My Family Digest

Tips for Dressing Kids for College

It's back to school time, and we all know what that means, back to school shopping. Often times for parents, that means battling with your child or teenager about their clothes and clothes choices. So for all of us parents out there, here's a set of tips to help make your shopping experience a much more pleasant one.

Tip #1: You don't have to battle with your kids over fashion and decency. Every kid wants to be fashionable, but sometimes, what they like may not agree with your personal taste. The best way to handle this situation is to compromise with your child on their clothes. You can do this by setting guidelines before you go out to shop, that way, there are no surprises on either group's side. For ladies, set guidelines on things like skirt length, tightness, etc. For young men, think about bagginess, and anything that can be deemed obscene.

Tip #2: Find out what your kids like. Take some time before you go out to shop and find out what your children like. For younger children, it may be their favorite cartoon character or television star. For older children, it could be a band, or perhaps a particular style of dress.

Tip #3: Take your children with you. I know it may seem like a lot of trouble, but taking your children with you will save you a lot of time in the return line. Let them pick out their clothes. That way, as long as they follow the guidelines that you agreed upon, then you can glide through the mall with little or no trouble at all.

Tip #4: Buy accessories that will go with everything that you have. This is especially important with shoes, but also for other accessories as well. Buy shoes that will go with the bulk of your outfits. For example, if their outfits are predominantly black, then buy a pair black shoes. If the outfits are mostly lighter colors, blues, oranges, yellows, etc., then buy a pair of white shoes. Purses work the same way as well.

Tip #5: For Outwear, look for classic, long-lasting styles rather than trendy fads. This is especially important for outerwear, because coats and jackets usually worn for longer than a year. If you go out and buy a jacket from a fad, then when the fad is over, you'll have a jacket that your child won't want to wear anywhere.

Tip #6: Shop for clothes in the stores, and then buy them online to save. This is a great idea for saving money that many people haven't applied yet. Take your children out to the mall and let them pick out their clothes. Then, do some searching online for the exact same styles, and see if you can find them for a cheaper price. In our economy, we all could use every dollar that we can get our hands on. Often times, there are online discounts, promotion codes, and other incentives to encourage you to shop onlinecontrolled by or connected to a computer instead of the mall.

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