Girls and boys shorts? Why are girls short short?

[sweetkitty]

I have 3 DDs, one almost 16, one 14 and one almost 12. Every year when I go to buy shorts the girls ones are always short or thigh length and the boys knee length.

The older one is happy to wear shorts up her bum lol but the other two won’t. It’s easier now DD2 is woman sized she can wear longer shorts for women. The 12yo is skinny and tiny so even a size 6 would drown her. She hates the really short shorts and the shortie PJs. So the only option is boys ones, denim might be ok.

So AIBU that young girls shorts are up their thighs/bums yet boys are knee length? Smacks of sexism to me?

Debenhams have some lovely girls shorts which are just above knee length. Good for climbing trees etc! I've noticed the same re girls shorts being too short too.

Yanbu. I hate it. I try to buy older age group with adjustable waist for my dd, the skirts and dresses always seem that bit too short.

I'm not sure what the problem is. I've just bought mid thigh denim shorts for DD13 from Gap. I found others at H&M. They seem pretty plentiful tbh

DD(8) always wears boy’s shorts.

Surely it’s a fashion thing. I remember my DH in the late 90s and early 00s wearing very short shorts as was the fashion for men and for the gym. I also remember in the early 90s and later long Bermuda shorts and long denim shorts being be fashion for me.

The thing with fashion is don’t buy what you don’t want and it won’t become the norm. There are loads of places to buy women’s or girls longer shorts.

Personally I prefer short to long shorts as they are more easy to move in and much cooler in hot places.

This pisses me off. My daughter is 7. She does not want to get sunburn and she wants to be comfortable. Sexist crap

YANBU at all. I only have boys, but I remember buying them shorts in H&M last year and recognising it then. I wanted some nice bright shorts for my boys, but only dark and denim ones were available for boys (over toddler age) and the girls ones were much much shorter and of course had a frill or something to clearly mark them as 'girl' .

I've just looked on La Redoute which I really like for children's clothing, and they have some nice Bermudas in bright colours - but of course they're in the boys section.

When virtually all of us are saying the same thing is seems startling that manufacturers are still making the wrong clothes. Maybe we need to get louder. We're buying, so we need to insist they're selling us the clothes we want and need.

I have a suggestion: if your DDs are ok with the quality and style of long pants that are available for girls their age, buy them and cut them down to make shorts at the preferred length. You will have the advantage of clothes cut for pre-teen or teen girls' bodies, with colors that are conventional for their peer group, with lengths that make them comfortable for themselves. If you are open to thrift shop shopping, you can pick up bargains. Yes it requires you to do some extra work, but shirts and pants aren't that different in cost, and you can teach hemming. Sewing is a skill with lifelong rewards.

You will also be opening their eyes to capitalist imperatives, patriarchy, the male gaze, extra burdens on women, and creating feminists, but when is that ever not the goal?

Women's clothes are currently designed for men's pleasure

I disagree actually.

I think it's all about money. Why are crop tops so fashionable for women despite a tiny proportion of them who want to wear them? Because it's less material...it's cheaper. Same reason why three quarter length sleeves are fashionable..because less material and the sleeve length doesn't need to be as accurate as full length ones so will fit more women and so they'll sell more. Why are women's clothes made of such thin material? Everything is virtually see through...because it's cheap.

Totally agree, I have a 12yo daughter and the stupid tiny shorts give me the massive rage. We buy most of her clothes from boys section anyway, as she hates all the sodding pink, love hearts, glitter, frills, cap sleeves, bows, cropped waistlines, stupid slogans etc to be found on most clothes in all girl sections. Even the plainest t-shirt and jeans will have some girly crap on it. But mostly why do little girls and tweens clothes have to be sexualised - they want to be able to run, climb, have unselfconscious fun - not flash their arse cheeks!

Totally agree, my 9 year old DD likes knee length, brightly coloured (not pastel), ideally patterned shorts. They are surprisingly hard to find! We usually have most luck with mountain warehouse although I find there sizes on the small side.

I've been buying my dd shorts from the boys section for years.

Much better length for playing in, going down slides etc.

I got denim shorts from primark last year for £3.50 a pair & they're ideal.

I totally agree.
So hard to buy short pjs for females. The shorts are far too short.
I always have to check my work clothes too. So many dresses are too low cut or too short. Most are sleeveless or have those ridiculous piddling tiny sleeves.
Same with t shirts lots of girls ones are too short in the body of the material is too thin.
When dd was waitressing and needed a black shirt, I had to buy her a men's one from Primark as I couldn't find a suitable women's one which button up enough to wear the tie with.

@DextrousCT that won't work in the most cases, as trousers and jeans are tapered and shaped whereas in shorts they wouldn't be. They won't fit the same unless you cut them above where the tapering starts, and then you're going to have to do them short anyway!

I find this with women's dresses - I'm 5'6" - on the knee/just above length is the most flattering on me. So many dresses hit mid-thigh leaving me feeling exposed
So frustrating when 2-3" more of fabric would be infinitely more comfortable. I don't even class myself as that tall.

I look a bit frumpy in below the knee/midi length and I don't want to be constantly altering and hemming. I'm convinced the mid-thigh thing is a cost cutting exercise, it's been going on for years no matter the season!

I try taller ranges sometimes but it rarely seems to be a difference (not sure how this is possible )

YANBU! I remember this, every year from when DD was 2, the new shorts would be the same length as as she got older, they got very slightly shorter! DS is 3 years younger and his shirts would be longer. DD is not in women’s shorts with her arse hanging out. Probably still the length of her age 2 shorts 😡

Oops - she’s ‘now’ in women’s shorts

Agree. It’s sexualisation of female children at it’s worst

I assume because it’s better to hide all the things that hang loose?

Yes, Dd hates short shorts. She often ventures into the 'blue' section and chooses some longer ones. Last year She chose a lovely aqua blue and navy blue 2 set from next in thick jogger material and another aqua blue and check 2 set from Sainsburys teamed with some bright tshirts they looked lovely.

DD now tells me she wants playsuit for her summer clothes this year, she had a couple last year and preferred them as the shorts were long, light and practical for running around in.

I think it is particularly the fashion now for the hem of girl's shorts to be curved upwards at the outside, which Dd hates. She'd live in joggers all the time, but shorts made of jogger material always seem particularly short and with that curved v cut out at the sides.
I tend to buy second hand shorts, which are often a bit longer. Or if I buy new, our favourites are Mountain Warehouse, and Vertbaudet, they both do Bermudas for girls, and normal girl shorts are short, but not hot pants. Also fat face have been good before, with a roll down hen.

Because they sell, people buy them. Designers wouldn't design them and manufacturers make them if the didn't t think they'd sell. I doubt it's the men buying them probably mum's or girls themselves. Don't think of boy's shorts or girl's shorts just think shorts and buy what you want, if that means shopping in the 'boy's' section then so be it.

Ahem. Roll down hem, not hen.

Because they sell, people buy them.

They sell because there really is little other option if you want shorts for girls. Especially on a tight budget. Once they reach a certain age, not all children will wear clothes that are obviously made for the opposite sex, as pp have said, and not all parents will buy their kids clothes from the "wrong" section either. Also when girls develop hips, not all shorts from the boy's section will fit properly.