This is great info. I have been trying to come up with a number for my 25. It’s not that the older two are more frugal but there is little opportunity to spend money at their school (yay for that). D25 will be in a bigger city. The kids get a small allowance to cover reasonable day to day expenses, and if they are smart about it, there is enough to save up for the occasional concert ticket etc. I want to close the gap for D25 to allow her the same college lifestyle freedom of her siblings without being penalized because her situation involves an occasional uber or off campus meal. I asked around and landed on 75/80 per week.
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Since the thread seems to focus now on getting ready for college and is quite useful I wanted to ask the hive mind what you all are doing about getting a “professional outfit” for your student for presentations, internship interviews or the like. This is an easy question for parents of boys who can always throw on the same blue blazer and slacks, but what about the girls. What do they need? My D who is a real California girl has a wardrobe full of sundresses and mini skirts that would not work for a presentation and she is going to the East Coast. Would love some advice and sourcing. I took her to Banana Republic and it was a fail full of “mom clothes”.
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My D22 really likes Aritzia for what we call Biz Profess clothes. Check it out!
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And I’d also be curious for boys if a navy blazer and khakis is dressy enough for career fair days. Son has that from attending private school, but I’m trying to decide if we need to invest in a suit prior to his departure.
Thanks for the discussion of spending money. S25 got his spending habits from me, for sure. I think the $75 a week amount sounds good, although we’ll see how that goes.
We’re working on other life skills this summer. He knows how to wash laundry, but we tended to do his for ease of getting things done in a timely manner over the weekend. This weekend was the first “do your own laundry” weekend, and he actually got it all washed and folded. Although he did it the lackadaisical way I do laundry and not the way my husband, who I call “The Prince of Laundry,” meticulously does laundry. He’s also in charge of reaching out to his psychiatrist for his refills, but I always have to remind him when he’s running low. Hopefully he will get the hang on these things soon!
Depends on your son’s major and what kind of jobs he’s targeting for internships. For example, for engineering khakis and a blazer are plenty dressy enough. For pre-law, suits.
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They look to be mostly out of stock right now, which is a shame, but Old Navy has a line of “Taylor” blazers and trousers in various fits (slim, wide-legged, fitted, etc) that are great for an inexpensive suit for girls that isn’t too stuffy or mom-looking.
I caught them at a 50% off sale earlier in the spring, so bought two suits for each of my girls – each got a black, and then a fun color like cranberry or cream. They aren’t great quality, but they’re totally fine for interviews or anything in college requiring business attire.
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Yes. Not because the jacket at tie aren’t good enough as a business outfit. But a sharp suit comes in handy for the occasional semi formal dance and what not. Depending what kind of activities he’s involved in, he will make use of it. Remind me of where he is headed?
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For business career fairs, also suit and tie. Not blazer and slacks. My S also has many fraternity functions where they need a suit and tie.
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I heard many kids wear suits to the career fairs at my 25s university - your school’s parents fb group may be best source of info on this. I honestly find this all kind of performative given how rare (at least in my area) for people to wear suits for anything work-related. (Barring a lawyer in front of a judge, or maybe C-suite in certain industries or for certain special speaking engagements, etc).
Also, bear in mind corporate culture matters, my partner heard (after being hired) the hiring team was worried about them during the process because they wore a Blazer (and jeans!) to an interview - they thought that was too stodgy to have on a blazer . This was a senior job, not entry level, but fitting the part can matter.
And socially, some schools have a lot of semi-formals and such, where suits may be common. Other schools, not so much. I am pretty sure I never went to a formal /semi-formal in college, only greek kids did that…(I did have a suit for interviews, but this was dark ages:)
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He’s headed to Rose-Hulman. I just looked at the career services website, and it looks like all the kids in the career fair pictures are wearing suits. So a suit it is! And I agree he might need it for other events.
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S23 took a navy blazer/khakis/dress shirt/tie his freshman year. I don’t think he wore them, but I’m not positive. Sophomore year he took the same plus a suit and tuxedo. I know the suit and tuxedo were worn to social events. He didn’t need them for class and hasn’t attended any career fairs yet. He attends UGA and is majoring in political science and is planning to attend law school. He isn’t in a fraternity.
Yes, get a suit for the career fairs at Rose. They usually have a ‘suit up’ day at JC Penny’s in the fall for students to get clothes at a special discount.
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Great info! Thanks!
My son needed a suit for mock trial. We got a reasonably priced suit on sale at Kohl’s. My kid, who otherwise lives in track or sweatpants, finds it super comfortable. The other bonus is that it is machine washable!
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Hi y’all - checking back in. So helpful to read about people’s budget ideas.
One observation and one recommendation.
Re: spending, I think kids in cities and active college towns with bar and restaurant scenes are at higher risk of spending more than kids who are living pretty far from most amenities (or on campuses where the social life is centered in dorms/frats/eating clubs). This was actually a nice feature of Princeton – the off-campus scene just wasn’t THAT enticing and so much social life happened in environments where the refreshments were just provided (as opposed to, say, Boston, where i might have been more tempted to go out to bars and restaurants). YMMV and YKMV but it’s another lens to consider.
