Count me among the brave few who would go shopping with a teenage girl by choice.

A few weeks ago, I received an e-mail plea from Annette Russell of Bangor. Annette is a financial planner and her wardrobe is tasteful, professional and conservative. Her daughter, Stephanie, has followed in her footsteps, but what looks good on mom doesn’t necessarily work for a 14-year-old who is on her way to high school. That’s where I come in.

Stephanie is what I would call a reluctant shopper. (Yes, there is such a thing.) But when I arrived, she handed me the most amazing drawing of ShopGirl – like a cartoon character, with a cape and a shopping-bag mask. I could tell this was going to go well.

She has her own sense of style but she wanted to branch out and shake things up a bit for freshman year at Bangor High. Plus, she wanted clothing that would transition from summer into fall.

I arrived at the Russell home last Monday morning with Sev

enteen and YM magazines in hand. Over coffee, Stephanie flipped through the pages, pausing to point out a look she liked. We talked trends – layering tops is big, as are skirts, dresses and preppy styles.

Then we went up to her closet to take inventory. She had all the basics: shorts, khakis, jeans and T-shirts, and a pattern emerged. Almost everything was red, white, blue or khaki. A good start, but when I asked her what colors she liked, she said orange, yellow and pink, even though pink doesn’t generally look good on her.

We proved that wrong on our first stop, T.J. Maxx ‘n More in Bangor. We had a generous budget, but even so, Annette, Stephanie and I decided it would be best to get more for our money. The three of us combed the racks, stuffing anything in our cart that caught Steph’s fancy.

What we found were items that fit Stephanie’s style – not too revealing, not too frilly – but were different from what she had at home. And we even took a few chances with a shirt in bold, bright pink stripes, a skirt in yellow and white plaid, and a crisscross top with lace trim. Not surprisingly, a few of the items were pink, and she ended up buying all of them.

We took a different approach than Annette and Stephanie normally do. Rather than picking out one or two pieces at a time, trying them on, and going back for more, we filled an entire cart and spent nearly an hour in the dressing room. This served two purposes: First, we could see what Stephanie could mix and match, and second, it got the job done in one fell swoop, which is a good idea when you don’t really like to browse.

At first, Stephanie was reluctant as she walked out of the dressing room, shoulders hunched, head down. But as she went on, her confidence grew, and when she emerged from the fitting room in a pair of jeans and that hot pink T-shirt, she was beaming. It was a thing of beauty.

Stephanie must’ve agreed, because she left with a Tommy Jeans polo dress, a pair of navy eyelet shorts, two skirts, three pairs of capri pants, two pairs of jeans, four tops, a wear-under-anything tank and three hoodies. The grand total? $269.68 – not bad for 16 items.

Next, it was off to the mall. A going-out-of-business sale sign caught our eye at Weathervane, so we ducked in. Much to her mother’s delight, Stephanie tried on a plaid skirt and loved it. We picked out a matching polo and lace-trimmed camisole, as well as a T-shirt and tank top to layer and another tank to wear under a shirt we bought at TJ’s. Everything was 30 percent off, so our grand total was $87.93.

Stephanie didn’t want to try on anything else, but we gently coerced her into American Eagle, where a polo shirt, khaki skirt, stretchy belt and flip-flops caught her eye. She put everything on hold because a 40 percent off sale was about to start (more on that in next week’s column), and then we headed to Olympia Sports.

In addition to owning the same watch as me, my young shopping companion also has great taste in teams, as well. She’s a huge Red Sox fan, and since she and her mom are planning to go to a Sox-Orioles game during their vacation, she wanted to gear up. So she picked up a gray and pink Red Sox T-shirt and a pink visor to match. She’ll be the belle of the ballgame.

By this point, we were all getting tired, and Stephanie was ready to go home. Besides, she had already bought enough clothes to last her till October without wearing the same thing twice. But her mom and I had one final request: Dr. Scholl’s. We thought they’d be the cutest with all her summery clothes, and when she tried on a pair in pink patent leather, she agreed. They cost $25 at Filene’s.

It’s a good thing Annette had an empty trunk when we started, because we needed all the room we could get. When we got back to the homestead, we laid out all Stephanie’s new outfits in the living room, and Steph looked happy. But her mom looked even happier. And I felt like the shopping superhero in the picture Stephanie had given me. I may not be able to leap tall buildings in a single bound, but if I can use my shopping powers for good, that’s all I need.

Reader question

Dear ShopGirl,

Hi! On behalf of my roommate and myself, I thought I would consult you on a shopping problem we have – finding clothes the right length. I am 5-foot-10-inches. She is 5-foot-1-inch.

I can’t seem to find pants that are quite long enough, and shirt sleeves are usually 2 or 3 inches above where they ought to be. Gap jeans (tall) used to fit me but now they are too short. And they’re expensive anyway! My favorite long-sleeved shirt came from Bob’s Discount, and I wish I could count on always finding things long enough there but sadly it’s just not that kind of place.

My roommate, on the other hand, is petite and has problems with stores “downsizing” their sizes – so that what used to be a 6 is now a 4, etc. It’s annoying for her when that happens because sizes only go down so far.

So my question is, do you know of any stores or styles that are good for people on the height extremes?

Any help would be great!

Sue

Dear Sue,

That’s a tall – and small – order.

What a dilemma for anyone who doesn’t feel like buying men’s pants! My friend Renee has legs as long as a Rockette’s, and she swears by the Victoria’s Secret catalog for pants. The J.Jill catalog carries a tall line (www.jjill.com), and on an Internet search, I found a site (www.designelevations.com) that carries very stylish, albeit pricey, clothing specifically for taller women. Weathervane sells extra-long pants as well, but you’d better hurry, because the store is going out of business. Have you tried Old Navy? Their long pants are quite long, and their sleeves tend to be on the longer side as well.

At the other extreme, my sister is a little peanut. She wears clothing from Express and Old Navy. My petite pal Bridgit, who wears a zero, counts on J. Crew, but also finds things that fit her at Wet Seal and Weathervane. A colleague’s elfin daughter shops from the Delia’s catalog, where the smalls are small and the prices are, too.

I hope this helps!

ShopGirl would love to hear from you! Send questions, comments or suggestions by e-mail to kandresen@bangordailynews.net, by U.S. mail to Kristen Andresen, P.O. Box 1329, Bangor 04402-1329, or by fax to 941-9476.