By Ylan Q. Mui
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, June 4, 2007
Reyna Dunlap, 12, of Burtonsville was interested in a pair of sunglasses with white frames and diamonds on the side. But $10? Too expensive.
Sweat pants, 16-year-old Nadine Gibson of McLean declared, should not be $40.
Amy Weldon, 14, of Clifton is a compulsive price-tag checker. That way, she says, she doesn't fall in love with something before she realizes she can't afford it.
Teenagers spent $33.1 billion on apparel and footwear last year, according to consumer research firm NPD Group, but the girls we followed were surprisingly conscious of price. Much of their spending was in small increments -- a pair of flip-flops here, a Starbucks latte there. After all, allowances are finite, baby-sitting money only stretches so far, and mom and dad actually expect them to pay their credit card charges back.
"They're very smart in the way that they shop," said Tom Johnson, chief operation officer of Aeropostale said of teens in general. "And they don't want to spend more than they absolutely need to."
At Claire's Accessories, Reyna and her friend Kiara Hill, 13, of Silver Spring scrutinized the earrings. They had just come from Forever 21, where they both got brightly colored shirts, and wanted accessories to match.
"Ohhhh, buy two, get one free!" Reyna said.
She began picking up earrings, clear plastic circular ones, white ones, blue ones. Meanwhile, Kiara went for button shapes in red, black and white. The girls headed for the register -- and immediately had second thoughts. Did they really need three pairs?
Reyna returned two sets to the display, keeping the blue ones. Kiara put back the red and black. But on the way back to the register, Reyna got distracted by a rack of cellphone charms shaped like frogs, ice cream cones and smiley faces.
"These are so cute," she said, pausing to admire them, then changing her mind again. "I can probably go to CVS and get them cheaper."
When on their own, the girls had to stick to the money in their pockets. But with parents in tow came the possibility of, "Oh, Dad, doesn't this look great on me?"
And you're going to say no?
Krista Klemens of Round Hill gave her daughter Rebecca, 14, a budget of $50 for the day. But once at the mall, the two quickly broke through that ceiling. Rebecca and her sister, Elizabeth, 17, together spent about $300.
Sneha Rao brought her parents along to pay. They give her $100 for every A on her report card -- but only if she gets straight A's; it's an all-or-nothing deal. (The 14-year-old from Silver Spring has had a perfect record since middle school.) But she's saving that money for college.
Aliya Rehman, 14, of Potomac Falls tag-teamed with her mom, who put cute clothes on hold for Aliya as they shopped independently. They met up in the food court, Aliya liberally poaching from her mom's lunch of chicken kabobs and rice. Rehman said she tries to set limits with her daughter but is open to negotiation. Take the case of the $70 Coach shoes Aliya was wearing. Rehman agreed to buy them only if they split the cost.
"I'm such a sucker," Rehman said. "I can't stick to the rules."
But for some teens, reality has already begun to set in. Kate Bolton, 17, of McLean works part time at Starbucks. She doesn't make much, so when she buys something, "it has to be worth it," she said.
"Those who make their own money look around," Kate said. "When Mom was paying for everything, I didn't pay much attention to price."
Jessica Johnson's first stop was the Apple store to check out the latest iPods.
"You have no money!" scoffed her friend Grace Ellison, 15, of Takoma Park.
"Yes, I do!" shot back the 16-year-old from Silver Spring. "I'll pretend."
But Jessica's money stayed firmly inside her wallet the rest of the day. She did a quick spin through Lucy, which sells yoga gear, and walked out exactly two minutes later. She couldn't believe the $32 price tag on the yoga mats.
"My yoga mat was $9," she said.
The only thing she bought that day was a $3.47 coffee Frappuccino at Starbucks, one of the smallest amounts spent by any student. Only one girl, 15-year-old Sacha Vega of Silver Spring, bought nothing.
But even the high-rollers debated the value of their purchases down to the dollar. Annie Stephens, 15, of Burke rang up the most -- $344.03 in summer clothes. She blew through the clothes at Ruehl but said her favorite part of the store was the back room.
"They always have sales," she said. "That's what I really like about them."
Billie McCain, 16, of Laurel had a tight budget in her quest to find some dressy clothes. After trying on a pile of shirts and sweaters, she emerged with one item: a sleeveless, black cowl neck top.
"It's only $20," she said. "Price is a big thing for me."
At the register, she pulled out a green-and-white striped coin purse and slowly unraveled the bills to pay. The saleswoman started the transaction, and Billie got the surprise that every shopper lives for. The sweater was only $8.91.
Billie asked the saleswoman to repeat the total. A big grin spread across her face.
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