DS obsessed with brands

[Exmoor]

DS 13 now wants to only wear brands, nike, Hugo boss etc. Pisses me off as I am a fairly frugal person. Hate consumerism. AIBU to expect him to wear some things from say M&S????

I feel your pain. I dislike paying over the odds just for a name on a T shirt and also dislike this trend for boys in tracksuits with really tight bottoms and their hoods pulled up

BUT my DS likes it and I'm sure my parents judged what I wore at that age (I judge it myself looking back ) so I respect that. My DH also used to have to wear cheap uncomfortable trainers from the market and scruffy hand me down clothes and got teased so has a bit of a chip on his shoulder about his DC being dressed as well as we can and as they would like to be.

However we just don't have enough money to buy brands. Clothes, I get on eBay, I look for bargains that aren't properly described and you really have to look eg I got DS an Armani T shirt in excellent condition for £7 and when he outgrew it in about a week I sold it for £19 and funded the next purchase. We save for the trainers they like (within reason) and buy them new, I sell them on eBay when finished. In some ways it's a blessing that they grow so quickly as items are still in good condition and easy to sell, although I put a lot of time into it. For example, we bought Nike trainers for £70 (ouch) and sold them for £30 a few months later to put towards another pair.

It's difficult as I also dislike the trend for consumerism and following the herd, but I tell myself by buying second hand and selling on I am doing my bit. Paying more for good quality clothing (eg 100% cotton) is better than buying cheap polyester crap.

Still don't like the tight tracksuits though

well, if he wants branded everything, he can pay for it....

supply him nice but basic clothes (H&M for example) - and maybe branded items for birthday. Anything else, he buys himself.

But (and I don't mean this to sound rude) how do peoples 13 year olds pay for clothes themselves? Locally where I live there isn't even really any paper rounds and no jobs for under 16s - my 16 year olds struggled to get one as there is so much competition for so few jobs for their age but their desire to buy clothes made them triumph

I could pay my 13yr old for chores but that would still be my money (which I don't have spare anyway) and I think he should just do chores anyway.

He does save his pocket money and put it towards things he really wants but again, if we could afford to give him lots of pocket money we could buy the clothes.

Ooh that sounds so bitter, reading it back

Definitely try to get second hand brands on ebay/shpock/depop if you can, or in TK Maxx, etc. I wasn't exactly obsessed with labels at school but I did want to fit in and my mum always, without fail, got me a shit, fake version of what I wanted. Think "Rockford" boots instead of Rockport (don't judge, it was 2002 ), fake electronics that broke or the actual brand, but end of season sale items in fucking horrible colours. Like the time I begged for a specific Kookai bag for my birthday and she bought me the cheapest possible bag that said Kookai on it even though it wasn't remotely similar. Money was fine as well, it was a control thing.

I started earning my own money at 14 so I could finally get the stuff I actually wanted. The day I bought my Mulberry handbag felt like I'd won some battle, even if I was 28 by that point

Well, most 13 yo have money of down sort.
And the point is, if they can't afford it... They have to have what they're given....