The Top 10 BEST Tween Shopping Sites – Plus the 5 WORST!

For my list of The Top 10 Best Tween Shopping Sites of 2009-2010, I have listed the obvious as well as a few that may be a little off the beaten path.

In every situation of Tween shopping, the styles are more grown up.  Girls and Tweens are more keen on what they want and they emulate what the Juniors are wearing. It’s not just little girls in frilly dresses anymore.

1. Forever21  Let’s face it, Forever 21 is perfect for anyone.  They keep a steady flow of uber-trendy styles and the prices can’t be beat!  The sizes at Forever21 are more for the Juniors, however, the XS sizes can easily accommodate a girl wearing a 10/12-14/16.  And they have a nice assortment for Girls thru Tween.

2. PacSun Offers a very nice assortment of casual, SoCal style in a variety of brands for mostly teen – juniors.

Bonus: American Eagle – This needs no explanation 🙂  Every Tween and Junior loves AE for the simple, classic styles and wardrobe staples (jeans)

3. The Buckle – Awesome clothing selection for Tweens, Girls and Teens! Their Girls offering is super cute without being “kiddish”. Cool brands like O’Neill, Billabong, Hurley and Daytrip.

4. Hollister – The beauty of Hollister is, it transcends from later tween to junior sizes.  I even find myself purchasing from this store often because even though the styles are considered pretty basic, laid-back southern California, they are super comfy and the brand is very hip.  Not to mention, they pay attention to fit.  The little extra you pay goes a long way with Hollister.  They have greatly established themselves as a brand that can create long-term customer loyalty. The 13-year-old girl who is a fan now, will be a fan until she is probably 28.

5. Aeropostale – Aeropostale is like the all-American brand with an insanely great price tag attached. You get everything here: the style of American Eagle and Abercrombie with the price tags of Old Navy. It’s cute, laid back, colorful.  Who doesn’t love that?

6. Abercrombie (A&F Kids) –  Great quality garments and while they used to be considered pricey, they are now really affordable.  Yes, they use way too much cologne in their stores but who cares. You can shop online and even better when you can take advantage of their Clearances! Again, another one of those brands that grabs the target audience at an early age and transcends all the way into adulthood.

7. Zulily I truly love this site.  First, you have to sign up to get the notifications of which brands are coming up.  They have high end, better and name brands clothing such as Toms, Uggs, Splendid Littles, Seven For All Mankind, Ella Moss, Betsey Johnson and C&C California for example. Along with soo many other great boutique brands like Olive Juice and Oilily.  It’s a limited selection that sells out quickly, but the prices are great. Just an all-around awesome shopping site for Moms, girls, teen, tween and baby clothing!  Be forewarned..it’s addictive!  🙂

8. Berry Jane Launched in 2007, Berry Jane has been a go-to line for Tweens activewear for a few years, but the company has expanded its offering and now has a great collection of fun, trendy graphic tees for tweens and juniors, casual leggings, jogger pants and soft basics. This line has evolved since 2009 from its first collections, all made in USA.

9. dELiA*s Buy one get one half off, 80% clearance items, super cute selection of clothes, what girl isn’t attracted to this brand?  It’s a lighter version of Forever21 and a Brandy Melville aspirational brand.

10. Justice for Girls – Justice offers a pretty good basic variety of clothing for GIRLS – not Tweens.  Justice or Limited Too is OK for girlie girls up to about 4th or 5th grade and that’s where it stops. Tweens are wanting something a little more grown up these days.

2016 Update: Other notable mentions:

• ThredUP  this website is great for second-hand finds!! 😀 
• TJ MAxx and Plato’s Closet (Sorry, these are brick and mortar stores only), Kitson Kids (now out of business–booo!)
• Amazon Fashion Amazon Fashion has everything!  Girls, tween, Juniors and Womens clothing from almost every retailer and brand

The Top 5 “WORST” Tween Shopping Sites (of 2009)
(please bear in mind, these sites do not offer terrible clothing, they are simply not my personal favorites for reasons of style or quality)

1. Hannah Andersson (www.hannaandersson.com) I like the basics that Hannah Andersson offers.  Great for toddlers. The prices are moderate and the variety is good, however, this is not a line for fashionable-conscious Tweens.
2. Old Navy  Old Navy is great, if you are looking for a good deal.  They understand they are Old Navy and don’t try to get away with pricey tees and jeans. If you don’t care about branding or fit so much as you do price, you can get two pair of jeans for less than $30.
3. WAL-MART Walmart doesn’t even need much of a statement or introduction.  I personally won’t buy any clothing from Walmart. I didn’t like it as a teen and I still don’t as an adult.
4. Target It’s no big secret, Target has done an amazing job at transforming its image over the years. They are good about offering “trendy” garments at great prices.  The Mossimo brand is affordable and does not have any kind of real negative stigma attached. (But in 2009 when this article was written, Target was still a little “off” for me. and this was before they were KNOWN for knocking off ideas from small indie designers.)

4. The Children’s Place  The whole point of being a Tween is stating the obvious: I am not a little girl anymore!  I’m not sure any middle-school aged girl, is going to do ANY kind of shopping at a store called “The Children’s Place”.

5. CWD Kids (cwdkids.com) Whoever is designing for this brand must not have a Tween daughter. Great brand and site for little girls, not for the Tweens. (note, since this post was originally written in 2009, CWD Kids improved on it’s Big Girl-Tween styles)

For the most UPDATED Top 10 Girls and Tween Shopping Sites, go to: 20+ BEST Stores for Fashionable Tween Clothing & Shopping Sites