Would you spend £240 on a North Face coat for a 13-year-old?

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North face coat, 240quid. Would you spend it on your dd13?

Yeah I’ve got two tween daughters and neither have ever lost of wrecked any of their belongings so it wouldn’t be part of my decision making process either!
I would buy it in your circumstances. I try not to say no to things just on principle… I look at the situation in front of me and decide based on that. If it’s within budget for a birthday gift and is the only thing you want, why on earth would you buy them something they don’t want instead?!

My DD is very label conscious ( adult now) when Super dry were "in" she wanted a jacket. It was nice, waterproof, zipped pockets looked smart . Cost far more than a standard coat but she wore it a couple of years then recycled it.

She's more Uniqlo now, function over fashion .

DS (adult) would say "no it's a roadman coat" but he's likely to stride about in a fleece doesn't wear a coat if he can help it.

Don't know if I'd spend £240 on one but I know the folly of mis-spent money on something they don't want . I think with DD I said I'd give her the amount I'd spend on a regular winter coat and the rest would be a present which worked for her .if I bought her something from Primark it wouldn't have been worn

One reason I like myultra I Trendy Superdry Fiji is the no feather/down . So many teens are more ethical than their parents , they would know if it was something they cared about. ( Or not care if it was something they didn't)

ultra un TRENDY that should say

Absolutely. They’ve even got a name in my area - “North Face Ninjas”. They’re often involved in county lines, carry knives and hang round in massive gangs. Quite different from TNF where you live!

No. I can afford it but it sends completely the wrong message for me and goes against my values.

Yes, I got DD one for Christmas. It’s a lot of money but that’s what you pay for a good quality down filled coat. She had had it for 3 years now - still good as new despite daily wear. She really put it to the test on a recent trip to Canada - warm enough to comfortably withstand -20C temperatures!!

What message does it send? And what would you get your child for their birthday instead, if that’s the only thing they actually want?

That you should buy expensive things to fit in( or worst case show off), not because they are the best function or even look the best.

I got sick of my DS losing his things - his coats and jackets being the worst.

We attached an air tag in the lining of his jacket pocket, it pings his phone if he forgets the jacket. Worth thinking about if you are worried about it going AWOL.

No way. Not even if I won the Euromillions.

What is troubling is the number of kids in the school I used to work in wearing £££££ jackets, Moncler even, Nike trainers etc when they were on fsm. It beggars belief. It sets up an expectation that having terribly expensive clothes is normal and anything less is deprivation and I’m afraid can directly lead to drug dealing etc to satisfy the designer habit.

I have a set budget for shoes, coats, football boots etc and if they want something that’s over the budgets they are expected to pay the difference from their allowance (which is only given if they’ve earned it) or from Christmas/Birthday money.
I would have given her the usual birthday amount for her birthday plus what you can get a decent coat for and then expected her to make up difference.
So for example we give £50 for birthdays, a decent coat you can get for £65 so mime would have had just over £100 from me and then they would have had to use the rest of their birthday money from relatives etc to get the coat.
My son just needed new football boots his football boot budget from me is £40, the ones he wanted were £52 in the sale, he paid the difference out of his Christmas money that he saved.
He works hard but he is one of three and I think it’s important that they learn the value of money, budgeting etc

My eldest one keeps his items mostly within the budget I set as he prefers to spend his allowance/birthday money etc on gaming rather than clothes, the middle one prefers branded clothes.

So if the only thing your child wanted for their birthday was something you disapproved of, what would you get them instead? Something they didn’t want?

Faux virtue signalling at its finest 🤣 It’s a heavy down filled puffer jacket - can’t get any more functional than that. DD’s came in very handy recently when a trip to New York & Toronto unexpectedly turned into somewhat of an arctic expedition (-20C!!). I spent years buying her cheaper coats, in reality it was only ever the more expensive £££ ones that actually kept her warm. There are some things that you need to spend money on and decent outerwear is one of them.

I’d prefer to hand over the cash personally. It’s not about me not liking it or disapproving- it’s the sheep mentality.

My kids aren’t into brands (yet) - eldest is 11. He will wear sports brands if it’s the best for the features but couldn’t be arsed about whether anyone else had it. We will see as they get older.

I do try to encourage value for money and buying something because they want it- not because others have it.

So they’d probably use the cash to buy the thing they want anyway.
I also encourage my tweens away from buying things just because other people have them… but they’re kids. It’s part of growing up. I’m sure I did it as a child, and I very much have my own style now. They’re just finding their own way in the world, and fitting in with peers is part of how they do that.
I have 2 very different children in this regard… on couldn’t care less what everyone else is wearing, one very much could. Neither of them is a better person than the other.

No, I bought her one from Vinted and the highest I would go i £50 and that seemed crazy.

It’s not faux value signalling at all. I wouldn’t be buying it.

It’s not being bought for its features 😂 it’s being bought because it’s north face. The girl ain’t wondering around walking shops comparing berghaus or RAB is she 😂.

My kids have always had decent quality outer wear. I just will never ever ever be buying something for its brand name alone.

But yes I have the cash and that’s not where it will be spent. If I handed over the cash to the kids I would hope they’d want to spend it on something they’d really thought about, not what all their mates had.

And if that’s what they decided that’s fine, but I won’t be buying it personally because to me it sends the wrong signals

Yes, wouldn’t hesitate in this situation. Wouldn’t routinely buy it as a standard coat though.

I really hate to break this to you but the oh so functional brands Berghaus & Arcteryx have also become very trendy in recent years…

No I wouldn't.

I couldn't afford it
I wouldn't spend that much on anyone's coat
My dd would lose it
It is a target for being nicked
They grow a lot at that age and may not last till next winter

I would not.

Especially a 'fashion' item. She won't wear it as soon as the next trend takes over.

Luckily my Dc were anti-brands as were many in their school (S London comp) . The whole Brand thing was associated with 'wasteman' culture.

Honestly? I think it is not great to support peer pressure towards ludicrous fashion choices that are just about branding.

Haha - I wouldn’t have a clue

Then you probably shouldn’t be commenting