How do I find what’s cool and trendy for teenage girls?

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I want to buy a few more fashion forward things for my nearly 13 yo dd but not sure where to start.

Let her choose her own - DD would’ve hated me buying clothes etc for her. At that age it’s so easy to get it wrong. I just gave her £100 every few months to go out and buy a few new bits for each season. She loved it and really enjoyed being out in town with friends

Start with your 13-year old! Take her shopping and let her choose.

Ideally you take her to the shops and let her choose. It’s a bit hit and miss and trends always change but most teens I know shop at New Look, Zara, Hollister , Brandy Melville . Even Primark (but in the adult section).

Take her out and let her choose.

Just transfer the money to her account and let her go and buy stuff herself.

Why are you choosing for her?

Def let her choose her own. Took my Neice to Oxford street thinking she’d love shopping. Apparently ALL of the shops on Oxford Street are ‘for chavs’. 🙄 She’s at an age where she’s finding her own style. We found a few bits she liked around Camden in the end.

Give her the money to go out with her friends or go with her. Brands similar to what’s been named here plus Pull and Bear, Bershka, Weekday and Stradivarius. A few teens and early 20 year olds I know like vintage too, so a good vintage shop is a good shout. H&M is another place (Divided) for clothes.

its more about finding inspiration for what’s out there and how to put outfits together. Where is just 17 when you need it

But thats for her to do, not you. She's 13 not 6. I can honestly say I never chose clothes for my kids after the age of about 9. I would take them shopping and let them choose and once they got to 12 I would put an amount into their account and tbey would pick stuff up when they went shopping with friends or order themselves stuff online.

Is she bothered about it or just you?

She doesn't need (or want) her mum to find inspiration for her. That's what TikTok and social media is for.

If you are similar age to me (42) then think about what was trendy when you were a teenage and you’re there. Trousers with short skirts attached, diagonal neckline vests, boho skirts. Just take a wander round Primark, it’s like stepping through a time portal to my youth.

The mannequins in the shops would be a good start, or online shops like Zara, H&M, River Island and Zara.

Or just looking at all the other teens around them/her friends.

Honestly, there comes a point where you have to take a step back and let her take the lead. You just follow behind with your card details 😆

There’s no way my 13 year old would let me put an outfit together for her!
OP does the child in question know what she likes? What sort of thing does she wear at the moment?

Pretty much this!
although our dc picked their own clothes from being about 3, every spring and every autumn dh would take the dds to the shops to choose themselves new clothes and they would pick out what they liked! He also got the practical items but they always did the choosing.
when they got to be about 12 they would go out with their friends and we would just transfer them the money, and stipulated eg “you need a pair of jeans/trousers for x event coming up” or “something to wear for the wedding in June” and left them to it.
Ive never been good at choosing clothes for them tbh, their styles are wildly different day to day 😂

I get Intel from my friend's daughter who is the year above about brands. Purely because my dd will say she wants things like white fox a year after they've been around and only once she has it it goes out of fashion. So for Xmas and birthdays I always ask what brands are better for older girls as it seems to filter down to lower years a few months later.

Exactly this.
also I don’t have the money to just send her to the shops; I am pulling it together from Vinted and eBay.

So give her a budget and get her to look for herself.

So let her go on vinted and ebay to choose. You dont seem to be listening to people though. Parents dont tend to choose their teens day to day clothes. There are plenty of bargains to be had on the high street though. Surely you could give her a little bit of the budget to buy a couple of new things in the shops. Even if she just gets a couple of tops or some jeans and then get the rest from Ebay or vinted. Either way you really need to let her be in charge of choosing. Tell her how much shes got to spend in total and let her decide how to spend it.