| It's almost time for school to start again, and time for | | | | sometimes, however, that they do actually occasionally |
| one of my most unfavorite activities...school shopping | | | | have good sales. My daughter knows her clothing |
| with my teenage daughter.Don't get me wrong, I love | | | | budget is limited, so we compromise on getting a |
| my daughter, and we have a lot of fun hanging out | | | | couple of good pairs of jeans (on sale), and then |
| together. But I hate shopping. I avoid it whenever | | | | spending less on tops and other accessories. And |
| possible. If you have a teenage daughter in middle | | | | while we're on the subject of jeans, I always have my |
| school or the first couple years of high school, then | | | | daughter show me how her jeans fit before we buy |
| you understand that it's not quite yet time to let them | | | | them. No jeans that are so low-waisted you can't |
| shop alone.I'm sure I'm not the only mom unhappy | | | | bend over in them.We also have a hard time finding |
| about fashion styles these days, especially the | | | | shirts that fit. My daughter is a little larger in the chest |
| fashions being advertised to young teen girls. Shopping | | | | than other girls her age, and she has a hard time |
| for them is truly a challenge. I think for now, however, | | | | finding shirts that fit her. We have found that at the |
| we have managed to somehow get my daughter | | | | mall, in general, all of the shirts, even size "large", don't |
| ready for school.Every year before we go school | | | | even come close to fitting her! What they're calling |
| shopping, we go through my daughter's bedroom. We | | | | large looks like "small" to me. Once in awhile we hit the |
| go through all of her clothes, both in her dresser and in | | | | jackpot, though, and this year it was at Target. We |
| her closet. Anything she knows she's not going to | | | | found 4 or 5 tops (this time the large was really |
| wear goes into a pile. Old underwear gets thrown | | | | "large"), and she loved them. After the 100% cotton |
| away, and holey socks are discarded. It's time to start | | | | "large" is washed, it will fit her perfectly, and we're both |
| making a list of what she needs for the new school | | | | happy.We accessorized her outfits with a couple of |
| year.The next pile we go through is her shoes. Some | | | | belts, and now she's all set. When we got home and I |
| get thrown away, some get put in the pile to give | | | | started washing the clothes, I realized her room still |
| away, and some can be polished up with a bit of shoe | | | | wasn't off to a fresh start for school. Out came all the |
| polish and a soft cloth.After we finish going through the | | | | throw blankets, pillow cases, and everything else in her |
| clothes, we put them into bags to give them to a | | | | room that is washable. Tomorrow we'll put it all back |
| women's or teen shelter, or give them to a friend who | | | | and she'll get her clothes all organized for school, trying |
| doesn't mind hand-me-down's.Then we head off to the | | | | to decide what she'll wear on the first day of her |
| store. I hate shopping at the mall. I avoid it whenever | | | | sophomore year of high school.Rachel Paxton is a |
| possible because of the high prices. I forget | | | | freelance writer and mom of four. |