School starts here in a couple of weeks, which means we're entering the annual negotiation season in our house. You know the one. You hold up a perfectly nice shirt. Your kid looks at it like you handed them an income tax form.
I've lost this argument enough times to have learned something from it. The shirt they pick is the shirt they wear. Over and over. Until it's basically a uniform and you're quietly checking whether it's clean enough for one more day. The one I picked out sits in the drawer or on their bed until they outgrow it, at which point it goes in a bin for donation.
That's honestly a big part of why Closet Creature exists. I got tired of buying stuff my kids tolerated.
The first-day thing is real
I don't remember a lot from elementary school, but I remember what I wore on the first day. Not every year, but enough of them. There's something about walking in on day one feeling like yourself instead of feeling like you got dressed by a committee.
Kids know the difference. A shirt that makes their friends laugh at the bus stop is doing more work than we give it credit for. It's not just clothes, it's a small piece of armor for a day that can feel pretty big when you're seven.
A few things I've figured out about sizing
Size up. I say this in almost every conversation I have about our shirts. Kids grow in weird bursts, usually right after you buy something. Our tees are pre-shrunk so they hold their shape, and a slightly roomy shirt in September is a perfect shirt by November.
If you're between sizes, the size guide has actual measurements. Lay a shirt they already love flat, measure it, and compare. Takes thirty seconds and beats guessing.
And if it still comes out wrong, we'll swap it. We changed our return policy recently and now take returns and exchanges on anything within 30 days, worn or not, with a free return label. No hoops. I'd rather your kid end up with a shirt that fits than have you eat a bad size because returning it was annoying.
What we've got right now
Five designs, all built around the phrases my own kids will not stop saying:
Bruh is the workhorse. One word, covers roughly forty emotions.
Aight Bet is for the kid who accepts every challenge, especially ones nobody offered.
Brainrot is a melting brain, which is both a meme and an accurate depiction of summer break ending.
67 Slimehands is our take on a number nobody can explain, including me. Especially me. Just when you thought this phrase has run it's course, some boomer boomerangs it back into the sphere of influence because their grandkid taught 'em
Love Bug is technically a Valentine's shirt but nobody has told the shirt that, and it gets worn year round.
One heads up on timing
Everything is printed when you order it, so give it 1 to 2 weeks to show up. If you want something for the actual first day, order now rather than the night before, which I say as someone who has absolutely been the guy ordering the night before.
Hope everyone's first week goes smoothly. To all the parents doing the lunchbox and backpack scramble right now, I see you.
Much love,
KP