Anonymous wrote:Golden goose are ridiculously trashed out and pretentious. $700 on worn tennis shoes. No.

Clearly what's in fashion is dictated by region. In my area (not DMV) only middle aged moms wore those - and that was about 5 years ago.

I would not do a lot of shopping ahead of time as trends vary by school and social group. Let her feel out the school and get to know her peers a bit before committing to a style.

Neutral (not label focused or trendy) basics can work until she has a firm idea of what she wants. This is also only my advice if she doesn’t already have a strong personal style in which case she should continue with that.

Imo expensive labels and trendy items can, in some cases, come across as desperate and try hard. Don’t blow a bunch of cash on labels before your daughter even knows what she likes and what her peers are wearing if she wants to emulate them

Most MC kids wear Converse in solid colors, Nike Blazers, and Air Maxes. My daughters also have Dunk Lows, Uggs, and Birkenstocks on their Christmas/birthday list but Birkenstocks aren't super practical, Dunks are pricey, and Uggs are for winter. Please help the Croc trend die by not buying Crocs. A lump of plastic with holes isn't worth $50.

She's only in sixth grade. Most of the girls I see wearing Golden Goose are older high schoolers and the kids I see wearing Aviator Nation are at least in eighth grade. For a sixth grader I would try Target (the All in Motion brand), PacSun, American Eagle, and, Altar'd State. JC Penney has two brands for juniors-Arizona and Forever 21. Most wouldn't think to check at JCP but they have good sales-we have found some cute tees and affordable sweatshirts there. I would buy her one Swiftly Tech from Lulu. We've found some good jeans at Hollister.

I agree with the person who said Ambercrombie is the rich elementary school brand. No middle schoolers I've seen wear it.

Anonymous wrote:These posts have no value. It doesn’t matter what is considered “cool “. It matters what your daughter likes. People have said it over and over go to the mall where there is a large variety of stores, look in the stores, try on what she likes and buy it.

I have three kids with three distinct styles of dress. Their favorite stores are not the same.

One suggestion - There is nothing cool about $40 plastic shoes called crocs. Buy some decent footwear.

Every middle school girl I know is currently wearing crocs everywhere. We are in an UMC neighborhood.

Crop tops, short jean and athletic shorts, leggings, joggers, pj pants, huge sweatshirts. That’s my middle school daughter’s wardrobe. She likes Lululemon, Brandy Melville, Garage and then buys basics at other stores.

3 months ago she was all about Hollister and Pac Sun. Don’t buy too much at any one time since they change styles frequently.

Anonymous wrote:Frankly I think "setting her up for every advantage" and defining it by her clothes is demonstrating materialistic values and teaching her that her clothes are more important than who she is and her take on the people she meets. Kids have enough to worry about these days without their parents getting hyped up about their wardrobes. Let her be a kid.

My 7th grade daughter is good with The Gap, Target, random sweatshirts, and so are her friends. She briefly wanted Lululemon and then realized it was kind of ridiculous, in part I think because she saw the cost. She's not super popular, not super nerdy, and she gets that there's more to life than following the trends. Let your kid wear what she has and ask for things if needed.

Yes, this. If your kid doesn’t even care about brands, you certainly don’t want to encourage her to start. Just let her choose clothes she likes that fit within your budget.

Frankly I think "setting her up for every advantage" and defining it by her clothes is demonstrating materialistic values and teaching her that her clothes are more important than who she is and her take on the people she meets. Kids have enough to worry about these days without their parents getting hyped up about their wardrobes. Let her be a kid.

My 7th grade daughter is good with The Gap, Target, random sweatshirts, and so are her friends. She briefly wanted Lululemon and then realized it was kind of ridiculous, in part I think because she saw the cost. She's not super popular, not super nerdy, and she gets that there's more to life than following the trends. Let your kid wear what she has and ask for things if needed.

Me again. I think she’d love a whole wardrobe for A&F. Problem is she doesnt need the brand name of it. And too much of it would be embarrassing. (not like when we were growing up. A whole wardrobe of A&F was a signal).

It’s too expensive to not even need the brand cred. One item in the closet is good.

I have suggestions but I think you can get partway through MS without getting really into brands.

My new 7th grader loves
Lululemon - we buy deep sales or second hand
Nike
Other sporty brands but not overdoing it

She likes but doesn’t favor above
Walmart tees
She can like Ae, gap, old navy - select items that she likes. We almost never buy. Old navy maybe the most. ESP jeans. In winter she’d like those places for sweaters.
Jcrew XS - but only a few things are for her anyway - much more grown up.

She had an A&F phase in 6th grade but it’s not super cool. More like rich elementary kids.

In 5th and going into 6th, Simply Southern, beach tourist tees, and band tees. Some of that is still going. Not simply southern anymore. (We live in a southern state anyway)

She preferred Art Class at Target from 5th to 6th but not anymore.

Anonymous wrote:Converse
American Eagle
Brandy Melville
Lululemon
Fill in with random crap from Zara and Shein

Any specific items in AE and Brandy Melville?

Anonymous wrote:Converse
American Eagle
Brandy Melville
Lululemon
Fill in with random crap from Zara and Shein

Please don’t support Shein. They have horrible labor practices and their clothes are seriously garbage.

Anonymous wrote:My private school girls wear uniforms to school, so it's mostly athletic clothes outside school. She likes lululemon, fat pants, aviators nation, etc. For cotillion she likes Loveshack Fancy - she only has a few pieces of this because it's expensive. I get her other clothes at Neiman Marcus or Nordstrom. Some girls have Golden Goose shoes (also too expensive); my daughter has Air Jordan's, Converse, and Havanas.

As PP said it depends on the school. These brands are one end of a spectrum.

Google isn’t helping - what are fat pants (in the middle school context haha)?

Converse
American Eagle
Brandy Melville
Lululemon
Fill in with random crap from Zara and Shein

These posts have no value. It doesn’t matter what is considered “cool “. It matters what your daughter likes. People have said it over and over go to the mall where there is a large variety of stores, look in the stores, try on what she likes and buy it.

I have three kids with three distinct styles of dress. Their favorite stores are not the same.

One suggestion - There is nothing cool about $40 plastic shoes called crocs. Buy some decent footwear.