I am not a fan of shopping, whether for myself or someone else. I’m the type of person who goes into a store and heads right for the underwear section (usually what I end up going into store for most it seems). No straying into other sections. That’s why I need a plan, especially when it comes to shopping for my kids, so I’m sharing a few tips I find useful when fall clothes shopping for the school year.
GO THROUGH YOUR DRAWERS
I mean your dresser drawers. This is where I get my kids involved. Going through the drawers weeds out items that don’t fit or the kids just won’t wear. No matter how cool you think that retro T-shirt is, if your son won’t wear it why keep it stuffed in the drawer taking up room? Determine what can be put away for next season, passed down to a sibling, or out for donation. Knowing what your kids have to wear, what they will wear, will make it easier to plan for additional items. Plus, it will just free-up room.
MAKE A LIST
Have you ever noticed when you’re planning for something – cooking dinner, planning a party, sending the kids off to school – you know at that moment what you need. The extra tomatoes or that long sleeve sweater in the dark sky blue (not non-photo blue or Egyptian blue, heaven forbid) is top of mind until you enter the store. Having a list provides you with a handy reference and reminds you what you need to pick-up.
I like to note what my child already has as well as what she doesn’t. Knowing what she has can help when searching for related items. My daughter’s extensive pink flowered T-shirt collection means for the pants on my list I should look for something complimentary, not patterned. This means the items bought can go further than just one outfit.
My daughter loves skirts and I love that Justice makes all of their skirts as skorts (built-in shorts). Even skirts you wouldn’t expect like these great jean skirt found in store. My daughter loves a little fashion but she’s also pretty active. I love the skort feature in the Justice skirts as a parent.
PRE-SHOP ONLINE
I like the convenience of shopping online but when it comes to my kids’ clothing I much prefer to do this in person. I find sizes on brands are so varied and even the fits can look different on each person’s body type. That doesn’t mean you can’t do a little pre-shopping online.
Before taking my youngest daughter out shopping at Justice, we enjoyed a little online shopping together. We actually did it over tea and cookies so it become more of an mom and daughter experience, which she loved. Online stores usually don’t have the same selection as the physical location but it did give my daughter some inspiration. We added to our shopping list some fun leggings and shirts to try on.
INCLUDE SOME STAPLES
We found a number of styled outfits at Justice that my daughter liked but don’t forget the staples. These are items that can be used across various outfits like a good pair of jeans, a plain-Jane T-shirt, and our favourite, a jean jacket. Both my daughter and I loved the jean jacket we found at Justice. It’s very simple and clean looking with a dash of fun by way of a sparkly band on the front pocket. This jacket can go with so many of my daughter’s outfits. We both really liked how the jacket could change a dress or skirt into something a little more casual and fun.
Of course underwear, socks and PJs are another staple sometimes forgotten. These can be fun too, like the nightshirt my daughter found.
DON’T FORGET THE SALES RACK
The start of fall brings with it off-season sales as stores try to remove summer stock to make way for more fall/winter stock. At the back of the Justice store we found a delightful Super Kitty shirt. It was fun and simple with a dash of gold. My daughter loves cats so it was a perfect fit and it plays so nicely with some of her other pieces. Oh and the price made it easy to slip into our fall back to school clothes shopping budget.
ADD SOME ACCESSORIES
This is the area where we deviated from the shopping list. This is the area I let me daughter have fun looking at jewelry, belts, bags, headbands and more at the Justice shop. A nice belt or scarf or headband can add a fresh look to an older outfit. I think my daughter was smitten with the unicorn press-on nails for small fingers. She’s already added them to her list for our next shopping excursion.
So with our shopping excursion complete and my daughter’s dresser drawers restocked, we’re ready for the colder weather when it sets in. We discovered some fun. Positive massaging in the clothing carried at Justice, something all girls could benefit from. Beyond their positive messaging to young girls in their clothing, Justice sends a positive message in their brand, something that I think more parents are looking for:
Tween Brands Inc., and its affiliates (“Justice”), strive to ensure that its products are produced in a socially responsible manner and to prevent complicity in abusive employment practices such as human trafficking and slavery.
School may have already started but if you’re family is anything like mine, you’ll still be shopping for fall items for months to come. Hopefully these shopping tips will help when planning a wardrobe refresh with your kids.
Thanks to the folks at Justice for a positive shopping experience in many ways for my young daughter and myself.
The girl looks cute in all the outfits. If I want to buy them online, where can I find such clothes?
These looks were all courtesy of Justice (https://www.shopjustice.com/).