Skinny 3yr old dd - best place for jeans & trousers?

Skintmama

Reading this thread certainly brought back memories of dressing my daughter! Continental and American brands are slimmer but unfortunately more expensive. You will be able to recoup some of the cost when she grows out of them, via a nearly new sale or shop, as they do hold some value.
Now as a still slenderly gorgeous 18yr old, my DD gets accused of being anorexic(never has been and eats like a horse!) and has great difficulty buying jeans long enough and slim enough for her. Whilst people do have different builds, being relatively slim is normal and healthy for humans, so it is a shame clothing often does not reflect this.
In contrast I must say my son was very sturdy and rather full of figure until he was about 9. He fitted clothes for his age perfectly. He then shot upwards, stretched out and became somewhat thin for his age, before becoming the broad shouldered and trim 16yr old he now is.
I am woffling on here but am just trying to say that children vary and yet can still be healthy and normal so all this standardising can be unhelpful. I must confess that I stopped taking my children to be weighed for fear of being accused of overfeeding one and underfeeding the other:D

fernliebee

Like you skintmama, I rarely got my DD weighed. The few times I did she was within normal range but I think as she was so tall it made up for her lack of width if you see what I mean. Children come in all shapes and sizes and the normal weight range spans a great variety of shape and builds, ie not all 'sturdy' children are overweight, just like not all willowy, lean children are underweight. It is a shame that it is so difficult to get clothes to fit but it has always been the same, my mum used to have to take in all my clothes as until I was 9 I was very tall but slim so nothing stayed up. Then my problem changed, I hit puberty at 10 and seemingly over night got boobs and hips, obviously children's clothes don't allow for this, so it was tricky for her to find suitable adult clothes to fit me. Not too bad as I was so tall, however what 10 year old want's to wear what women wore in the 80's! Lol! I ended up with leggings and T-shirts a lot and there is still photographic evidence of this unfortunately! ha ha

Nicolefury

I work in the kids department of M&S and the clothes are huge - age 14 girls in certain styles fit me as a size 14 woman, and we still get complaints that our clothes are too small...

claireac

Nicolefury wrote: »

I work in the kids department of M&S and the clothes are huge - age 14 girls in certain styles fit me as a size 14 woman, and we still get complaints that our clothes are too small...

That's craziness!!!

Buttonmoons

Teenage clothes are definatley bigger, I'm a size 14, and have pinched my sisters helly hansen waterproof coat for the nursery run (I know, I look like a chav when I wear it) but it's age 13-14, I think that's maybe why I like it. I feel so slim!

I've tried things on in New Look thinking it was my size and it was from the teen bit.

There is a 4yo girl in my DD's nursery who is massively big, she wears something ridiculous like age 7-8. But because she isn't really tall, all her clothes trail, but she needs that size as she is so wide. Her mum picks her up with a can of pop and a bag of crisps for her, so that's why, I feel so sorry for her, she is going to get picked on when she goes to primary this year.

Nicolefury

Worst I've ever personally seen is a 5 year old who needed an age 14 pinafore...

Its mad and the fact that I fit into the oldest sizes just says everything.

JC9297

At least with girls you can pretend they are meant to be cropped trousers, with boys half-mast trousers is not a good look! My nearly 13 year old is a little taller than average but slim, growing upwards much more than outwards - why can't shops offer different lengths in trousers like they do for adults? Saying that shops are hopeless at older boys clothing generally (they don't want the same as 6 year olds) so end up buying XS mens stuff. My son wears Topman's smallest size of skinny jeans and they fit perfectly (obviously cost twice as much), but kids jeans of the right length would be generally be massive, although we did manage to find some skinny ones in Gap that fit.

nzmegs

I agree with what some others have said about there being a real lack of clothes for slim kids. Both my children are of normal height for their age, normal weight (perhap slightly underweight) but ALL trouseers and jeans are massive around the waist. Drives me and them mad.

My daughter uses safety pins on her leggings and adjustable waists. My son now wears a belt.

But the problem doesn't stop at childhood. I ahve the same problem as a pear shaped women. Small size 12 waist with size 16 bum and thighs. Try finding jeans to fit that shape. thank gpoodness for stretch denim...

RenStar

I have a skinny 2 year old too. I tend to buy much of her clothes from Baby Gap and Zara baby as I have found them to be the slimmest fitting. However, the majority of her clothes are American (isn't that ironic?!) Carters and Gymboree are our favourites in terms of fit and designs. I am lucky that we visit the states quite regularly so we can top up. She's inherited my long and lean physique, she's all long limbed and big head (bless her!) My mum-in-law buys her a lot of clothes from M&S, they come up huge for her age and are still hanging in her wardrobe for the most parts. I sometimes buy her clothes from Next and Debenhams and Asda, but just buy a smaller size (12-18 months) but this is only for tops, skirts and dresses. Trousers are a no-no! As you can see, OP, you are not alone.

Essex-girl_2

Gap do a slim fit and when my kids were smaller I used to be constantly looking in the sales section. Also picked them up on ebay - they are not the cheapest option but the only trousers that used to fit my kids.

Loved it in summer when DD went into shorts and cropped trousers. Now she is a teenager she finds it much easier to get clothes that fit.