5Th Graders and Style?

I would stick with middle of the road stuff. Gap, Old Navy, that type of thing is good at this age. My daughter is going into 4th, and she wants to go to Justice too, but I don't really love the clothes there. She does have a few Abercrombie and Roxy things, and we mix those in with the Old Navy items, and she has been happy with that so far. Nobody has made fun of her. I think you're on the right track with allowing her to choose her outfits to a certain extent. It's important that kids like and feel comfortable with what they're wearing, and can make it their own, style-wise. Also, I will say that my kids don't own a ton of clothes. You don't need that many things to make up a bunch of cute looks, if you get things in the same color palette.

I grew up in a nomal middle class family but always was into fashion. Luckily my mom was a good shopper (and I'm continuing in her footsteps). In this crazy world especially at your daughter's age- kids are mean. If she wants to wear the name brands and fit in like other girls at school, but it doesn't fit the buget there are other options. Just as other posts- target, gap, and old navy are great... One of my favorite memories of spending time with my mom was going to Garage Sales on Saturday mornings. Now we have craigslist and Plato's Closet (consignment stores).... All are wonderful for gently used name brands. I'm not scared to say that I've turned into a brand snob but am very frugal. I'd rather spend 1/2 the money for used vs the same amount from jcp or kohls. Also-- checkout Grapevine mills- amazing outlet stores and tax free weekend is coming up.
Happy Shopping!!!

I do know that girls start wearing Justice early so that by 5th grade its not cool anymore-at least around here. Abercrombie and hollister are popular as well as brands like Ugg and Juicy. You should be able to find major end of summer deals now and living in TX I am sure that the summer clothes will probably last longer than here.
I will say that I am stunned by what I hear of the little girls around here and their snobbishness. Many of them really do look down on the other kids if they aren't dressed right-starting at a really young age! Sad.

My DD is also going in 5th.. She is a jeans and t shirt kind of girl. She likes Old Navy and Justice jeans (thats about all she likes at justice anymore) Most of her T's come from Aeropostale- I love the 2 for 20 sale. (We dont have a PS Aero here but the XS at Aero fit good.) She wants to shop at Abercrombie- but I have only taken her there once- they had clearance shirts for 5.00, win-win for both of us! She cant ever find anything at Target and we are going to try Kohls this wknd. Good luck- If she is not demanding the name brands- hold off as long as you can. :)

The 5th graders around here all wear Justice, Aeropostale and imitation styles from stores like JC Penney, Kohls, etc. None of the 5th graders I know have ever made comments to other kids about their clothes not having the right brand.

I shop the thrift stores and the secondhand stores a lot. There I can get those name brands for a fraction of the price! My daughter is not name-brand crazy in that she won't refuse to wear something because it isn't the right brand but she won't wear something she doesn't like because of the style. Around here it's all about the style, not the brand.

Thank goodness! I'm not about to go broke! She loves the Justice clothes because of the style, not because they are Justice. If I find something similarly styled at Walmart, she's just as happy! And I think her friends are the same way.

My daughter is going in 5th. She is into Justice, but I see your daughter isn't really. Honestly Justice is pricey, so we don't shop there often. We get a lot from Target and Old Navy. I see lots of cute stuff at Kohls and I know my MIL gets my daughter stuff there. If you catch a good sale, it's pretty reasonable.

Aeropostle has great online sales. I would suggest signing up for their email lust and watch for the sales. Figure out what size she is and the styles she likes and go online and start searching. I would alsO suggest getting a few clothes for the start if school but wait to really go shopping until the stores start having end of season sales then you will be able to get twice as much. Also try stores like Ross where you can get some name brand for a much better price. And when they have them on clearance you can really score!! You have to be prepared to search in Ross, but you can find some great stuff. My kids are still very young, but I never but them clothes unless it is on sale because I refuse to pay full price when I know how cheap they will sale them when trying to get rid of it. My theory is why buy one when two on sale is better! Good luck!!

My daughter is a major fashionista.... at 5!!! She knows what she likes, and will ONLY wear those things (I choose not to have the battle with her)! Name brand stuff is obviously not important to her, she doesn't understand any of that yet, but she LOVES dresses and skirts that twirl... she is in this phase of having to tuck her shirts into her skirts (annoying to me... I don't know where this comes from?)... she is all about feeling like a beautiful girl! (I am a tomboy, never wore a skirt or dress until SHE, yes SHE convinced me of their comfort)... I will forever be grateful of her insistence that I wear a dress like her! lol! I know this is a slippery slope... I do not want to get caught up in the most popular "brands"... we talk about these issues a lot, and she also knows that if it isn't on sale, we are not getting it..... period! She will forever have a say in her "style"... I do want her to feel comfortable and confident... but I will not let her go crazy with all the popular brands... it's annoying!