For my list of The Top 10 Best Tween Shopping Sites of 2009-2010, I have listed the obvious as well as a few that may be a little off the beaten path.
In every situation of Tween shopping, the styles are more grown up. Girls and Tweens are more keen on what they want and they emulate what the Juniors are wearing. It’s not just little girls in frilly dresses anymore.
1. Forever21 Let’s face it, Forever 21 is perfect for anyone. They keep a steady flow of uber-trendy styles and the prices can’t be beat! The sizes at Forever21 are more for the Juniors, however, the XS sizes can easily accommodate a girl wearing a 10/12-14/16. And they have a nice assortment for Girls thru Tween.
2. PacSun Offers a very nice assortment of casual, SoCal style in a variety of brands for mostly teen – juniors.
Bonus: American Eagle
3. The Buckle – Awesome clothing selection for Tweens, Girls and Teens! Their Girls offering is super cute without being “kiddish”. Cool brands like O’Neill, Billabong, Hurley and Daytrip.
4. Hollister – The beauty of Hollister is, it transcends from later tween to junior sizes. I even find myself purchasing from this store often because even though the styles are considered pretty basic, laid-back southern California, they are super comfy and the brand is very hip. Not to mention, they pay attention to fit. The little extra you pay goes a long way with Hollister. They have greatly established themselves as a brand that can create long-term customer loyalty. The 13 year old girl who is a fan now, will be a fan until she is probably 28.
Shop girls Limited Too collection
5. Aeropostale – Aeropostale is like the all-American brand with an insanely great price tag attached. You get everything here: the style of American Eagle and Abercrombie with the price tags of Old Navy. It’s cute, laid back, colorful. Who doesn’t love that?
6. Abercrombie – Great quality garments and while they used to be considered pricey, they are now really affordable. Yes, they use way too much cologne in their stores but who cares. You can shop online and even better when you can take advantage of their Clearances! Again, another one of those brands that grabs the target audience at an early age and transcends all the way into adulthood.
7. Zulily I truly love this site. First, you have to sign up to get the notifications of which brands are coming up. They have high end, better and name brands clothing such as Toms, Uggs, Splendid Littles, Seven For All Mankind, Ella Moss, Betsey Johnson and C&C California for example. Along with soo many other great boutique brands like Olive Juice and Oilily. It’s a limited selection that sells out quickly, but the prices are great. Just an all-around awesome shopping site for Moms, girls, teen, tween and baby clothing! Be forewarned..it’s addictive! 🙂
Use code: SPRINGTIME for $10 off!
8. Berry Jane launched in 2007, Berry Jane has been a go-to line for Tweens activewear for a few years, but the company has expanded its offering and now has a great collection of fun, trendy graphic tees for tweens and juniors, casual leggings, jogger pants and soft basics. This line has evolved since 2009 from its first collections of loud, pop culture prints to more soft, sophisticated basics, all made in USA.
9. dELiA*s Buy one get one half off, 80% clearance items, super cute selection of clothes, what girl isn’t attracted to this brand? It’s a lighter version of Forever21 and a Brandy Melville aspirational brand.
10. Justice for Girls – Justice offers a pretty good basic variety of clothing for GIRLS – not Tweens. Justice or Limited Too
2016 Update: Other notable mentions:
- ThredUP this website is AWESOME for second hand finds!! 😀
- TJ MAxx and Plato’s Closet (Sorry, these are brick and mortar stores only), Kitson Kids (now out of business–booo!)
- Amazon Fashion
Amazon Fashion has everything! Girls, tween, Juniors and Womens clothing from almost every retailer and brand
Amazon Fashion has everything! Girls, tween, Juniors and Womens clothing from almost every retailer and brand❤ Shop Girls Tween Juniors Clothing at Amazon Fashion
The Top 5 “WORST” Tween Shopping Sites (of 2009)
(please bear in mind, these sites do not offer terrible clothing, they are simply not my personal favorites for reasons of style or quality)
- Hannah Andersson (www.hannaandersson.com) I like the basics that Hannah Andersson offers. Great for toddlers. The prices are moderate and the variety is good, however, this is not a line for fashionable-conscious Tweens.
- Old Navy Old Navy is great, if you are looking for a good deal. They understand they are Old Navy and don’t try to get away with pricey tees and jeans. If you don’t care about branding or fit so much as you do price, you can get two pair of jeans for less than $30.
- WAL-MART Walmart doesn’t even need much of a statement or introduction. I personally won’t buy any clothing from Walmart. I didn’t like it as a teen and I still don’t as an adult.
