2 of 5

Write now Article Tools

I know, peer pressure is so important to kids. I remember when I was in high school in a small town in Washington state in the 60's we did the best we could with what ever money our parents could provide and what we could earn picking strawberries and baby sitting. We did not think too much about how our clothes compared to those of other typical teenagers in larger cities. We wanted to 'look good' and we did!

I knew at the time that sweaters with the Jantzen label were 'the thing' in the Everett high school and we even heard of young people looking at the labels inside sweaters of students there to see if they were Jantzen or not and of kids taking out the JC Penney labels and sewing in Jantzen labels to appear to be up to the class they should be. That did not happen in my high school since J.C. Penneys was as good as the next. I thought I had died and gone to heaven when our drill team (me being one of them) wore Jantzen sweaters to perform. How could this be? We are now trend setters?

Years later, being a young mother with a trend savvy 6th grade daughter, found my sewing capabilities did not 'cut it' with what she wanted to wear to be popular. I sewed all my family clothes at that time from baby and kid' clothes, to lingerie, to sport coats and shirts for my husband and all my clothes. I was a very good seamstress and felt very proud of the clothes I could create for my 3 children on a limited budget. My daughter wore clothes that were very well designed, sewn and decorated. She complained about always having to wear things that were 'home made!' She had a close friend named Ahnna who's dad was an attorney in the town and could afford to buy the best for Ahnna. I felt my sewing efforts were not meeting my daughter's needs to have things that were 'store bought' rather than 'home made'

Later, after I got acquainted with Ahnna's mother, I found she also was having a problem with Ahnna! Ahnna was complaining about always having to wear 'store bought clothes' when her friend, Kathy (my daughter) came to school in 'hand made clothes' which she would have thought so much better than the 'store bought' clothes her mother had her wear.

This taught me a big lesson in that as a mother, I should not feel like I was compromising my daughter by sewing her clothes since she had friends that would rather I sewed their clothes as well, but how shallow the clothing market really is. What really matters is how the clothes look, fit, feel and last. It never matters what label is on them unless it has one of the do it your self labels that says 'created in love by Mom or Grandma"!

Designer clothes? Hogwash! They grow out of them before they can make a difference. What is done in love, lasts!

Learn more about this author, Older But Wiser.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.

Add your voice

Know something about 2008's trendiest designer clothing for kids?
We want to hear your view. Write now!