Short skirts

[netherlee]

Oh dear, I must be getting old. DD (8) has just gone back to school (Scotland are earlier) and my heart sank when I went to pick her up and saw so many girls of all ages (4-11) wearing skirts about halfway up their thighs. This was frowned on at secondary schools not long ago and some are even clamping down (some with more success than others), and now it seems rife in primary schools as well. Curiously fewer wear trousers now than a few years ago, so short skirts must be the in thing.

btw its not the school my name suggests before anyone goes looking.

[littleducks]

Half the problem is the stuff on sale tbf, I am sick of the shops offering cheap uniform-because they use hardly any cloth. The summer dresses this year were short, in some cases shockingly short. I bought from John Lewis a size up to get one that was knee length.

I have seen the skirts for the coming year and they are short, dd will have to have a pinafore......if I can find one in black!

[Seona1973]

dd's skirts are knee length - bought from asda/tesco. The shortest one she had was from M&S and she only had it on a couple of times

[Sandalwood]

My DD's very tall and even in a school dress for a few years older than she is, it's shorter than I'd've chosen. But really at 6 I don't really see skirt length as being a fashion statement. They're all in a mish-mash of hand-me-downs/growing into/new/nearly new stuff.
Ours will go into trousers more in the winter months.

[Clary]

Yes it's very hard to find a knee-length school skirt I'm afraid.

Especially if yr DD (like mine) is skinny; she is 10 but the size 10 stuff just falls off her so we end up with a size 9 maybe, still super pulled in.

I have found a "trad" pleated skirt in M&S this year and last which she has liked and is a bit longer thank goodness.

[netherlee]

There are knee length skirts but they would be considered 'old fashioned' by many like the good old box pleats to the knees or the ones of more private school style, but tbf they can be more expensive as well. M&S usually come up trumps with at least one style.

I'm just an old fuddy duddy.

[netherlee]

My DD is wearing the M&S drop-waist skirt here

Makes a change from the box pleat one she has had until now which I accept is showing its age in 2011 but is the safest length wise.

[treas]

My dd will be in Asda box pleat skirts size 9 to 10, she will be Yr 4 and 9 y.o.

They are the perfect length on her as the fall just on the knee. Mind you they need to be because the size 4 to 5 1/2 shoe white knee length socks I've had to get to fit her size 4 feet go up to mid thigh on her!

[littleducks]

I had exactly the same experience with their 'knee high' socks treas perhaps my dd has longer thighs than calves, hence the difficulty

[MayDayChild]

Nope same trouble here with knee high socks.
I swear they don't actually measure real children when making clothes.
And all the skirt /dress length has clearly gone into socks. Could do with more leg length and less gusset length on tights as well. My DD tights keep her nipples warm!

[wonkylegs]

Pity they weren't so titchy when I went to school all skirts were way to long on me... I had to have my primary school uniform made for me for the 1st few years and when I got to secondary school I wore a gym skirt for first two years everything else swamped me (and it was bottle green so couldn't buy primary uniforms) it was so embarrassing and very un cool

[StopRainingPlease]

Totally agree. And I think it's not just a case of manufacturers not knowing sizes, it's that short skirts are in fashion - if parents buy them shops will sell them.

[Lonnie]

M&S Next and John Lewis all sell a range of skirts/ summer dresses that comes down longer than top thighs (they also all sell smaller skirts)

I have a very tall 11 year old (she starts 2ndary in September) this last year she wore checked summer dresses from J LEwis in age 15 but it was down near her knees not on the middle of her tighs.

In my experience it is more about looking around and learning what each shop stocks. The pleat box and pleated skirts shown earlier on go down a fair distance and John Lewis at least does the elastic adjustable waist for their uniforms.

My problem is finding troussers for my average height solidly build with shortish legs 9 year old son He needs side 13 in troussers to fit his waist (he isnt overweight just incrediblly broadly build) and I have them down at the dry clearners to take off 4 inches at the moment.. (and that is off the short ones)