- Target.. Hello Mossimo! It’s no big secret, Target has done an amazing job at transforming its image over the years. They are good about offering “trendy” garments at great prices. The Mossimo brand is affordable and does not have any kind of real negative stigma attached. (But in 2009 when this article was written, Target was still a little “off” for me. and this was before they were KNOWN for knocking off ideas from small indie designers.)
4. The Children’s Place (www.thechildrensplace.com) Hello? The whole point of being a Tween is stating the obvious: I am not a little girl anymore! I’m not sure any middle-school aged girl, is going to do ANY kind of shopping at a store called “The Children’s Place”.
5. CWD Kids (cwdkids.com) Whoever is designing for this brand must not have a Tween daughter. Great brand and site for little girls, not for the Tweens. (note, since this post was originally written in 2009, CWD Kids improved on it’s Big Girl-Tween styles)
For the most UPDATED Top 10 Girls and Tween Shopping Sites, go to: 20+ BEST Stores for Fashionable Tween Clothing & Shopping Sites
Girls Tween Fashion | The Best Teen Tween Blog for Fashion, Trends, Tween Brands, Teen Fashion News 
Thanks for creating a post about this. You’ve got a bunch of wonderful information here on your web site. I’m very! I have a few blogs that I try to keep fairly current myself but it is a struggle sometimes. You’ve done a very nice job with this one. How do you keep up?
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totally agree with you and h & m kids is cheap and super cute as well. its kinda like forever 21
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H&m kids is to babyish for tween or teens
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Thank you, Hailey! With my job, I am always doing research on fashion and trends, so I take a little of what I find on a daily/weekly basis and add it to my blog.
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Thanks for an idea, you sparked at thought from a angle I hadn’t considerd yet. Now lets see if I can do something productive with it.
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With all the doggone snow we have gotten recently I am stuck inside , fortunately there is the internet, thanks for giving me something to do. 🙂
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Here’s a comment. Great advice =) Thanks
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Hi, Very interesting article you have there. I actually run a couple of blogs on this topic, and since I have found some of your articles very informative I definatelty think that my members would enjoy reading them. With that said I would like to place a link to some of your articles on my blogs since they are more detailed than the information posted on my blogs. Thanks for your help!
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You know, I gotta tell you, I truly savor this site and the useful insight. I find it to be refreshful and quite informative. I wish there were more blogs like it. Anyway, I felt it was about time I posted a comment on The Top 10 BEST Tween Shopping Sites – Plus the 5 WORST! Tweenie Bopper – I just wanna tell you that you did a awesome job on this. Cheers mate!
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Love this post
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There’s a great site in Canada: (url omitted)
Also, the Ella Moss girl and Splendid girl websites have great sales.
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Tween’s are hard, they are the “lost” group of young ladies when it comes to fashions. There are several great shops popping up around the corner every now and then. Please check your local towns for specialty stores.
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Thanks for your post. My almost 12 year old can’t stand when I say, “Let’s go to Old Navy.” In fact, she’d much rather get something at Target. I’m going to go check out the sites I’ve never heard of.
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what?! yes, old navy’s fashion is not quite as good as uniqlo and zara, but considering that they offer the style of ann taylor loft at half the price is fabulous. yes, some of the offering is tacky, but that’s likewise everywhere (except everlane). old navy quality is great for the price as well. they have all the classy trends like peacoats and grey wash denim.
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EWW!!!!! ISABEE TWEENS?!?! THTS DISGUSTING… AND BERRY JANE LEGGINGS…WOW LOL MADDIES CLOSET WAS PRETTY GROSS TOO….
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I totally agree my mom still makes me go to ced kids and im a tween
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well i love the site you love. And i totally love I’ll the stores you love! But for girls who are already have a couple nice jeans old navy is perfect so if all your other jeans are dirty there you go. Or if your going somewhere where you need jeans but the place is Dirty it is Perfect!
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I looked at the children’s place website, it made me want to crawl in to a hole and cry.
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Also, justice has good tanks, but I would wear Walmart before I wore an outfit from there,
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Thank you for posting this. I have a tween daughter and I have been shopping at The Childrens Place for her clothes ever since she was three. She’s always been begging me to shop at abercrombie for her and I’ve always refused, saying it was too old for her. I’ve now returned back to reality and tomorrow I’m going to take her to the mall to get REAL clothes for her
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Now I realize The Childrens Place is TOO YOUNG for her!
