HITH LIFE: A WEEKLY FORUM FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS : As School Looms, It’s Time to Shop
With school lurking around the corner, aisles of clothing stores are fast filling with teen-agers searching for the trendiest look in back-to-school apparel.
But when that last bell or buzzer of each school day sounds, a change of clothes is mandatory. Hot Topics wonders: “Where do you shop for your after-school clothes, who pays for them, and do you shop for them alone, with your friends or with your parents?”
“The Brea Mall with my friends, and my parents pay for my clothes.”
Melissa Hodgson, 14,
freshman, Canyon
“I end up paying for the clothes, and I like to go shopping with my friends. I go to the Buena Park Mall.”
Paige Bell, 16,
junior, Cypress
“I go with friends to the Buena Park Mall. My mom pays for my clothes, at least until I get a job.”
Leslie Geldbach, 15,
sophomore, Cypress
“I go shopping with my friends to South Coast Plaza, at Nordstrom, Contempo Casuals and Saturday’s (World), and we use mom’s money and my own.”
Amy Harrison, 16,
junior, Esperanza
“I go shopping with my friend Amy, and I use my mom’s credit cards and my own money.”
Jennifer Miller, 16,
junior, Esperanza
“South Coast Plaza, with either my parents or friends, and usually my parents pay for the clothes.”
Dan Boyd, 14,
freshman, Estancia
“I go to South Coast Plaza with my friends. I pay for my own clothes.”
Eric Vaughan, 14,
freshman, Estancia
“Sometimes I’ll go to the mall, but often I just go where I work, at Surfers Alliance, which is a surf company, so I just go out and pick the clothes and have them take the money out of my check. That’s where most of my clothes come from.”
Lorin Bransom, 15,
junior, Fountain Valley
“I usually go with a friend, but my parents pay for my clothes. Sometimes I’ll go to a mall or surf shops, like Tilley’s or whatever.”
Rod Kurtz, 16,
junior, Fountain Valley
“I usually go with my friends because my mom doesn’t like my clothes. For school clothes I go to normal shops, but for fun clothes I go to thrift and antique shops, because I like unusual clothes. Mom and I have this system--if she likes the clothes, she’ll pay for them because she figures she can wear them. But if she thinks it’s bizarre, I’ll have to pay for it. I tend to buy a lot of my own clothes.”
Greta Lorge, 14,
freshman, Fountain Valley
“I end up paying for my clothes. I usually go to a department store with my friends.”
Julie Matto, 15,
junior, Fountain Valley
“I go to Tilley’s and Millers Outpost with my friends. I pay for all my clothes.”
Amy Skibba, 13,
freshman, Fountain Valley
“I go to surf stores where I can get volleyball clothes--like at the Westminster Mall. I go with my friends, and I’ve gone with my step-mom. For other clothes, I go to the Gap, and my mom pays for some of it, and my dad pays for the rest. As soon as mom says ‘no more,’ I go to my dad.”
Tanya Bruckler, 15,
sophomore, Huntington Beach
“I go shopping at Balboa with my friends--the beach shops for bathing suits and stuff. I pay for the clothes.”
Nicole DeLorme, 16,
junior, Huntington Beach
“I like to go shopping with my mom because she pays for my clothes. I like to go to thrift stores to find bargains.”
Allyson Dickey, 14,
freshman, Huntington Beach
“I go to Huntington Center, usually with Erin, my best friend, and I usually pay for about half of my clothes. My mom pays for the rest.”
Shelly Faubion, 16,
junior, Huntington Beach
“This summer I got all my clothes at my work--the Gap--because I get a discount. I got all of my clothes except for the volleyball ones there. I go with my friends, and go around the mall to find clothes. When I see something that’s cute, I’ll buy it, but I don’t get everything at once. For nonschool clothes, I pay for them.”
Melinda Floyd, 14,
sophomore, Huntington Beach
“I go with my friends, and for fun clothes I usually go to shops on Main Street in Huntington Beach and in the beach area. My mom usually pays for them. My mom doesn’t usually go shopping with me because she sees it as a chore.”
Jeanne Andrusky, 16,
senior, Marina
“Usually my mom pays, but she doesn’t like to go shopping with me because she gets mad when I don’t like the stuff she picks out. I usually go out with my friends and put the clothes on hold or go with my sister and uncle to South Coast Plaza on Sundays.”
Larissa Mohamadi, 16,
senior, Marina
“Jack’s, that’s where I go. I go by myself or with friends, and I pay for the clothes--Stuffy clothes and Billabong, too--surf clothes.”
James Colman, 15,
junior, Pacifica
“I like to go to this place called Tilley’s, and to the Brea Mall. Sometimes I like to go to Miller’s Outpost. I go with my parents because they have the money.”
Patrick Lynch, 14,
freshman, Troy
“I shop at Shipley’s and Tilley’s. I go with my dad, and he pays for it, too. Yeah!”
Omar Somoza, 15,
freshman, Troy
“I like to go shopping with my friends and my mom at the same time, and I like to go to Nordstrom sometimes, and my mom usually pays for it.”
Traci Brannen, 14,
freshman, University
“South Coast Plaza at Nordstrom. I usually go with my friends to see what I want, and then I go back with my mom and either my mom pays for it or I pay for half.”
Heather Davis, 13,
freshman, University
“Pic ‘N’ Save with friends. I pay for my clothes.”
Sean Long, 16,
sophomore, Woodbridge
“If I’m looking for a specific outfit, I’ll go with my mom. If I’m not looking--if I just want to have fun--I’ll go with my friends to South Coast Plaza.”
Belinda Taub, 15,
sophomore, Woodbridge
“If I’m not looking for anything, then I’ll go with my friends, but if I need something, I’ll go with my mom. If I don’t need it, I’ll pay for it. Otherwise, my mom does.”
Alison Ward, 15,
sophomore, Woodbridge
Next Week’s Hot Topic:
What advice do you have for students new to your school?
