How do I work out how much clothes allowance to give my teenager?

[Themumsnot]

Since you have all been so helpful with my work wardrobe dilemma, I thought I might hit you with another one! My DD1 is 14 and I think it is time she had control of her own clothes shopping. I have told her that I will give her an allowance (probably paid in three installments at the beginning of each school term) to cover all her clothes except school uniform, one pair of sensible shoes for school and a warm coat. The trouble is - how much to give her. She is a real jeans and converse girl, not particularly given - yet! - to disposable fashion nor does she appear to covet overpriced labels like Jack Wills, Superdry etc. However, I would like to be fair and not give her too little just because she wouldn't demand or expect as much as some teens do. Can anyone with teenage daughters suggest what would be a reasonable amount of money for her to spend on her clothes or how I should go about deciding?

[Bonsoir]

I would give her her allowance as a quarterly credit ie on 1 January, 1 April, 1 July and 1 September. How many pieces of clothing do you think she should buy per year? Say - four pairs of trousers, two skirts, four t-shirts, six pairs of knickers, three bras, one bikini etc - and put a price to each item (could be a sale price for some of them) and total it and divide by four.

[Themumsnot]

Hmm, Bonsoir, I am not sure how many pieces of clothing. She is now 5'5" and size 8/10 - her feet have stopped growing but I'm not sure about the rest of her. Is it fair to assume that she won't need a complete new wardrobe every year, as she no longer grows out of everything. Or do teenagers tend to flit from trend to trend and therefore view clothes as disposable?

[mycatsaysach]

yes mine does
she has stopped growing but prob won't wear anything 'old' from last autumn
why don't you start with £50 a quarter and see how it goes?
dd gets clothes for birthdays and christmas too

[TrillianAstra]

Depends how much you intend to buy for her - will you buy shoes/coats/smart outfits if you need to go to a wedding?

Can you try to think back on how much you have spent on her clothes over the last year?

£50 a quarter sounds too little to me unless you intend to buy quite a bit of her clothes yourself still.

[DaGinster]

FWIW my DM gave me my family allowance and out of that I had to buy all my clothes and use it as my pocket money/spends. I didn't get another penny unless I worked for it.

[Bonsoir]

I doubt she'll want to wear many clothes from year to year, and TBH I would encourage her to buy a few fashionable things of reasonable quality each season, wear them to death and then start again the following year - "investment dressing" is not a useful concept for teens!

[Littlepumpkinpie]

When my DD was that age she would ask for clothes but she only asked every now and again when each season came in or something was worn out She would then give me a price of the clothing she wanted . Underwear ect I would buy those for her. I would try and work out what you would spend on her. DaGinster has a good idea about the Family Allowance I used to save my dd for this very reason. I have ALWAYS spent it all on them anyway. Already know what this months is going on winter coats for them.

[LiveYourBestLife]

Oxfam have all the brands for cheap and they recruit volunteers from the age of 14. Practical skills for educational and social development, gift of time to help others and 1st hand grabs on fashion bargains. DD can help after school and on weekends. Benefits all round. That I know for sure!

[FauxFox]

My mum used to give me my Child Benefit once a month as a clothing allowance and that worked really well - if you give a big lump 3 or 4 times a year she will def need top ups as she will have spent it all as soon as she gets it (or maybe that's just me )

[Themumsnot]

Fauxfox - she hates shopping and is really fussy about what she will wear at the moment she is living in jeans and a couple of really old t-shirts (that are too small for her). I think my problem is likely to be the other way round - I have told her her allowance MUST be spent on clothes - she is likely to spend it on books otherwise. Part of the reason for doing this is because I hoped that having the freedom to choose her own clothes without interference help would prompt her to take an interest.