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i agree on most of your comments but justice i think thats kinda off. My 11 year old daughter thinks that store is wierd other opinions from my 8 year old daughter loves justice
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I disagree target and old navy are great not justice (only their basics) but the good places diffenately helped!
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I agree, I don’t see anything wrong with Old Navy, we are buying clothes for girls that are still growing and Im not going into justice and buying a skirt that is 49.90 just to have my daughter not be able to squeeze into it the next season. Most working parents with other bills and not getting paid to blog can not afford to feel bad about going to O.N and Target for quality clothes.
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Hi Niki, Thank you for your comments! I shop at a lot of thrift stores! I love to find amazing bargains there. In fact, I have been an avid thrift store shopper since I was a kid in the 5th grade! 🙂 I don’t get paid to blog, but I sure wish I did! I’m a freelance designer by trade, blogging is something I do for hobby. Paying $49 for a skirt that: A) is made in China and costs the company $2 to make is ridiculous, I agree. and B.) for a skirt that she may outgrow a year later is understandable. Again, this is why I love bargain shopping. Raising awareness for all of the different styles and brands is what I’m doing here, not assuming that everyone makes a ton of $$$ to shop wherever they want and spend however much they want. It’s all about seeing the big picture. I personally love made in USA and supporting independent designers, and of course, second hand and thrift.
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I have to agree on The Children’s Place thing. I don’t like The Children’s Place all that much (Aero and Justice are way better, and I’m 9 years old BTW) and my mom still shops there for me and my twin brother. 😛
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Instead of Target in the five worst, I think you should have put Walmart. Personally, I think Target has greatly improved with their designs for clothes while Walmart remains out of style and bad quality. Also, I do think dELiA*s should’ve replaced Justice in the top 5 best. Please don’t get mad at me. Besides all that, I think this article was really useful.
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This is an awesome list I really like it the only problem is Hollister is really expensive and you didn’t put on here HOT TOPIC!!!
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i thought it was good… i pretty much LOVE the stores u mentioned and ur blog… but to let u know, know one my age thinks justice is cool AT ALL and old navy and target are SUPER CUTE if u look in the juniors section… any ways thanx for making great websites like this!!!
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HELLO! This shop has many great tween and teen accessories; Plus amazingly unbeatable prices. They sell a modern line of jewelry ,
although I wouldn’t wear thier earrings. Also a large variety of everything 1D. Go online or to a mall to shop there!
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I liked almost everything that you said. However, when referring to tweens not wanting to shop at places like Children’s Place…and that their sizing goes up to 14, you missed a “beat” here. In my experience, unless you are a very petite 14 year old, you do NOT wear size 14 in these stores that go up to that size. They are simply for “larger” girls that are not tweens yet!!!! Our society is producing much fatter kids, but also there are taller kids…thus, the sizes going larger in “children’s” clothing stores. I for one, am not dressing my little girls in teenager clothing just because they are tall and do not fit in traditional little girl clothing.
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Ok TOTALLY agree with all of this you are amazing at what the worst 5 are I would not go around looking like someone in that pic
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Macys, JCPenny, Kohl’s and Charolette Russe :)Smccloset is indeed one of the best online fashion shops you can always rely on.
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Thanks allot!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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thanks sooo much great advice it helped lots 🙂
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I Love Your Post!!!
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Who ever the mom’s daughter’s they are so cute right now I’m watching Curious George. So Goodbye for now!!!
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I had no idea where to shop and now you’ve givin me tons of choices! This blog is veery useful and interesting and you’re doing a good job. You even put the worst so now I know what to stay away from! Just to suggest, you could also put Gymboree as one of the worst. They go up to uuuuuummmmmmm……. I think size 12. Keep writing!
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Good info just seemed a bit pretentious about the reason to stay away from the worst 5
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Target has been doing better for tweens (like me) in the past year or 2, though. They have been getting a lot better, not just some cheesy and corny clothing like before in their older times.
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You are right, Target is improving very well………. Btw the children place isn’t bad
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Just a comment on what you said about The Children’s place and sizes. You mentioned that it goes up to a size 14 but you also need to remember that some girls are just big! While my 9 year old is still wearing an 8, my neighbor’s 2nd grader is already past a 14. Her biggest complaint was finding age appropriate clothing for her daughter.
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I was highly entertained by this post !! Really great ! As a tween and a young tween fashion designer I think that you are spot on. We are a challenging bunch to clothe for sure ! I would love your feedback on my website -Isabella Rose
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SUPER cute stuff, Isabella! 🙂 It should be seen! You should consider an ad with us, we get appx. 16,000+ views per month!
