Growing up, as summer break came to an end, we would go back to school shopping at the mall. My mom would get my sister and me a ton of new clothes (which we didn’t really need, but wanted). I remember getting a bottle cap, seat-belt buckling belt (IYKYK) and all the latest trends, which likely consisted of overpriced popular brands of shirts and pants. Back to school shopping was one of the consistent highlights of my summer. I vividly remember only wearing those clothes (I just HAD to have) for the first few months of school before retiring them to my closet and pulling out my old faithful basic pieces.
Unpopular opinion: Back to school shopping is overrated.
There, I said it.
While we do order school supplies from the list the teacher provides, clothing is a different story. I do not take my boys back to school shopping. When I look at their shared closet, taking inventory of what they really need, I see that they have a closet full of clothes that fit them. They do not need an entire new wardrobe. Sure, their pants are small, but it is still 90 degrees outside. These boys aren’t wearing pants anyway. What is the point of buying new pants before this school year when they will likely outgrow them by the time cool weather arrives? We will wait until the time is right to get some new pants — not a big deal. If you’re a boy mom, you know, tennis shoes are a whole different story. They need a new pair every four months or so.
New school year, new clothes, new you…right? I do not agree with this.
I sometimes wonder if the back to school shopping spree I had as a child made me feel inadequate if I did not have a new outfit for an event or as if the clothes that hung in my closet weren’t good enough. My boys pick out their clothes and are content with those hanging in their closet. Their identity isn’t tied to a brand or a new wardrobe. How many clothes does one person truly need anyway? Truth be told, I never wore that overpriced bottle-cap belt — not once — and the shirts I picked out weren’t really my style, but rather an attempt to fit in with a crowd I should not have been hanging out with anyway.
