To be annoyed that kids' clothes are more expensive in larger sizes ?

[catsmother]

I don't know if this has been done before ? (wouldn't surprise me, and if so, I apologise)

It just gets my goat that when you buy kids' clothes, the price, say for a 6 year old size is £10, and you think "great, I'll have one of those" but by the time you've found the same item for your 11 year old at the back of the rail the price has gone up anything from £1 to £4 IME.

I know - obviously - that age 11 is larger than age 6 and therefore uses more material. However, that's not the case with adult clothes is it ? ..... for the same garment, you pay exactly the same for a size 8 as you do for a size 22, and surely the same "material" argument would apply there.

I fully appreciate retailers may not want to offend or alienate larger customers by charging them more for their clothes - so presumably they work out an average cost that everyone pays. But similarly, it's quite possible to have a younger child - in years - who needs larger/older sizes and you therefore have no choice but to pay more.

Why is there this pricing discrepancy between kids' and adult clothing ?

I've always wondered why shops didn't charge more for larger adult clothes.

As you say it clearly takes a lot more fabric to make a size 20 than it does a size 8 so it would be hard to argue that it's not justified.

So that diddy adults like me can't sneakily buy everything off the children's rail? Mind you, that would assume I they really want to go out wearing Peppa Pig and glittery kittens in tiaras, so maybe not.

I think there should be a system where Vat could be reclaimed on items which would be exempt in smaller sizes and have been purchased for children.

Can you tell I'm a mother of a size 7 footed 10 year old DS

Presumably catsmother you wouldn't have been arguing to pay the average price when your children were at the bottom of the size range? Most if not all children will go through all of the sizes so doesn't it work out reasonably fair? Most women will not start off at a size 4 and end up a size 24.

Yanbu, this annoys me too, especially when something's caught your eye at a particular price at the front of the rail and then turns out to be more expensive. Debenhams and Next do this, but H&M and Gap have the same price despite the age.

Didn't M&S have to apologise and have a 25% bra sale for this? They charged more for the larger bras due to using more fabric but then there was an outcry as it's unfair on larger people.

Oh, God yes, I was ranting about this this morning. My 10yo had brand new uniform in September, which was big on him, yet he's outgrown it already, I saw.

So, I looked on the website. Apparently, the next size up is 'age 13'. And is £3.50 a pack dearer for the polo shirts. And it is ONLY this size (as it's the largest size they sell) that is a higher price.

I don't believe he is the height of a 13yo. He's only just turned 10, is in Y5, and has just hit 5ft1. IMO, that isn't the height of a 13yo, my DD was 5ft5 at 13. He's the height he should be for 10yo, so why the heck do I have to pay more?!

My DC are all going to be tall. My DD is 5ft7 at 15yo, size 7 feet, and still growing. My DS1 is 11yo, in Y7, and is 5ft4 and in a size 6 shoe. So DS2 bring 5ft1 at just turned 10yo seems about right to me.

Pisses me off that just because my DC are tall, I have to pay more for their clothes and shoes.

So no, it's not just you!

And no, they don't go through every size if they are BORN taller. If your DC is born on the 90 th centile for height , it stands to reason that they are going to stay there. No newborn clothes for my DC's. And due to growth spurts, they often skip 2-3 sizes when they grow, so where age 5-6 might cost £7 for a pair of jeans, they miss out 6-7 and 7-8, costing £9, and go straight into 8-9, costing £11, missing out a middle 'price chunk' entirely.

Just average out the cost like with adult clothing.

In Ireland VAT is applied from about age 11 upwards, on clothes, I guess that it's the same in the UK, even on school uniforms. Our VAT rate is currently 23% which does add substantially to the price.

Asda are the worst!

Baby range age 12-18 months jeans £5ish.
Child range age 12-18 months (identical) jeans £7ish.

They're the same jeans in the same bloody size, just a different label!!

Zillion - TBH, I think I probably would prefer to pay an average price for kids' clothes. Thinking of most supermarket ranges for example, they tend roughly to be from 1.5 to 6, or 7 to 14. If you paid an average price you'd "lose out" when your kids were younger/smaller in size, but make up for it when you paid the same price as they got older/bigger if that makes sense. What I was trying to convey was the annoyance I feel when you spot a price you think is reasonable - which is invariably the younger sizes displayed at the front - but which doesn't seem such a good bargain once you've dug out the older ones.

True, most women probably don't range from size 4 to 24 but I think it's fair to say that many women do find their weight and size does fluctuate quite a lot (unless you're very lucky and/or strongwilled re: diet and exercise). I've been a size 8 up to a size 18 and everything in between in my time - yet never noticed a difference in buying adult clothes.

Yes TheGirl .... quite agree that clothes bought for a child should be VAT exempt. Both my children are very tall - and my oldest wore adult clothes long before he actually was an adult. I think my daughter will invariably be the same. It's hard enough trying to find appropriate clothes kids can wear which are in their size without the extra whammy of VAT added on top. Have often thought you should be able to either claim it back or simply not pay it in the first place if you purchase something in the company of said large child (complete with ID if necessary). However, I'm sure that'd be open to exploitation so it's never going to happen. Very unfair though.

