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My DD and her 'style'

124

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  • gill_81uk
    gill_81uk Posts: 2,851 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker Name Dropper
    my younger sister was exactly like this at the same age. Very tall and thin and totally uncomfortable with herself. She'd let her hair flop over her face and would only wear dark baggy tops with long sleeves and jeans. Any attempt to get her into anything different just pushed her further into her scruffs.

    She made some really good friends when she got to college and started to find her own style, which was alternative goth like. Now she's 25 and always looks fab as she just exudes confidence.

    Just give her time, get rid of clothes that dont fit her and pay her loads of compliments and she'll gradually come round in her own time
    Mummy to Thomas born April 27th 2010 8lb 5oz
  • harloe
    harloe Posts: 45 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker
    I would try www.asos.com - they have lots of jeans and trousers in longer lengths and you could get her to order a few pairs online and send back the ones she doesn't like. It'd be a lot less stressful than the shopping experience and there is a 20% off code at the moment :-)
  • ailuro2
    ailuro2 Posts: 7,540 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker
    I thought their stuff looked fine for a 12 year old who wants to blend into the background. :p


    http://www.longtallsally.com/jeans jeans

    http://www.longtallsally.com/sale/jeans-trousers jeans in the sale

    http://www.longtallsally.com/gymwear important gym and swimwear - she'll need a cossie that fits for school swimming
    Member of the first Mortgage Free in 3 challenge, no.19
    Balance 19th April '07 = minus £27,640
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  • don't be so quick to dismiss Long Tall Sally - from my own experience, i'm 5ft 10 and went in there yrs ago and walked straight out....as recent as 5 yrs ago it was very old fashioned, and while they do still have a rather 'conservative' range, the kinds of stuff they stock it toally different now, some of the stuff is really quite nice! They have definately updated what they offer to be more current styles, and from what I remember they even have a particular range/brand aimed at younger women.

    I'm not being quick to dismiss it - i actually get the catalogue delivered and live near a shop! But i like to dress well and i have never bought anything except a pair of jogging bottoms! Even the 'young' range isn't that nice IMO. Plus its so expensive!
  • Tish_P wrote: »
    Leave her be! If she's tall and pretty, she probably gets WAY too much attention already (who might even use her height as an excuse to perv over an extremely young girl - my tall friends all say this happened to them as kids). If her way of dealing with that is to dress to hide and to look as much as possible like the kid she is - well, it's healthier than a lot of other options.

    Alternatively, she may just not care how she looks! Some women don't and it's not a crime. Seriously, if the biggest clash of priorities between a teen and her mum is whether she wears a cardi in a sloppy off-the-shoulder manner, you're both of you very lucky indeed.

    Everything I was thinking :)

    She probably already gets commented on for being so tall and thin - the last thing she needs is getting it at home too. When she wants to change her style and hair she will, she's only 12!
  • She likes combats but they don't fit, take her into your local arm surplus store, so she can get some long enough. If this is what she likes run with it.

    How about some band t-shirts for her fav band?

    If she's comfortable wearing baggy or tomboy clothes run with it, don't try and turn G.I. Jane into Barbie. I've always been a tomboy and in my teens most of my tops came from the mens department, so they weren't tight and I could cover up, it was just how I was comfortable and happy.

    Go with what you know she likes, offer to buy her some combats and a pair of jeans that fit, take her into shops you don't normally go in, try a couple of alternative shops and offer to buy her a band top for her favourite band if she'd like. Let her guide you.

    As for the hair, my mum always told me if i wanted long hair I had to look after it, or it would be looped off. Tell her you expect her to wash it, condition it, and comb it, how she wears it is up to her but if she doesn't look after it, its gone.
  • Zazen999
    Zazen999 Posts: 6,183 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    It sounds like you just need to get her a decent pair of jeans that fit.
  • Katinkka wrote: »
    Hmm My kids are too young for me to have any personal experience to draw on but she is only 12 so I would just chuck out the stuff that no longer fits her and leave her the rest. I would hate to take my children out looking scruffy.

    Why will you come home empy handed from the shopping? Will she not let you buy anything? Even if she picks suitable things out herself? Although I must admit, my first thought was to suggest places like long tall sally and the 'tall' sections of womenswear shops but perhaps they will be too old in style for her.

    Not necessarily, Topshop, New Look and Dorothy Perkins (off the top of my head, I'm sure there are more) all have tall sections and the styles are relatively young. Plus many many places make jeans in varying leg lengths.

    I lived in jeans and T-shirts for most of my teenage years, but now I've started working I've got a bit fed up of that now and actually like getting dressed up and looking pretty and girly. That might well happen once she gets a little older, so I agree with those who said not to force it.

    Is it also possibly a confidence thing? She might be dressing like that as a means of covering up because she doesn't feel pretty and/or she wants to hide - I know that played a big part in why I dressed the way I did.

    I agree with whoever suggested getting hold of Trinny and Susannah's Body Shape Bible - that has lots of good tips in it. Or alternatively, take her to a personal shopper at somewhere like Topshop or Dorothy Perkins, possibly for Christmas/her next birthday.
    "A mind needs books as a sword needs a whetstone, if it is to keep its edge." - Tyrion Lannister
    Married my best friend 1st November 2014
    Loose = the opposite of tight (eg "These trousers feel a little loose")
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  • Zazen999 wrote: »
    It sounds like you just need to get her a decent pair of jeans that fit.

    if only it was that simple! Finding a decent pair of jeans that fit nice when your tall and slim is not easy! I swear by diesel but then i can't imagine the OP wanting to spend that much on a 12 year old.
    The jeans in topshop and DP are not very nice IMO and get too baggy after an hour.
  • Not necessarily, Topshop, New Look and Dorothy Perkins (off the top of my head, I'm sure there are more) all have tall sections and the styles are relatively young. Plus many many places make jeans in varying leg lengths.

    I lived in jeans and T-shirts for most of my teenage years, but now I've started working I've got a bit fed up of that now and actually like getting dressed up and looking pretty and girly. That might well happen once she gets a little older, so I agree with those who said not to force it.

    Is it also possibly a confidence thing? She might be dressing like that as a means of covering up because she doesn't feel pretty and/or she wants to hide - I know that played a big part in why I dressed the way I did.

    I agree with whoever suggested getting hold of Trinny and Susannah's Body Shape Bible - that has lots of good tips in it. Or alternatively, take her to a personal shopper at somewhere like Topshop or Dorothy Perkins, possibly for Christmas/her next birthday.

    Does the Trinny and Susannah book include advice for her body shape?
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