Clothes allowance for teen DDs? How much?

[GuinefortGrey]

My young teen DDs are now interested in buying their own clothes.
Which is fine by me! Just not sure how much and how regularly I should be giving them an allowance for clothing. I will still buy uniform, underwear and basics like swimwear. They currently get £3 a week pocket money on their GoHenry cards which they can spend as they wish on bits and bobs or save up.

I was thinking in addition maybe £40 each at the beginning of each school holidays. That would buy quite a bit in Primark but not much in Topshop, so maybe it's not enough?!? They both like sportswear brands, Adidas, Nike etc and do a lot of sport and neither are what I would describe as fashionistas

I'd be really interested to hear what arrangements work for other people.

[RochelleGoyle]

I think it totally depends on your budget, where you would usually shop for them and what you expect them to buy. As you say, forty quid in Primary is very different to the same amount in Topshop. You also need to take account of the fact that if they are shopping unsupervised, they may not choose the most suitable or most needed items. Where would you usually shop for clothes for them?

[RochelleGoyle]

Primark, damn it!

[chanie44]

Mine are way too young to shop for their own clothes, but I think it's worth planning purchases around sales or offers to make the money go further.

My children were given some h&m vouchers for Xmas. I popped onto the website recently and they were offering 20% off, so this meant I could get a couple more items for them.

[NapQueen]

How old are they?

[GuinefortGrey]

They are nearly 15 and nearly 13.
I usually shop for them at H&M, Primark and New Look but I'm really losing touch with what they actually like/will wear these days. Teens are so exacting and there seems to be no rhyme or reason to it! E.g. DD2 asked for an Adidas hoodie but it had to be a particular style, only one with the big leaf logo, not one with stripes or just the Adidas brand name

Actually DD2 is the easiest of the two as she is quite chatty about her likes and dislikes. DD1 is going through a tough stage (in all ways!!) and won't even give me a clue other than pretty much anything I like, she is guaranteed not to sigh

[wannabestressfree]

£3 a week for a 15 year old.... that's rather frugal.

[GuinefortGrey]

Just to clarify - the 3 a week is literally just for a few sweets/a song or 2 from iTunes/a bit of cheap makeup. Birthday/Christmas money, money from GPs/winnings from hobby (not much!) go in the same account for her to spend/save as she wishes.

She has an iPhone and a very, very expensive hobby that are both fully paid for. Plus at the moment I buy her whatever she needs/wants (within reason!) clothes and toiletries-wise and will give her extra spending money for pizza/cinema sort of things. So she's not hard done by at all I promise

[Sadik]

14 y/o DD gets £10 / month pocket money, then £15/ month clothes allowance to cover everything apart from uniform, a winter coat (not that she wears one ) and school shoes. TBH she doesn't really spend it all, partly because she very often gets given clothes at xmas/birthday, partly because she lives in levis / hoodie.

[Sadik]

"pretty much anything I like, she is guaranteed not to"
better than 'borrowing' anything slightly nice that you get for yourself

[MaQueen]

At the moment our DDs get £25 a month allowance for bits and bobs like sweets, bit of make up, the odd thing off Boho, birthday pressies for friends etc.

But, in reality I still buy 90% of their clothes, I buy their skincare & toiletries, chip in when they're buying friend's birthday presents and every time they meet up with friends I seem to be handing out £10 for them to get something to eat/drink.

At birthdays/Xmas they get treated to some quality stuff from Jack Wills (because they have stopped growing, so will be able to wear it for a good while) and quality footwear (mainly Nike & Vans).

I'm considering considerably upping their allowance with a view to them buying everything themselves, bar uniform, coats and school shoes? I think if I gave them £100 a month each, it would actually save me money.

[AndNowItsSeven]

My dd had £45 allowance to cover non essential clothes and entertainment but not travel.
Do you mean £40 at half terms as well as full terms?

[bojorojo]

I think it depends on the tastes of the child. Ones who are not intersted infashion,spend nothing much. You can get away with very little. If they are interested in clothes, then £40 will not go far.

In your situation, I would buy the expensive stuff like Addidas but give them money for undies, T shirts, jeans and cheap hoodies. Pay for trainers and more expensive stuff as and when.

[WhisperedLoudest]

My DD 12 gets £40. Still seem to end up putting my hand in my pocket constantly.

I pay for school uniform, underwear and absolute necessities (although that's a moveable feast)

[Needastrongone]

I put £40 for each DC (one of each) in a current account, DS is 17 and DD 16.

It's theirs to do with as they will. Works out at £10 pw approx.

I buy essentials, stuff for school etc but they pay for anything else. So they could buy tons at Primark or save for a pair of Jack Wills jeans or concert tickets etc.

I would probably give them their bus fare to go to the cinema, then they would withdraw their money themselves.

All good practice!