Interesting about H&M HooHah - will have to check them out.

TheGirlFromIpanema I was have having a good moan about that yesterday. My 13 year DS is 6foot and wears size 12 shoes.
I had to buy him new school trousers yesterday after yet another growth spurt. He was in size 15/16 trousers from Asda that cost £6.50. They are too short so we had to buy adult trousers at £14.00. I paid £74.00 for a new coat at the weekend, it was a nightmare finding even adult styles with long enough arms.
And don't get me started on the cost of his bloody shoes.
There should be some sort of system to claim VAT back.

childrens clothes do not have VAT on them if you have to buy adult sizes you have to pay VAT possibly not fair but there is no quick easy way around it

Some adult clothes manufacturers do charge more for larger sizes and it used to be more normal - certainly where I bought clothes, but you're right that its not the norm any more.

Yep Couthy my DD was 95th centile - she never fitted the smallest baby clothes and past toddlerhood, I've always bought stuff which is 2 to 3 years "older" than she actually is. Given some retailers assume that once you hit 9 in clothes (i.e. when my DD was actually 6) you only ever want to be dressed as a black and bubblegum pink Goth, it's often been very frustrating trying to find anything suitable for her to wear regardless of price.

And don't get me started on shoes.

ladypenny - I feel your pain
ds is just 11 in year 6. He has size 9 shoes and wears age 13-14 tops, or small adult.
I am paying VAT for him already. He is still at primary.

Some families will never pay VAT, thei petite size children will be small adults who can buy form the children's section.

I would love a system where I could claim VAT back on any clothes bought for children, but I can't dream up a system which would work.

Maybe children need clothing coupons, XX hundred pounds of VAT free clothing per year per child.

Bubble gum goth
That describes the awfulness that is preteen clothes perfectly.

It's been just about ok with slight, suits rock chick, DD2.

But I had an awful time with her larger, just wanted normal clothes that fitted big sister.

DD1 has been in VAT charging uniform since Y7. DD2 happily fits M&S much cheaper age 12.

Teacup I've paid 20% vat on dss shoes - and many of his clothes - for around 2 years already. He is 10. It really is a tax on size imho.
I would have a system whereby it can be re-claimed when purchased for children is all.

Steppe we sort of already have a perfectly useable method of doing it. In my imaginary government I would simply alter the method that visitors from abroad already use (to reclaim Vat), and make it bigger and available to parents.

The reason I guess why it would be unworkable (even if politicians had a desire to address the issue) is that I can see it would be open to massive abuse and end up being a very costly scheme.

Its very frustrating for me as I have a 5 YO who has to wear age 8 clothes as he is so tall!

The amount of fabric, and thread for an 11 yo garment is substantially more than for a 6 yo, there is a large increase in sizing between these ages. Most manufacturers use the 75 centile for their sizing, I do. The increase in sizing between adult sizes is, on average, about 2 cms per size increase, which is not a large increase in fabric etc reducing costs. You usually find a price increase in garments from size 20 onwards.

There are alternatives to the stuff found in the major chain,s but you pay for it because there is no economy of scale. I suggest you check out the scandy style clothes at Funky Kitsch, Molo Kids etc. Please note I have no financial investment in any of these companies.

FYI I have a friend who owns a kids boutique, she stocked all sorts of colour and styles that were age appropriate and fun up to and including pre-teens. The only things that sold in large enough quantities to make it a success were girls clothes in pink. It's a business, she now mostly stocks girls clothes in pink.

YouWantDifferentYouHaveToPayTiggaxx

What about the missing shoe sizes? Needed to buy walking shoes for DS2, size 6. Boys' shoes went up to size 5, men's started at size 7. Fortunately, the women's size 6s could pass as uni-sex.

It's perfectly reasonable. They're using more fabric.

As a sew-er I am always amazed how little extra they charge for larger sizes when it can mean using considerably more fabric (because of the width of the fabric, a larger size often needs much more fabric as two pieces that fitted side by side in a smaller fabric may have to go one above the other in a larger size-as they are longer too, this may mean more than twice the fabric.

Although really tiny clothes can be very finiky to sew, so maybe newborn and smaller should be more expensive too?

I have been known to buy a size 20+ outfit, and cut it down into an outfit for me and an outfit for one of the dd's when they were tiny. That's how much extra fabric is in it.

Scholes - YES exactly!! Ds1 is a size 6 and I'm always left standing befuddled in shoes shops - where are the size 6 boys shoes?! I don't understand , does he go barefoot until he's a 7??

It's the VAT usually.

But Dewe Vat is far more relevant in why some children's clothes cost so much more than others.

It's the fact that we all pay a fifth extra in tax on our clothes but that children are meant to be exempt.

Many, however,are not exempt from this tax. For instance school blazers in any size won't have Vat added yet a pair of size 6 trainers does have it added, is what is so unfair.

I think larger adults should pay more for their clothes than a smaller adult in the same way it's done with children.

I cannot understand how it's fair to charge the same. Why should smaller people spend their entire life subsidising the large people?