Back to school shopping is here, whether we like it or not. With money and time at a premium, we can all use some help figuring out how to keep our kids feeling and looking cool without breaking the bank. Luckily, ABC Family’s stylistas, Laura Schuffman and Saba Salehi have some great ideas that will help you do just that!
Schuffman and Salehi are a stylist team from Los Angeles who help ABC Family fans connect with the fashion on their favorite shows.
“We work with the costume designers on each of the shows to highlight what they’re doing,” Salehi said, in describing their job. ”We watch the episode and pick up the trends. We’ll highlight one of the characters and say, ‘Ooh she’s wearing denim tights’ and we’ll talk about how that’s a must have look for the season and how you can acheive it and we’ll give [the audience] options – usually an expensive option and a budget friendly alternative option.”
Salehi and Schuffman see a big part of their job as helping young girls learn how to wear trends in a way that is age appropriate but still satisfyingly fashion forward.
“We’ll teach girls say, how to wear lace and how to be tactful not trashy,” says Schuffman. “We always try to make sure that we’re targeting a high school age girl and we’re aware of who we’re talking to. Less is more, being covered up is school appropriate and you don’t have to show too much skin to look cute.”
That’s the kind of fashion tip that is music to a parent’s ears. So what advice do these two stylistas have for back to school shoppers trying to help their kids look fashionable and stay on budget?
Salehi’s first suggestion? Tights. “Opaque and printed tights for fall,” she says. ”It’s a really good way to accessorize and personalize your look. And it’s an inexpensive way to make a fashion statement. Plaid, lace, dark green. Easy to pick up and individualize.”
Salehi and Schuffman are all about finding ways to be individual without investing a lot of money in trendy pieces. ”There’s a very inexpensive jewlery market now where you can be experimental and not have to invest in pieces so you can really try out different looks,” says Schuffman. “Tons of bracelets is the thing for teens right now. Piling on jewelry is the thing in high school and midschool.”
And, as always, vintage/flashback looks are in – “The laid-back grunge look of the 90’s is slowly replacing the current 80’s trend that’s been around the last couple years, ” Salehi says. “Look for tons of 90’s inspired fashions such as combat boots, textured tights, and oversized shirts this Fall.”
Salehi and Schuffman feel that it’s always best to help your child’s fashion creativity flourish. Schuffman says, “I think it’s important to let your teen experiment with fashion trends as long as they’re age appropriate and inexpensive.”
“There’s a fine line,” Salehi adds. ”It depends on how old the teen is, but you don’t want to let them get too obsessed and lose their sense of childhood.”
Schuffman agrees. “Let your teen make choices with in your boundaries,” she suggests. ”Help them feel like it’s their style, even if you have a final say.”