Re: work clothes, we got a nice navy blazer and khakis for my son from Banana Republic Outlet – worth a look – and found a decent deal on a suit from Macy’s (which often has good sales).
Updates from these parts:
– S25 graduated. It wasn’t pretty – he got his first C! – but it happened. The ceremony was long and hot (500 kids is a lot) but there were some intensely moving speeches from three of his classmates (two of which were family friends) so that was cool.
–The best part of the graduation festivities was actually the final Physics C class project – they build human-powered cardboard boats using only two rolls of duct tape and then race them in the school swimming pool. My kid was on a team that took the project seriously. They built a prototype boat in our backyard and tested it in a friend’s pool, learning in the process about adding gunwales and making extra paddles. There were two prizes awarded: one for the team that made it back and forth the fastest, carrying a flag from one end to the other – and another for the team that completed the most laps within 20 minutes before sinking. S25’s team won both! But the scene was epic and hilarious. Not all the kids took it super seriously – one kid showed up with a cardboard box and the name of his boat was “Wait – this wasn’t optional?” He sank immediately. One of S25’s friend’s was paddling solo (the rule was that at least half the team members needed to be in the boat at all times), had his boat give way more or less immediately, and proceeded to swim slow laps with his giant piece of cardboard, which was hilarious. Another team tried to fit half a dozen team members in their boat. NOPE. The band kids showed up with an accordion and a sad trombone and some drums and played sea shanties and switched to taps every time a boat sank. S25’s boat wasn’t actually the longest floating boat – some girls (YEAH!) built one that lasted the whole 20 minutes! but it wasn’t very easy to reach over the high sides and paddle, so they didn’t complete as many laps during that time as the Edmund Flux-gerald – so no dice. (I bet the teacher changes the rules next year though – he was visibly disappointed not to be able to award them something.)
–Now we are in a holding pattern. Most of S25’s friends are traveling or doing summer programs (NOLS, etc.) His plan was to find a job. He doesn’t seem to be in a huge hurry, however, and I’m vaguely worried about this. I want him to have structure, learn to be reliable, and earn some of his own money so that he gets a little more sensitive to his spending patterns. He also needs to learn to drive (and get a license.) I’d be nudging him harder on this but for the fact that he just had his wisdom teeth removed (in fact, it’s time to go swap out the ice and check his pain meds.) Also (sadly) his grandfather died this weekend. This was a known possibility – he’d been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and after a period of low cancer activity it was unfortunately growing again – but the end came really suddenly (he was being treated for blood clots and had a brain hemorrhage). Fortunately we had a wonderful visit with him a few months ago – he was in good shape and we got to hike and go to a concert and celebrate Persian New Year together. I’m sad but also grateful for that amazing visit, and also relieved that the end was comparatively sudden, family got to be with him and say goodbye, and that he didn’t have to endure the painful phase of late-stage metastatic pancreatic cancer.
This time of life is so bittersweet. Off to tend to my invalid. Hugs to you all!
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D24 loves the business clothes there too but they are on pricey side.
“Oh, apparently you need to bring your suit and tuxedo to college.”
“Yes, obviously. Plus tell them it’s machine washable like that other kid’s”
My D22 started an internship this summer, and buying outfits was really tricky! We actually found some cute work pants from Ann Taylor, and topped them off with some cute J Crew tops. I can send you the links if you are interested. She looks put together, but youthful.
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We are not in a tax bracket to give a weekly or even a monthly allowance. It is conversations as needed with money transferred. Both my college kids work. I am not giving S23 a weekly allowance because I refuse to contribute to him buying weed or alcohol. Instead its random door dash or personal item needs (shampoo, laundry soap, etc) that I can amazon or order for him to pick up. D25 has been buying all of her personal care need items herself for the last 2 years and I am sure that will continue in college. She does not like asking for money.
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Re: interview etc clothes - my S22 (an engineer) has been fine with blazer, khakis, dress shirt and ties for three years. Some of the kids doing interviews had suits on, most did not. He is in a fraternity, and likely would’ve worn a suit to a formal if he had one, but instead he and his buddies found crazy blazers at the thrift store and paired with dark slacks.
What we did have to buy for him for his summer job were more khakis, more polos, and some more casual button downs. He basically lived in T-shirt’s and athletic pants, and he needed a wardrobe for work.
For the girls, check career fair pictures on your school website. I remember seeing girls in a dress with blazer over top, so if if your girl has some kind of shift dress that she likes you may be able to just add a coordinating blazer if you don’t want to buy a whole suit. I also think the need for suit really depends on the job you are interviewing for. I definitely saw some girls interviewing in like a nice sweater set and slacks/skirt, but that was for more STEM jobs, not business or pre-law that might be more formal.
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