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Ok, this is kinda cool. But when you said “MATCHING mom and daughter clothes? Ewww!” That kinda hurt my feelings cuz I do that sometimes. Being a tween does not mean you can’t wear matching clothes with your mother!
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That is so right……
😁😁😁
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this is some awesome advice thx!! (ecsepilly cause iam a tween 10 yrs)
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Umm… I would have to disagree on target… most tweens aren’t shallow enough to care where their clothes come from, as long as they’re cute, or their style.
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I liked some of the companies you listed as “good”, but I thought labeling what you dislike was somewhat strange because you didnt seem to care what the clothes looked like, just how “cool” they were. I l LOVE your blog! But this is a bit superficial dont you think?
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i disagree with the target one though but thx for introducing me to delia*s though, im hooked!
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Old navy is fine in fact a lot of girls in my grade wear it (I’m in middle school) otherwise pretty good list
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hi some of your posts I agree with but stores like hanna Anderson, the children place and a few others are for little kids why else would they call it CHILDREN’s place and some younger children are tall and need a size fourteen, im 12 and wear a womens size 1/2 because i’m tall and a shoe size 8 to 8 1/2 but overall good job on some of the stores on the list and most people get clothes from target such as myself because we need to budget and not blow our parnets money
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I disagree with most of the “Worst” First off, The Children’s Place, has sizes to 14 because some girls/boys are a little bit bigger, and need bigger sizes. Second off, being a Tween, isn’t about having expensive clothing. Old navy is perfect. A lot of tweens love to shop there, because it’s not that expensive all of the time. Unlike, Hollister, and Ambercrombie. Target, is perfectly fine. Some people don’t like going to the mall, and like that store instead. Finally, CWD kids, is like Children’s place. Some kids need larger sizes. Some actually DO wear sizes up to 14 even if they’re kids.
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The reason most kids do not want to wear clothes from old navy is because the styles are outdated (for tweens)
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u should added brandy melville to the top worst list
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Hey There. I discovered your blog the use of msn.
That is an extremely neatly written article.
I will be sure to bookmark it and return to learn more of your helpful information.
Thank you for the post. I will certainly comeback.
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thank you for posting myy daughter is getting alot more comploments in school thanks a ton!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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I like this post but it almost school time and I found a wonderful outfit from target (pink shirt, grey skinny jeans)
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I have to admit, Target kinda does have cute clothes! I have this really cute tunic and it has like this aztec print. But the womens section is HIDEOUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I mean it’s nothing but tee shirts and yoga pants. YUCK!!!
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Old Navy is fine but does not have much selection for the tween’s. Target also does more for younger kids- Gap too. I have no problem with those stores and if you hunt you can find items for your tween. I just find it hard to find clothes in general for this age range. My daughter is very slim with long legs- very hard to find jeans!!
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I like the information, though a little snobby. Old Navy and Target have great prices and cute clothes that will surely be outgrown or out of style well before they wear out.
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Tilly’s is also really cool for tweens. (Just sayin)
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Some things from target aren’t too bad, like leggings or basic tanks, that’s kinda the only thing they do right. But justice is TERRIBLE!!!!! Too much sparkle, justice used to be cool when I was in third grade, but now I’m a tween. No thank you cheap-uncomfortable-over sparkly-graphic tee shirts.
http://www.shopjustice.com/girls-clothing/dog-sled-graphic-2fer-tee/5930110/601
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I like this site and all the stores and I do agree with what you said about the bad and the good stores this a great site and it is neatly written!!!
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Hey I wear clothes from old navy,childrens place,and target and i love the clothes those 3 are not bad clothing stores(Justice is mass produced not target!!!)
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I’M 12 and justice is great it’s for girls 12-14 I love that place claires is nice to they do that store for babies kids teens and tweens I have never been to children’s place soo I don’t know much about it but I think if you’re tween is 13 target gas some really nice pajamas but sexy ones but not to sexy 😏
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I disagree with target and old navy. I find cute stuff at both places for my girls.
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Thanks sooooooo much for posting this you helped me so much i used to shop at like macys YUCK there cloths were horrible saggy jeans ugh but thax going to forever 21 from know on lol
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Yall should try (website URL removed) for cute clothing for tween girls!
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Soooooo, all the cool Moms WANT their daughters to look like Hanna Montanta??? No, thanks, I don’t want any knocked up 14 year olds!!!
