<p>Cartera, Wait until your kids discover Vineyard Vines!</p>
<p>Kids love Hollister because parents hate it. I swear they purposely make the store dark, crowded, and loud so parents will not stay in there for long.</p>
<p>My 11 year old is too small to fit into anything in Hollister, even the XS, and it’s a good thing, since the girls in her school who wear it are the “tramps” LOL! She likes Justice and Old Navy.</p>
<p>I came to this thread late but am really glad you went with the mall gift card–it’s much more flexible. Even when my D was that young she wore stuff from a variety of mall stores, and now that there are even more in the preteen mix it would be harder than ever to figure out what a girl might prefer and what her parents might be comfortable with. You’ve chosen a thoughtful gift.</p>
<p>Motherdear, I had never heard of Vineyard Vines, so I googled. The very first listing was a retail outfit called Bennetts. I checked it out, and the women’s jeans were modeled by an overweight woman with a big roll hanging over the top!!! Not my idea of preppy. J Crew is popular for preppy types around here.</p>
<p>Re the questions about Beans and Lands End (Talbots too)–they are generally cut too large for slender preteena and teenage girls–the turtlenecks are ok but the pants don’t work–or at least that was the case ten years ago when my D was that age. The same was true for Talbots, although we were able to get one or two dressup dresses there. There are times when a very classic look is either needed or useful. But even when my D wanted something very plain, the fit was just too wide. </p>
<p>I think the issue for all three of these stores is both style and fit; I like the very classic look of Beans/Lands End, but even for my very conservative taste the colors can be limited. Sometimes Lands End has great colors for its women’s turtlenecks, sometimes not–seems to vary by year, though the style does not change. Also, I think there is a significant difference between classic, which was once synonymous with preppy, and new-style prep–Beans (like some Brooks Brothers stuff) never goes out of style because it isn’t really in style, but Vineyard Vines, which is certainly beloved by a certain segment of the population, could look pretty silly to others, or even to its fans five years from now</p>
<p>The girls who wear Lilly also wear VV. The girls tend to go for the polos and the shorter skirts and the totes. The boys wear the polos and the belts. </p>
<p>[Vineyard</a> Vines](<a href=“http://www.vineyardvines.com%5DVineyard”>http://www.vineyardvines.com)</p>
<p>StickerShock, coming from the home of “prep,” I have to say that Vineyard Vines is one of the mainstays for prep style. Shops like J Crew don’t even come close for people who actually consider themselves preppy. It’s a lifestyle clothing company, really–with the price tag to prove it!</p>
<p>My daughter would love the argyle vest at VV but not the dresses or the skirts - although she does have a patchwork Lily skirt. She is so tiny that she can wear the child sized Lily clothes so we have gotten a couple of sale items at a children’s store. I wish she liked J Crew, but no interest there. Her taste is all over the place but she just finds J Crew boring. She likes The Loft and Ann Taylor too.</p>
<p>Corranged, it may be wildly popular & growing, but it hasn’t been around for even ten years. Mainstay?</p>
<p>Mainstay was probably the wrong word. In terms of people who are very into that style, though, Vineyard Vines is one of the few clothing companies they see as selling “true” preppy clothing. It comes right out of Marthas Vineyard. (I’m not into this style, but many people I know are.) It’s actually not all that popular; it’s a very niche store.</p>