'Back to School' shopping can be a learning experience

Adults know that what is really important is the person – his or her personality, integrity and values – not the clothes they wear, but when you are a teenager still finding your place in the world, it can seem critical to wear clothes that make you feel that you “fit in” with other teens you desire to spend time with.

In Fallbrook, that can mean myriad things. For some it may mean trendy jeans, a certain brand of tennis shoes, surf-brand clothing, fashionable dresses, designer purses or music industry t-shirts. The challenge? Many parents will embark on “Back to School” shopping for clothing and shoes for their teens but must abide by a strict budget.

A dear friend of mine raised three boys and each year she would organize the Back to School new clothes shopping ritual. While she would suggest non-designer jeans, t-shirts and more so they could “get more mileage out of the budget,” the kids would always gravitate to the popular brands and repeatedly plead their case.

“I finally decided to let them make the decisions,” she said. “I told them each how much their total budget was for new school items – clothes, shoes and school supplies like pencils, pens, notebooks – and told them they could decide how they wanted to spend their funds.” The boys were jubilant. Their mother made a trip to the bank and withdrew the cash she could allot for each teen.

Understanding that these were bright kids, they quickly realized that if they elected to purchase expensive tennis shoes and costly jeans, their budget would rapidly diminish. They struggled to figure out how to have enough money for “cool” clothes and also buy new underwear, baseball caps and school supplies.

“They really had to decide what was important to them,” my friend said. “It was an eye-opening experience for them, to have the cash in hand and have to decide how to secure everything they needed, versus having Mom write checks and slide the debit card.”

The boys began to look at their purchases with a more critical eye. Maybe they could make do with one pair of name-brand jeans and buy some others for a more reasonable price; maybe all their new t-shirts didn’t need to be the popular surf brands; maybe they should take the time to dig through the sale rack… just in case.

“They even began talking about <amicably> trading clothes between themselves,” she said. “Suddenly hand-me-downs weren’t sounding so bad and one even suggested they go to the local thrift shops to see if there were some good things there that could fill in their wardrobes.” What was usually a dreaded time of year suddenly became an educational experience for the teens.

For the 2007-2008 school year, the International Council of Shopping Centers expects Back to School sales will increase five percent to $27 billion. Because mid-tier and discount retailers have been feeling the pressure this year, as consumers have cut down on extra expenses to combat rising gas prices and a troubled housing market, they say you can expect to see prices on some Back to School merchandise reduced to attract more shoppers.