A coat for a 12 year old girl, who believes she is too grown up to wear a coat.

[CliveThighs]

Help!

Dd is 12 and has reached the stage where she's too cool to wear a coat. Despite the fact it's winter. Despite the fact it takes her 40 minutes to walk to school. Despite the fact the weather will get even colder.

Over the last year or so she's had a massive growth spurt, and is now roughly an adult sized 8-10 (depends if she'll be wearing a jumper under the coat).

We took her shopping for a new coat at the weekend but none of the coats in any of the shops were acceptable to her. No coats at all. We tried them all. All rejected on spurious grounds of 12 year old girl logic.

So, wise style and beauty people, can you reccomened a coat that will put a sparkle in her eye and prevent her from catching pneumonia

Many thanks.

@whatagloriousthingtobe

No teens myself but laughing as this brought back memories - I'm 32 and remember the days of not being seen dead in a coat !

Same! I know I'm officially old now as I always have my coat but when younger wearing a coat was just a no no. Crazy isn't it we would thought it more fashionable to be frozen than wear a coat!!

Blimey. My 14yr old DD has more coats than I do. Frock coats, coats which look like robes, duffel coats, donkey jackets and on and on. She blooming loves them.

I'm going to ask her tomorrow if other people her age wear coats!

@whatagloriousthingtobe

No teens myself but laughing as this brought back memories - I'm 32 and remember the days of not being seen dead in a coat !

Haha me too! It’s so stupid looking back. But the odd thing is, I don’t ever remember feeling cold without my coat on. The horror of wearing a school coat was such that I’d subconsciously trained myself not to feel the cold!

Exactly the same as my dd 12 she will not wear a coat until school insisted so I got her a black tho puffer coat and sometimes she will now wear it on a cold day at the weekend other than that she will throw on her oodie to go out 💁‍♀️

Is it a regional thing? We are in London and 15 year old dd and her friends all wear big puffa jackets. The shorter ones that don’t cover your bottom.

Thank you for all the suggestions. I might go and buy her a cheap coat, so at least she has one, and then I won't feel guilty about her not wearing it.

I like the idea of a massive blanket scarf too. That has potential.

She's gone off to school this morning and actually agreed to wear a scarf, but only because I pointed out that its properly freezing and there is frost all over my car windshield. So at least she's in thermal tights and a scarf.

I had to have a uniform coat.

Maybe decide to write to the school asking them to make a uniform coat compulsory, she might prefer to wear a coat she has a choice in.

As for not feeling the coat, my school did not allow trousers, not even to travel to/from school, and we had to wear white socks, you know the thin summer type.

Coats were essential to not freeze solid.

I've just remembered to ask 14yr old DD if people at her school wear coats and she gave me a patented teen look and said "of course they do, it's cold, why wouldn't they?" I looked at them all at the bus stop earlier and they were all wearing coats.

I wonder what's different here?

Might be useful to have a look at Aviators they're in fashion at the moment or if you are willing to spend extra a north face coat but they are really expensive. It depends what her style is really when I was her age the parka coats were in fashion but I didn't wear mine to school cause I didn't want to have the same coat as someone, I look back and think how silly that was!😂

My DC is 12. She and most of her friends will wear lightweight puffer jackets, like this sort of thing. It's not ideal for the winter but better than nothing. She is just 12 and in Y7 though so maybe hasn't quite reached peak coat refusal yet.

As others say this brings back memories! Like the winter I spent in my shiny plastic knock off designer boots that sprang a leak in week two but I kept on wearing because I had invested so much energy in grinding my mother down to buy them. Or the skimpy little trench coat I thought made me look so cool but which might have been made of tissue paper for all the warmth and waterproofing it provided.

Luckily the next winter I saw sense and bought an Afghan goatskin coat that was toasty warm but sadly stank of , well, goat ( and the patchouli I dabbed on in a vain attempt to disguise the goat). Lots of people wore them, the tube was a joy to travel in.

@bizboz

My DC is 12. She and most of her friends will wear lightweight puffer jackets, like this sort of thing. It's not ideal for the winter but better than nothing. She is just 12 and in Y7 though so maybe hasn't quite reached peak coat refusal yet.

Mine has one like this, and thicker very long one! It drives me crazy! She is wearing the thin one today just because it is raining lots and lots. Otherwise shirt, blazer, trousers, that is it

Mine I bought a huge thick furry coat when she was 12. I worried as it was cream and furry and I thought it would last 5 minutes turns out the size 8 coat is still going strong clean and very loved 3 years later - that one came from new look it was new length and buttons down the cream wooden front with black buttons it looks fab and it is really warm. - best £30 ever spent.

Ps I also brought her thermal fleece lined legging for under trousers, thermal top, and a hat gloves and scarf set from John Lewis which was about £100 total size 8-10 and still going strong now and she is toasty. Just brought her a pair of Ausland sheepskin boots as well - basically if I’m buying the same or better than my stuff

My 14 yo boy still in shorts in December and refuses to wear trousers so watching with interest.

His logic is that wet legs dry quicker than wet trousers.

Wears a coat though

Dd is wanting a teddy coat for Christmas

I feel old writing this but I saw some teenagers walking round a National Trust a few weeks back and they all seemed to be wearing belted shackets.

DD has a Nike shirt puffs jacket in black. Seems to be popular style for 12 yo at school.

12 yr old DS is the same - it's not just a girl thing 🙄

I think it's a combination of laziness ( they don't seem to have anywhere to hang a coat up at school?) - he literally can't be bothered - and really not feeling the cold. He doesn't wear a jumper either so just a short sleeved shirt and blazer. He isn't particularly fashion conscious. He has a puffer from next but it mostly lives in the floor by the door where he chucks it before he leaves the house,

Yy to a packable puffer. Uniqlo are cheap and good enough. Tog 24 is actually warm. Sits in the bag until wearing a coat becomes preferable to hypothermia

Oh my people, I’ve found you. Neither DD1 14 nor DD2 12 will wear a coat to school. They have to wear blazers for school and are not allowed to wear coats inside so they say it’s a hassle to take one. You barely see a child from their school wearing one.

Like pp they both wear big scarves and gloves as these can be shoved in their bag/pockets. DD2 will wear a beanie hat on occasion. They wear trainer socks and tights, they have vests/thermals to layer underneath and have a uniform blouse and jumper under the blazer as well.

They will both wear coats at weekends. I honestly don’t care about school days, I’m warm enough in my massive duvet, scarf, gloves etc doing gate/lunch duty!

My 12 year old spurned all coats until we got to Superdry...

I have teenagers and they all wear coats. North face / Nike / adidas puffers seem to be the favourites round here.

I grew up in London and everyone wore coats, went to uni in Durham and you could spot the southerners out for the night in Newcastle by who was wearing a coat. It was bloody freezing.

Thermal underwear is the go.