Welcome to my Friday’s Rants from the Soap Box in my Living Room. A small space in the week where I can have a chunter about things that have made me twitch with annoyance or made me question if the world has gone mad or not….
I went clothes shopping this week, for my children. The realisation that we were going on holiday, and that they had barely anything summer like in their wardrobes, drove me to a shopping trip to try and rectify the problem.
Little Man is easy to shop for. He is tall, but it’s not a problem to get trousers, shorts and t-shirts in a size up for him.
Big Girl on the other hand, is more of a problem. She is seven and a half, but is taller than average, and has long legs. Great, you might think. Yes, I think so, but when it comes to clothes shopping, it’s not. Clothes for girls, seems to me to be a minefield, and pretty depressing and infuriating.
She wears 8-9 year old sizes, to accomodate her legginess and length.
It seems to me, that up to age 7, most clothes designers think that girls are little. They make dresses and little outfits that are nice, appropriate and wearable for girls of that age. I have noticed however, that once you hit the 8+ market for clothes, you hit what seems to be a trend of dressing what are still “little” girls in almost teenage and even adult clothing. I have no problem with an adult dressing however they want, but I don’t think little girls, which at not quite 8, not matter what her height, my daughter still is.
Crop tops, t-shirts with “I’m pouty”, or “call me” on them, skinny jeans that barely cover bottoms, and shorts that frankly are more like denim underwear, than shorts. I even found a pair of skinny, satin, stretch jeans, that another lady who was also clothes shopping pointed out to me were “a bit sexy” for young girls. Don’t get me started on the underwear available for girls of this age. Why do 7-8 year old girls need knickers in any other style than “covers the bottom, might have a pretty design on them”? Do seven year olds need “tanga”, or “high leg” or “low rise” underpants? Thankfully I didn’t find any padded bras or thongs aimed at that age or my head may have exploded in rage, on the spot. As it was, I had a rage filled rant on Facebook and a moany phone call to LSH.
I am horrified, and came away feeling quite miserable that if I want to buy my daughter clothes, to fit her nicely, that are appropriate for her age, that I am going to have to have a good look around.
Why do clothes designers want to make our still little girls, dress like they are much older? Why do clothes for pre teen, younger girls have to be “sexed up” and made to look more adult. I don’t want to dress my seven and a half year old in clothes that are much older than her age. Just because she is tall, we have hit this hurdle a bit earlier than some of her friends.
Dear clothes designers. Stop trying to make my child look older than she is, she doesn’t need to look sexy or “grown up” or “mature” or like a trendy teenager. I will have enough of that when she is actually a teenager, I don’t need to be dealing with it now. She doesn’t need to be wearing low rise jeans, crop tops with suggestive logos on, or clothes that frankly, I won’t let her wear as a teenager, much less at not quite eight years old – Thanks. Irate Mother!
I know I am not alone, from the responses I got on Facebook. What do you think? Are clothes for girls not yet teen aged, too adult, and being made to be, dare I say it sexy? Do you like the clothes for girls aged 7-11 and think they are OK and appropriate or like me, finding it infuriating that you can’t find simple, age appropriate clothes? I would love to hear your thoughts.
(Unfortunately, my phone died, halfway through my shopping trip, so I wasn’t able to get any actual photographs of the clothes horrors that I went through but you don’t have to look far to find clothes that are, in my opinion, too adult for girls of this age)