Not So Basic Pants for Girls

The bottom line is that Gap, Old Navy, Target, Kohls, are probably going to be your cheapest resources for a cute pair of jeans. And paired with a great shirt from Catimini, these pants are more than sufficient and will look adorable. But if you want to move beyond jeans to some nicely fitting pants, in great colors, that be can coordinated specifically with the special tops you've found for your daughter, there are some fun choices out there.Skinny jeans, slim cords - there are amazing vibrantly colored choices available. If you're reluctant to try the brightly colored pants that are on trend right now in your own wardrobe,embrace it in your daughter's wardrobe. That's the great thing about dressing kids after all. Perhaps the richest colors can be found at J.Crew. The twill pants, made by JBrand, come in the most fabulously outrageous purple, but at $100 ... maybe you want to wait until they go on sale. The various styles of J.Crew cords are half that, at prices around $40 or $50 depending on the style.

If you prefer to shop the smaller boutique brands, Appaman makes a great pair of pants. If you're willing to pay $64 for pants, you cannot miss with these. (Prices quoted are from the Appaman website. The price may vary slightly with other vendors.) If you're not, you may still be able to find some from last winter on sale. Tea Collection's Skinny Cord Cargos, $45, are also lovely. The purple is a beautiful subtle shade, and the olive green go with just about everything.

Both Tea Collection and Appaman can be purchased directly on the manufacturers' websites. Some other good resources are Cute Little Clothes, Lil Swanky, Psychobaby, and Pacifier.

But for inexpensive options that are stylish and fit well, one should never forget about Zara. Fortunately, Zara has recently launched online shopping. The colors this season are not as daring as the pants

from J.Crew, but you can still find a solid selection of colors. Purple seems to be the color of the season, and you can't go wrong with Zara's Elasticated Twill Trousers in purple. $29.90. So cute.

Coming up: basic bottoms for boys