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Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To think that girls aged under 5 need a slimmer fit!

38 replies

quirkycutekitch · 10/11/2014 18:06

Was in GAP today & overheard a conversation with another customer & an assistant.

The guy was looking at the jackets with 'GAP' across the front in the under 5 section & the assistant said - that's a girls top - they are a slightly slimmer fit!

WTF!!! Confused

OP posts:
ArgyMargy · 10/11/2014 18:07

Did you mean they don't need a slimmer fit?

quirkycutekitch · 10/11/2014 18:08

Yes - missed out the DON'T!

OP posts:
MillyStar · 10/11/2014 18:08

I find gap childs clothes rediculously small anyway! My dd is always at least one size bigger in there than other shops and sometimes two

quirkycutekitch · 10/11/2014 18:10

I've noticed the sizes are small too.

OP posts:
quirkycutekitch · 10/11/2014 18:11

But what parent is going to say oh I love that top on my 4 year old it makes her look so slim???

OP posts:
TaliZorahVasNormandy · 10/11/2014 18:13

My DD certainly needs a slimmer fit, she's very slender.

steff13 · 10/11/2014 18:14

I would have thought the fit was slimmer because girls generally have smaller frames than boys, so the same size for a girl would be cut a bit slimmer than that of a boy. Not because they want the girl to look slim.

quirkycutekitch · 10/11/2014 18:14

Then you need to head to GAP Grin

OP posts:
quirkycutekitch · 10/11/2014 18:15

Maybe for an older child but are under 5 girls & boys really that different?

OP posts:
steff13 · 10/11/2014 18:18

My daughter is 4, and she is much different than her brothers were at her age. She's hippy, for one thing. I didn't think a girl that small would have broad hips, but she does. And, she does have narrower shoulders, even though she's in the same size range as they were.

accessorizequeen · 10/11/2014 18:19

Yes, I have boy/girl twins & she would need a slimmer fit because of her frame. They're just 6.

CantBeBotheredThinking · 10/11/2014 18:19

The boys at nursery with my daughter are on the whole a lot stockier than she is.

Dinosaursdontgrowontrees · 10/11/2014 18:19

My dd is just 2 and wears gap size 4 Shock Blush she is not overweight and wears 18m to 2/ 2to 3 in all other shops!

Dragonlette · 10/11/2014 18:22

My dd and her little male friends have always been roughly the same size, with dd sometimes being the wider one and the boys sometimes being wider, depending on who was due a growth spurt. Under 5s really don't have much difference in shape due to sex, but individual children have different shapes at that age.

pepsi77 · 10/11/2014 18:24

I've got a 5 year old boy and 6 year old girl. The youngest has been bigger than his big sister for about 2 years. So yes, in my experience she would need a miles slimmer for than a boy.

Sirzy · 10/11/2014 18:27

girls clothes are always 'slimmer' fit than boys simply because of the differences in frame between the two.

ineedausername · 10/11/2014 18:28

My daughter would also need a slimmer fit, her little brother is heavier and stockier than she is.
Girls and boys clothes are cut differently. The age 3-4 for my daughter is different to the 3-4 for my son.

ACheesePuff · 10/11/2014 18:30

There are different growth charts for boys and girls, so they probably are different. I would certainly say on average girls are slightly smaller at age 5, and boys and girls grow at different rates throughout childhood.

HappyAsASandboy · 10/11/2014 18:30

I have boy/girl twins, aged 4, and it's my boy who needs a slim fit!

DD is stocky and solid and weighs more than a third more than DS and DS is all slinky and slim. It's like they're made of entirely different stuff!

Maybe I should get some GAP girls stuff for DS Confused

TooManyCuddlies · 10/11/2014 18:34

It's the same in all shops - boys tops (and trousers) are nearly always cut baggier, like men's clothes, girls tops are generally shorter and narrower, if it's a t shirt the sleeves are usually shorter than a boy's t shirt, if it is a long sleeved top the sleeves will taper more and be narrower too.

My DD (almost 7) can still fit into some 12-18 month Next boy's t shirts, but she wears age 5-6 or 6-7 if I buy them in the girl's section.

Partly it is because boys tend to be a bit stockier than girls, but it is also fashion. Clothes for small children are now often close to fashion for adults, and they are copying the norms for adults - where clothes are designed to make men look strong and women look slender.

My DDs are both very slight, so it is actually quite useful for me, it means I can buy clothes that don't hang off them. But it isn't a fashion trend I am particularly happy with otherwise.

fredfredsausagehead1 · 10/11/2014 18:38

It's obvious girls carry more body fat under 5

RainbowRabbit33 · 10/11/2014 18:38

Maybe I should head to Gap... I've just bought 3mo DD boys dungarees because all the girls ones seem to be somehow balloon-shaped. They look ridiculous on her skinny little frame! They were from John Lewis (gift vouchers, can't afford JL when she grows so fast!).

RubyGoat · 10/11/2014 18:39

My DD is tall & heavy, near the top of the charts, & has been since birth. She has large hands & feet too, apparently that's an indication that they are likely to be tall? DH is 6'4" so it's possible, DD is 2.6 & in clothes size 3-4, she's slim in the middle, chunkier on the legs & arms as she's always running & climbing about. Slim fit would be no good for her!

FreeButtonBee · 10/11/2014 18:40

Boy/girl twins here - 21 months and DTD is much slimmer than DTS. I find gap on the big side but then they are teeny weeny.

PourMeSomethingStronger · 10/11/2014 18:45

I don't think it is necessarily girls who need a slimmer fit anyway. I struggle to get trousers the right length for 4yo ds that even come close to staying up. He's 91st centile for height and just above 75th for weight, so not particularly out of proportion. I have ended up taking in trousers for him and making some myself.