School Clothes for the Fall

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

My son is moving from a private school where they dressed like slobs to a school where the kids dress really well. He's always dressed in a nice style but we are waiting to buys shoes until he sees what the other boys are wearing. I see the shoes as a way to facilitate making freinds more easily - especially as he will be with kids who have been together for years already.

Why does this make me laugh?

And I suppose you switched schools to run from those "dressed like slobs," eh?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

My son is moving from a private school where they dressed like slobs to a school where the kids dress really well. He's always dressed in a nice style but we are waiting to buys shoes until he sees what the other boys are wearing. I see the shoes as a way to facilitate making freinds more easily - especially as he will be with kids who have been together for years already.

Why does this make me laugh?

And I suppose you switched schools to run from those "dressed like slobs," eh?

Sweetie, she did not say that.

[Anonymous]

I think the OP has gotten a bit of the shaft in this thread - as well as some of the others. Children can be very brutal to each other.I remember a kid saying to me "I had a shirt like that,then my dad got a job.". Then she + her friends all laughed. I appreciate how some of the posters offered good tips to the OP. And for all the posters who sneered at the OP, it would be great if you cultivated your "clothes don't make the person" attitude in your children - but with compassion, not contempt.

[Anonymous]

I think the OP has gotten a bit of the shaft in this thread - as well as some of the others. Children can be very brutal to each other.I remember a kid saying to me "I had a shirt like that,then my dad got a job.". Then she + her friends all laughed. I appreciate how some of the posters offered good tips to the OP. And for all the posters who sneered at the OP, it would be great if you cultivated your "clothes don't make the person" attitude in your children - but with compassion, not contempt.

[Anonymous]

I think the OP has gotten a bit of the shaft in this thread - as well as some of the others. Children can be very brutal to each other.I remember a kid saying to me "I had a shirt like that,then my dad got a job.". Then she + her friends all laughed. I appreciate how some of the posters offered good tips to the OP. And for all the posters who sneered at the OP, it would be great if you cultivated your "clothes don't make the person" attitude in your children - but with compassion, not contempt.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think the OP has gotten a bit of the shaft in this thread - as well as some of the others. Children can be very brutal to each other.I remember a kid saying to me "I had a shirt like that,then my dad got a job.". Then she + her friends all laughed. I appreciate how some of the posters offered good tips to the OP. And for all the posters who sneered at the OP, it would be great if you cultivated your "clothes don't make the person" attitude in your children - but with compassion, not contempt.

Agree. We are talking about that tiny window in an child's life. We can make it easy or hard. You choose, it's your child. I will tell my kids that what other people wear is none of their business, but mine will be reasonably fashionable. There are a ton of other battles I will fight with full force later like drugs, cars, sex, and alcohol.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

My son is moving from a private school where they dressed like slobs to a school where the kids dress really well. He's always dressed in a nice style but we are waiting to buys shoes until he sees what the other boys are wearing. I see the shoes as a way to facilitate making freinds more easily - especially as he will be with kids who have been together for years already.

Why does this make me laugh?

And I suppose you switched schools to run from those "dressed like slobs," eh?

Sweetie, she did not say that.

Honey, she didn't say it in so many words. But you can read btw. the lines.

[Anonymous]

PP is totally unfair to the OP. They dress like slobs at Sidwell, for one example (or at least according to my friend who has two kids there). I doubt anybody flees Sidwell for the fashion. Fleeing the pressure cooker in the upper grades? Yes. Of course, I don't know if that is the school OP is talking about, but you are making a really ridiculous leap in saying she is trading for the clothes.

[Anonymous]

The pp saw what she wanted to see and didn't ask clarifying questions. Truth in fact, our rationale for changing schools had absolutely nothing to do with clothing and everything to do with academics. My child just happens to be moving from a school where clothing was a complete non-issue to a school where it is a real defining issue for these tweens/teens. My child is going into MS where most of the children have been together for 7+ years. He is only one of a handful of new kids and I want to help facilitate his transition by understanding what the kids wear there. If it appears to other kids that he "gets it", then clothing will be a non-issue in his assimilation. And isn't that the way we all want it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP is totally unfair to the OP. They dress like slobs at Sidwell, for one example (or at least according to my friend who has two kids there). I doubt anybody flees Sidwell for the fashion. Fleeing the pressure cooker in the upper grades? Yes. Of course, I don't know if that is the school OP is talking about, but you are making a really ridiculous leap in saying she is trading for the clothes.

What's hard to imagine is removing your kid from an academic pressure cooker to place him in an environment where you think that the key to social success is the proper footwear.

[Anonymous]

I, for one, do not want my kid going to a school where the girls dress like hoochy mamas or where the boys dress gangsta. I am glad my child has to wear a uniform, where at least the exterior evidence of hormones gone wild is kept at bay.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP is totally unfair to the OP. They dress like slobs at Sidwell, for one example (or at least according to my friend who has two kids there). I doubt anybody flees Sidwell for the fashion. Fleeing the pressure cooker in the upper grades? Yes. Of course, I don't know if that is the school OP is talking about, but you are making a really ridiculous leap in saying she is trading for the clothes.

What's hard to imagine is removing your kid from an academic pressure cooker to place him in an environment where you think that the key to social success is the proper footwear.

I dated Testoni men (www.testoni.com), and ended up marrying a fan of the Rockport. I prefer the Rockport mentality (especially the sales mentality) and will pass that along to my children. It's not the shoes that make the man (or woman).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think the OP has gotten a bit of the shaft in this thread - as well as some of the others. Children can be very brutal to each other.I remember a kid saying to me "I had a shirt like that,then my dad got a job.". Then she + her friends all laughed. I appreciate how some of the posters offered good tips to the OP. And for all the posters who sneered at the OP, it would be great if you cultivated your "clothes don't make the person" attitude in your children - but with compassion, not contempt.

How can you have compassion for parents who cave to societal pressures? It's really a competition among parents.

That's not admirable in my book.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP is totally unfair to the OP. They dress like slobs at Sidwell, for one example (or at least according to my friend who has two kids there). I doubt anybody flees Sidwell for the fashion. Fleeing the pressure cooker in the upper grades? Yes. Of course, I don't know if that is the school OP is talking about, but you are making a really ridiculous leap in saying she is trading for the clothes.

What's hard to imagine is removing your kid from an academic pressure cooker to place him in an environment where you think that the key to social success is the proper footwear.

I dated Testoni men (www.testoni.com), and ended up marrying a fan of the Rockport. I prefer the Rockport mentality (especially the sales mentality) and will pass that along to my children. It's not the shoes that make the man (or woman).

Does Testoni make kids?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How can you have compassion for parents who cave to societal pressures? It's really a competition among parents.

That's not admirable in my book.

It's way beyond caving. It's seeking out environments with screwed-up values and then impressing upon your child his/her need to fit in.