Adrienne Gonzales likes to shop to look good. The 15-year-old Santa Fe Waldorf High School student admits that her self-image is important, but like many other teens her age, realizes that clothes don't make the person she truly is.

"I kind of think about my physical appearance, but it's not like I am completely obsessed," said Gonzales, who likes to shop at stores such as Rue 21 and Wet Seal. "I don't spend money like a freak but I can afford to spend like $30 on a pair of jeans," she said with a shy laugh.

The clothes that people wear, in particular teens, is a matter of what they want to be seen as, said Catherine Jones, Santa Fe Public Schools counselor.

"Children are more aware of their appearance between the ages of around 8 to 12, versus somebody at the age of 15 or 16," Jones said. But physical appearance and dress style are often times influenced by media, Jones said.

"Media kind of takes over the roll of influence during the ages of 13 and up to about 19," Jones said.

A "modern" look, though, is relevant, she said. It's generational. In the 1990s the "in" look was a pair of beat up shorts or jeans and a checkered or bright colored shirt. Today, that same style is probably an outfit that teens with less money wear, Jones said. "Nowadays I notice that teens have more money than they had in the '90s."

Teens who have close friends feel more comfortable dressing and acting as they genuinely are, Jones said. According to a research report published in March 2011 by eMarketer, a New York-based research and analysis company, teen girls have a spending power that exceeds $200 billion annually.

Teen girls, the study finds, look for great deals, are price-conscious, and don't always like big brands, although they do like to look "cool." So girls like Gonzales are not necessarily going to thrift stores to shop.

Elizabeth Ballard, Santa Fe's Goodwill general manager said teens used to shop there.

"They come every once in a while but not as much as they did even as little as five years ago," Ballard said.

Ray Rivera, general manager at The Salvation Army Thrift Store, said that many adolescents hold part-time jobs and that for the most part, they get to keep it because "they still have help from their families, so they are freer to do what they please with their money," Rivera said.

Gonzales said she's still mindful about what she buys.

"You don't want to necessarily look like a total model, but you don't want to look trashy either. I don't constantly worry about my appearance for the people around me, but for special occasions I try to look pretty good. I think that's a good thing," Gonzales said.

Dasha Wilson is a sophomore at the Santa Fe Waldorf School. You can reach her at dwfreshman2@gmail.com.