Six Tips for Back-to-School Shopping
Filed under: Budgeting & Planning, Family Finances, Fashion & Trends, Shopping, Back to School
As a kid, I fixated on shopping for back to school clothes, ignoring the binders, markers and calculators bought for my return to class. I know my mum secretly wished I wore a school uniform, but her constant reminders that I was going to school not a fashion show had little effect.
According to Canadian department store Zellers, the average Canadian family spends $310 on their kid's back to school essentials, including clothing.
According to Canadian department store Zellers, the average Canadian family spends $310 on their kid's back to school essentials, including clothing.
But you don't have to break the bank to keep your fashion-hungry kids happy, says fashion expert and blogger Renee Elliott of EatLiveShop.com. Here are her top six tips for back to school shopping both parents and kids can live with:
- The closet clean out: Start with your kids' existing wardrobe and divide all the clothes into three piles: clothes that don't fit, clothes that need repairs and clothes to keep. From the don't fit pile, consider if the clothes can be place in a consignment shop or should be donated to a charity shop. For clothes that need repairs, get them fixed and decide whether they are to be kept or donated. With the clothes that are being kept, figure out where the gaps are in the remaining wardrobe.
- Make a shopping list: Once you know what is needed, make a list and decide with your child how much of their clothing budget you want to allocate to each item. This will help you stay on budget and remind you what your looking for when you get distracted wandering the shops.
- Shopping choices: With list in hand, head to stores that offer a wide range of fashion options, such as H&M, Zara, Forever 21 or Old Navy. For older teens or university students, Value Village, Goodwill or vintage shops are also a consideration, as at this age your kids are often ready to piece together unique style of their own.
- Pick a splurge item: Look for basics such as hoodies, denim, or cardigans at affordable prices, find fun accessories at stores such as Claire's or Ardene and then pick one item that is a splurge.
- Shoes are worth it: Don't skimp on proper footwear and consider a good pair of athletic shoes and boots as must-haves. Cheap shoes will not last.
- Shop together: Despite the ease of online shopping, insuring that the clothes fits and won't immediately be discarded by your child because they don't look like they did online is important. Unless it's a basic item, online shopping is a risky way to to clothe an aspiring fashionista.
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7-29-2010 @ 8:56AM
dmom said...
I enjoy your column however you've given some weird tips here. Assuming your advice is to save money what is wrong with shopping at Value Village etc for any age group??? I troll all the second hand shops in our area for my kids back to school things and can usually by them a whole new wardrobe for around $60...I give their old things either to goodwill or save as hand me downs. We also look long and hard to find the good things, brand name, like new for a fraction of the store cost.
I'd change your advice on shoes as well. Shoes only need to last for kids (growing kids anyway) about a year. So a cheaper pair that fits well is fine. Stay away from hand me down/second hand shoes as they're molded to someone else's foot. Please for the love of everything...mom's STOP buying your girls high heeled shoes for school, these are the shoes they take to gym class!!!!! It doesn't matter the height of the shoe either, when they're growing you're going to ruin their alignment much faster than your pocket book! Get good, new shoes for school...flat shoes!!! Same goes for winter boots...stay away from the heel!
My 2 cents....{;o)
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