My Son's BOGO Clothes: a Library for Hip-Hop Teen Fashion

My teenage son's wardrobe is a mix of hip-hop elegance and edgy, preppy fashion. To look hot and save money, he and a buddy have started a clothes co-op, featuring fashion from American Eagle, Abercrombie & Fitch, Gap and other teen-trendy-friendly stores.

Here's how it works: My son and one of his best friends are the same size. At age 16, their tastes in clothes include flavor-of-the month fashions and a few classics. Well-trained in red-tag specials, they like to buy stuff on sale. But during one recent mall outing, they had a frugal AHA! moment, based on the following realization:

Let's get more for our money --or pay less -- by splitting the costs of clothes and then sharing the items. It's a real BOGO (Buy-One-Get-One Free) wardrobe deal. Their collection of shared items includes sunglasses, jeans, shirts, hats, belts, chains and more.

"We decided that because we're the same size, we might as well share a lot of our stuff," my son told me this morning when I asked for permission to write this post. "We get double the wardrobe."

More importantly, the kids aren't wasting a lot of money on trendy stuff that is hot-hot-hot on Wednesday and outdated by Saturday. The borrowing system works because they live in the same area and stay in touch about the items in the clothes library:

"Sometimes, he'll just call me up and tell me: 'I'm going to a party tonight, I really want those jeans,' " my son explained when we chatted about how the system works.

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Frugal Decor Fixes for Kids' Rooms

Whether your child is a toddler, teen or 'tween, decorating a kid's bedroom can be complicated by tight budgets and personal tastes.

''Regardless of a child's age, one super quick and easy way to change a room is to add art to the walls,'' says Jennifer Condon, an editor at Domino magazine, which is compiling a special frugal decorating issue for August.

Here are a few simple and inexpensive ways to dress up a kid's room:

• Old books: Amy Clark, owner and founder of www.momadvice.com, collects art from the book jackets and pages of her children's favorite storybooks. For tweens and teens, chose books based on hobbies -- dancing, sports or other passions. Garage sales and thrift stores are excellent sources for affordable books.

• Display accessories: Place colorful plastic hooks at eye level for young children and encourage them to hang up party clothes, costumes and hats, which then become colorful wall hangings. Likewise, hair bows, ribbons and barrettes can be displayed on easy-access cords, says Clark of momadvice.com.

• Contain clutter: Attractive baskets and bins can be stored under beds, on shelves or in wall units. Condor recommends the brightly covered woven baskets from the Container Store. These baskets have tags for handwritten labels. ''It looks chic, but it's still very kid friendly,'' she says.

• Use paint: Color can add bright accents to a room. For instance, paint a large square behind your child's bed to create an instant headboard, says Condor.

• Calendars and cards: Recycle old calendars by framing photographs and images from past years. Flash-cards, (ABCs, math problems and vocabulary cards), can be mounted to create borders around a room, says Condor.

This is from my latest column in the home & design section of the Miami Herald.

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