Styling for dollars

　　Shopping for back-to-school clothes can be a budget buster. Still, with a little planning, parents can find trendy clothes and slightly used school uniforms at affordable prices, experts say.

　　Mandi Norman co-owns the Jack & Jill Kids Sale, a seasonal consignment sale that has grown in popularity since its debut seven years ago.

　　The early September sale, to be held in the former Office Depot space in Brainerd Village, will include new and used clothing, backpacks, toys and children’s furniture.

　　There’s no stereotypical shopper, Ms. Norman said. Parents of all backgrounds frequent the sale.

　　“The fall sale is always larger,” she said. “Shoppers are looking and buying not only for back to school but for the upcoming holidays (for apparel and toys).”

　　Finding quality secondhand merchandise at reasonable prices is a must for many parents, Ms. Norman said.

　　“Parents are shopping for well-made clothes that are classic styles,” she said. “They (clothes) last the season and resell well the next year.”

　　Jenna Caccavo, product trend analyst at Cotton Inc., said preppy and collegiate looks for boys and fashions with an edgy Victorian look for girls are the big back-to-school style trends.

　　The classroom looks “are typically distilled or simplified versions of what’s on point for men’s and women’s wear,” she said.

　　Ms. Norman said the Jack & Jill sale includes the designer names kids like — Ralph Lauren, Abercrombie & Fitch, L.L. Bean, Patagonia and The North Face, for example — as well as white blouses, golf shirts and khaki pants required for some school dress codes.

　　Candace Davis, mother of Sydney, a sixth-grader at Collegedale Adventist Middle School in Collegedale, said she’s a fan of the dress code.

　　“Based on the fashions I see other kids wearing today, uniforms definitely provide a modest standard,” she said. “I think kids take school more seriously when they have to wear uniforms, and they are not as easily distracted with what everyone else is wearing. Having a defined uniform also doesn’t allow kids to be sloppy since it has to be clean and tucked in.”

　　Daughter Sydney said she agrees with her school’s uniform policy.

　　“I like wearing uniforms because it’s very easy to pick out what I’m going to wear the next day. And they are comfortable. I like it when I get to put on my (physical education) clothes and Rocket Dogs (tennis shoes). But I also like to wear cool headbands, crazy long socks and watches to accessorize.”