Tales of Shopping with a 9-Year-Old Boy

It was just last year that teachers were commenting about Andrew's amazing sense of style. His fashionable wardrobes were admired by his P.E. teacher who wanted her grandson to "dress like Andrew", and a myriad of on-lookers who remarked about his "sharp" fashion trends. Sure there was picture day, when Andrew insisted on wearing a tuxedo. (Yes, yes, I had bought him a tuxedo. Good grief, he had been begging me for months to get him one.) And, then there was "Nerd Day Tuesday," which Andrew trademarked after discovering Steve Erkle on TVLand. But, those eccentric days aside, Andrew always looked a bit trendy.

But, I've seemed to let that focus on fashion slip by the way-side this year, as I've struggled with organizing after our life-changing move. But, I think it's time to start calling forth that little fashion bug and setting him back on the path of good looks.

I started prepping Andrew for today's shopping trip last weekend. At 9-years-old, he has suddenly developed his own likes and dislikes, and...to my dismay... shopping is nothing but a waste of time to him. So, I had to come at him from several angles.

First up, the "big boy" approach: "You're just growing so much; you're not a little kid anymore. All your old clothes are just too small for you now." I was met with little enthusiasm.

Then, I tried the "girl" approach: "Girls definitely like boys to wear nice clothes and to take pride in their appearance." He certainly did not care at all about that.

I stooped to the "guilt" approach: "Bob really wants to buy you some new, nice clothes; he's taking you to meet his mom and he wants to show you off!" That got a little sign of approval from the kid but within two days he couldn't remember why exactly we were going shopping.

Then, the perfect idea came to me. I promised Andrew that if he didn't complain, and if he tried on the clothes with a good attitude and acted happy, I would let him hang out and play in the Microsoft store when were finished. That WORKED perfectly!!

This morning, over blueberry muffins, Andrew's first comment was "I'm gonna have a good attitude today." I was stunned.

So, we made our way to Fashion Square and sure enough, Andrew was a dream child. GAP kids is always a quick favorite of mine for (very) inexpensive clothes for a (quickly) growing boy. A few sweaters, button-downs, and some kahkis.

Then, I discovered...ABERCROMBIE KIDS!

I tried to contain my excitement, for fear Andrew would use that as a reason to be a little contrary. But, he tried on clothes and even allowed us some humorous exchanges, like when he tried to put a shirt on thinking it was pants.

All in all, the day was fun and eventful. After much shopping, Bob and I dropped him off at the Microsoft store and tried on jackets in Burberry. Much to my dismay, the jacket I wanted was not in my size. The eager-to-make-a-sale associate practically begged us to order it and ship it to our house, but, I couldn't justify, to myself, going through all that work just to make it happen. We had sushi at Kona Grill and then picked Andrew up after an hour of intense gaming action.

A quick stop at Nordstrom and some Ecco shoes for Andrew and we were ready to go home. It was a fun day; Andrew made it fun. I can't say that about most visits to the mall with him.