The aim of the present paper is to focus on mothers as key influencers in luxury retailing contexts. Using a a semiotic interpretation of mothers' discourses, we underline the identity motivations for purchasing luxury apparel for their pre-adolescent children. The paper shows that when shopping for luxury brands for their pre-adolescent children, mothers manage discrepancies between their “real” and “idealised” selves as well as the pushs and pulls of being a mother and a woman. -This study addresses an under-researched area in the retail literature, investigating the way young mothers fluctuate between 4 identity positions In the process of shopping, they: identification, idealisation, transmission and creation that retailers must address in their store organisation, furnishing and decoration of corners, visual communication and digital in-store innovations.