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Hi Darcy! You may want to refer to the new list for 2013 (https://girlstweenfashion.wordpress.com/2014/04/06/10-of-the-best-tween-shopping-sites-of-2013/), seeing as how this one was from 3-4 years ago and much has changed since then, including Hannah Montana (aka Miley Cyrus)
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Love your post. Justice and forever are great!
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Tillys is also a really cute site! http://www.tillys.com/tillys/Categories.aspx?ctlg=030_Kids&cid=
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Cool another nice store for tweens is wet seal.
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I actually have seen some clothes while passing by Target. They were actually pretty cute. But just remember to stick to the ones that are not too girly, but not too tomboy. Forever and rue 21 are really good. They have good quality and different unique styles. Justice is a little on the girly side, so if I went their, I’d pair it up with with a pair of jeans, skirts, capris, leggings etc. from other places like Aero and A&F. Overall, I think your list was really helpful
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I’m… Never EVER wear things from Justice. I’m 13 and I know that if you wear things from Justice, you will look stupid. Instead, of Justice, put in Aritzia. Everyone my age shops there now. Oh and everything that wasn’t in the top 5 or worst 5, I hqvent even heard of. I wouldn’t suggest shopping there
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I checked Artzia to buy clothes from there, but there to much money………………
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My cousin loves children’s place and I do not think it is a bad store
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If your 11 Can you shop at places like hollister because I’m 11 and i consider myself a tween and i don’t know if any of the stuff at some of these stores will fit me?
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I have a 12 year old daughter who is small and I find Delia’s to be too big for her. We have the best luck with abercrombie kids. Check out my blog http://www.cloudybetween.com for tween style or find me on instagram @cloudybetween
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I have to disagree that Target and Old Navy are the a few of the Worst places to shop at for tween girls. My daughter who is 13 and has many friends that arils 13, love to go shop at Old Navy and especially Target! I also would not consider Justice for Tweens!!!!!
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Ok, Anna, you have to realize that this article was written FEBRUARY 12, 2010 A LOT has changed since then. A lot. At the time, Old Navy and Target were not offering decent collections. Much has changed in almost 5 years. Much. Thanks for your comments and excessive use of exclamation points, however!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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I’m not disputing your opinion here, just your tone. Not every child wearing a size 14 is actually 14 years of age. Clothing stopped coordinating with age for my daughter at about 18 months. She currently is 9 and is about 4 inches shorter than I am. She wears a 14 and quickly going into 16. So keep an open mind when condemning a brand based only on the size of clothing offered. Frankly it’s hard enough to dress her in age appropriate clothing as it is, i don’t need brands discontinuing what few lines there are based on size bias.
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You would be wrong about Walmart. People only say “ew! don’t shop at walmart!” because it’s the stereotype. Maybe your walmart is different from mine, but mine has really cute clothes for 11-16 year olds.
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Thank you for your response, Layla. My own reasons to avoid Walmart are much larger than their “lack of cute clothing”, rather their lack of support and good ethics. Walmart is the prime example for how Big Box corporations have undermined people’s ability to make a living. It does this by sending manufacturing abroad to countries where labor is cheap, at the same time paying its own employees less than a living wage, using other unfair labor practices in numerous locations in the United States, and undercutting locally owned enterprises right out of business. It harms Main Streets and local commerce centers across the country and further drives people to malls. if you want to read more, this article is pretty awesome –> http://www.truth-out.org/opinion/item/20440-walmart-is-not-the-bargain-you-might-think-it-is#
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I myself am a 13-year old girl and agree with most of your “bests” , but strongly disagree with a few of your “worsts”. Mossimo and Merona from the junior section of Target are very popular among young teenagers. Old Navy is an average store, not too bad, but mediocre. Many teenagers shop shamelessly at Old Navy and Target.
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I can be a tween and look sweet and young if I want. Not all tweens want to look “older”. I’m a little upset I have outgrown the Children’s Place clothing, because I preferably would like to stay a child as long as I can.
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I toatally agree with you on the top 5 don’t shop list but at my forever 21 they don’t have a very big selection also I’m eleven and don’t know where shop I know that’s what this website is for but do you have any feedback on beals outlit or wet seal and justice was the big thing when I was 8 in 3rd grade and I relive this was a long time ago but I still strongly stand by all of this and also H&M is kinda where everyone is leaning to this year but I don’t think any of that’s really my style got anywhere for super duper dressy and fashionista love able besides justice you know more for my age BTW loved the post
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I appreciate that you made this, and it was useful. But, all, ALL, my favorite stores were in the worst section. I was shocked. Especially Children’s Place. I LOVE to go there, and it sells way more other fabulous clothing than the ones you posted.
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