Begin early teaching your daughters to shop sensibly, and when they are teens you will still be able to afford to buy clothes for yourself!
From birth to age 8
- Here’s looking at you, Mom. You are the role model.
- Taking into consideration your child’s likes and dislikes, provide a functional wardrobe.
- Encourage her to select her own outfits.
- Garage sales and thrift stores are generally kid-friendly places. Frequent them.
Around the age of 9
- Teach artistic principles and apply them to selecting clothes. Color harmony, scale, proportion, all these principles apply to putting together an outfit.
- Begin to look for your child’s fashion personality. Help her discover her individual style idiom.
From 10 through mid-teens
- Rather than giving your child an allowance to be spent on luxuries, how about giving her a clothing allowance?
clothing allowance = the money + the responsibility for her clothing
- This is your opportunity to teach basic budgeting skills. Woo Hoo!
- At this age, she still needs you to drive her to the store, making you an advisor, and you are the parent, so of course you have veto power.
- You may also serve as safety net. I recommend gifts, though, rather than loans, if you do need to step in.
- Continue coaching for individual style and artistic presentation.
- Make it fun! Go shopping together. Enjoy each other.
By the time your princess is ready to drive herself to the mall, you should enjoy seeing her coach her friends in frugal style.
Way to go, Mom!