How To Shop For Clothing With A Teen

As our children grow older and move from pre-teen into teen it becomes harder and harder to keep up with the trends in teen fashion. Every season things change as celebrity's show off their personal style and influence trends or as designers bring out new lines that may or may not blend with pieces from the season before. It's kind of like walking in a maze trying to find your way around teen fashion. On one hand you want your teen to be happy and want them to be able to dress in a fashionable manner but, on the other hand you also want to encourage your teen to find their own style instead of just blindly following trends. It's possible to walk a balance between both of these options it just takes a little bit of time and effort.

The first thing to do is a little bit of research. Go online and look or look at magazines, either will work just fine to give you an idea of what is becoming popular in teen clothing and accessories. After looking around for a bit then it's time to go through what you have found and decide what is truly appropriate for your child. There are some things that are popular that may not be all the good for your child to wear especially to school. The first thing that comes to mind is the ultra short mini skirt. While immensely fashionable right now it's not necessarily something that we want to see our teen wear out of the house.


The next step is to help your teen decide what styles are going to look good on them. Not everyone is the same shape and not all styles of clothing look good on all body types. It's never to early to teach your teen how to dress in clothing styles that are flattering to them and wearing flattering clothing can have a very positive impact on their self esteem. This is also a good time to take your measurements. Clothing sizes vary from manufacturer to manufacturer so it's very useful to have actual measurements with you so that you can start out by picking the right size.

Next up is the trip to your teens closet. This is one of the most important steps. By going through your teens closet you get a good idea of what they already have so that you don't buy something that is very similar to a piece already owned. Most of the time items from last season can still be worn with the addition of a new accessory or accent piece of clothing. This is also a good time to get an idea of what type of clothing your teen likes and wants to wear. The items that get worn the most are the ones that they like the best.

Then comes the trip to the store which can be the hardest part. It's easy to get overwhelmed by the amount of choices available and because of this make bad decisions about which clothes to buy. Start out by going shopping on a day when you have plenty of time and don't have to feel rushed. It also helps to have an idea of how many of each type of item you'll be needing to buy. Be prepared to let your teen take the lead in the shopping with you gently bringing them back into focus or giving them needed guidance. By letting them do most of the choosing your giving them a chance to develop their own style. You shouldn't be a afraid to step in though if they start getting off track, but I would suggest doing so in a tactful way so as not to create tension or arguments during the shopping trip. Instead of just saying no to an item it's often better to offer an alternative instead.

All of these things used together or used separately as the situation warrants should flow together to help create a school shopping trip that's both stress free and enjoyable. After all this is a good time for parent teen bonding as well as for getting those fashion necessities.