Did anyone see that Kohl's commercial?

[savingdogs]

I think you have to talk it over with kids. Point out when things cost ridiculous amounts, and when things are "over the top". My son knows better than to ASK for certain things, or to wear clothes that break the school rules.
Kids are all different, too. My middle son never cared much about clothes.

We did feel the southern California lifestyle was unhealthy for kids, especially in the amounts of money being spent by the typical parent to send a kid to school in. The clothes were so shockingly expensive, it was a wasteful extravagance of parents spending money on their children instead of time, everyone sent their kids to the Mall every weekend. I refused to join that crowd and felt much more comfortable sending my daughter to school here in Washington, where kids actually wore jeans to school and plain hoodie jackets and T-shirts instead of things that looked like they came out of a fashion magazine or worse, some girly magazine.

 

[FarmerChick]

that is so true SD

location means alot when discussing 'fashion' of kids in school or adults.

one location will be way more fashion then somewhere out in the sticks/boonies

I don't think anyone is wearing high fashion in the LA swamps while catching and skinning gators lol

 

[colowyo0809]

I've always felt that if/when the time comes for us to be raising children I plan on letting them pick the clothes. I also plan on making sure my children are confident enough in themselves that the clothes are just another accesory, not the thing that defines them. The one point I see everyone missing in their posts is that, it's not just children that are mean. Adults are just as mean and cruel about what their peers are wearing or not wearing, and even worse when it comes to children. Adults have absolutely no problems telling a child they look stupid because they feel their age gives them that right Part of the school experience, whether it be at home or in a public setting, is learning how to interact with the people around you and "dressing appropriate" is a part of that. As Farmerchick was saying, having a dr. in ratty jeans and an oil stained t-shirt doesn't instill alot of confidence, and watching some poor schlub run around the back forty trying to round up the cows in the mud and rain while wearing Armani is funny, but also not going to instill confidence. Especially if you see them doing it all the time However, on the very very rare occasions I attend a church service I go dressed in nice jeans and a button shirt and call that my concession to "appropriate". I like to wear button down shirts and khakis and ties because I know (not think, KNOW) I look good in them even though I don't get to wear them very often. But, I look equally good, and am usually more comfortable, in good jeans and a nice shirt. So, I'm comfy either way, but I dress the way I choose, not the way others choose for me. Besides, we didn't have money growing up for expensive clothes, and I still don't. So dress your children the way you (or they) want to dress and leave it at that Prepare your children to confidently address the issue should it arrive and they and you will be the healthier for it

 

[Beekissed]

But then...is buying them clothing that will prevent them from getting teased or picked on shielding them from reality? Does it tell them that, instead of learning to cope or deal with cruel people and not letting their actions affect how you view yourself, you should just conform to the "accepted" clothing so you, too, will be accepted?

I guess it all comes down to the individual child and how they will utilize their experiences. When I was 10 we moved back on a piece of property a mile back from the hard road and started homesteading....no electricity, no running water, hand me down clothing were just the norm and we always had mud on our shoes~of which we only had two pair. All my clothing fit into a small cardboard box under my bed...and they were circa 60s and early 70s most of the time..and this was the late 70s and into the early 80s.

My sister was 2 years older then I...and completely devastated by this. She still, as a 47 year old woman, doesn't want any of her friends to know that she lived without electricity or running water or that we were poor. My sister that was 4 years older was so embarassed by it that she cried when the local newspaper did an article on our new lifestyle. She got over it, though, and went on with her normal teen life. As did the sis that was 2 years older...but it seems to have affected her even unto this day.

Me? Never missed a beat. Did I wish for new or better clothes? Sometimes....but no one made fun of me because I was confident, outgoing and coped with all those embarassing moments...learned to, had to, managed to. If I had never had those challenges, I wouldn't be the person that I am today and I thank God every day that I was raised with very little, so that I can appreciate what I have today. I never was one that wanted to blend, conform or be average....and I didn't and I'm not.

I still don't care about what society deems fashionable, as I only wear clothing that I feel good in. In the end, if you base who you are on what you wear, then that may be all you are in the end....

I always taught my kids, if someone only likes you because you wear name brand, then they aren't worth knowing in the first place....roll on and find someone who has real character.

 

[abifae]

Me and my sibs were giving cash and bought our own clothing.

Sibs bought brand name (and could only afford a pair of pants and one shirt). I bought Good Will and was able to put half mine in savings. LOL!

I think individual personality is most of it.

 

[Britesea]

My daughter didn't like what was offered on the racks, so she learned to design and make her own clothes. She is very flamboyant, and tended to make the trends, rather than follow them. Some of it may be birth order, as she was a middle child and they are often rebels. I on the other hand was the eldest child, and I loathed the bohemian clothing my mother made me wear-- I desperately wanted to look like everyone else during my early teen years. As I got older, and more comfortable with who I am, that changed. I'm still not flamboyant like my daughter, but I don't care if something is the fashion or not, as long as it fits and I like the color.