
> wrote:

> "Cathy Kearns" > wrote:
>>
>>"H Schinske" > wrote in message
>>> >My mom swears that
>>> >Filenes Basement (the original in Downtown Crossing) pales in comparison
>>to
>>> >the original Loehmanns, where there were no changing rooms and women
>>walked
>>> >all around the store in their underwear.
>>>
<snip>
>>My roommates and I used to do that shopping the warehouse district
>>while we were in college. Lots of great buys, but communal dressing
>>rooms if there were dressing rooms at all. Then again, back then
>>leotards and wrap skirts were the fashion, and common everywhere.
>
<snip>
>
>We use to shop at Loehmans and they had communal dressing rooms, but
>my that time, we'd been used to undressing in front of other females
>for PE and showering in gang showers so the communal part wasn't a
>problem.
>

What's the big deal about communal dressing rooms? Don't you usually
have those in the US? They were very common in the UK when I was a
teenager (probably still are, I haven't checked recently)
particularly in stores that catered to young people.

Marks and Spencers, OTOH, didn't offer any changing room facilities at
all in those days, but English people would have rather dropped dead
than be seen to be surreptitiously trying something on under your
skirt. I find communal facilities to be far preferable to a small
(insufficient) number of individual dressing rooms, which is what many
establishments seem to have now.

--Lisabell