To ask what idiots design girls' clothes??

[Pepperwort]

And who decided that 9 - 13, 14 ish has to be a new group for marketing, and wearing those adult-like, almost aggressive (can't think of a better word) fashions?? I'm not advertising sexuality for a 'tween' or whatever they're called, creepy men can get their kicks somewhere else. I just want something nice that suits the weather! I hate hate HATE clothes shopping.

It's lockdown, so I haven't had my act together and wanted to get some summer tops for my dd, 11. Designers - summer is hot, and the sun burns. What you need is something covering the shoulders, light, loose, in natural cool fabrics and nice prints. Something patterned in nice colours.

NO MORE damned slogans or flipping' unicorns or what-have-you, scrap animal prints. Ffs ditch the polyester, and kill the 'cold shoulder' rubbish already!!

HOW HARD IS IT??? REALLY?

Ahem. As you were. And if anyone could possibly point me to some nice simple (very simple, I can use a sewing machine but I'm not a whizz) and new sewing patterns for tunic and 'peasant blouse' types, assuming I get my act together next year, I would be eternally grateful.

How big are kids now that they are wearing adult sizes at age 9?! My niece is 9 and I just ordered her an AGE 6-7 leotard for gymnastics

@HunterAngel

For any adults wanting longer shorts I did actually find some in Tesco that are knee length.

For sandals definitely mountain warehouse, sports direct. Karrimoor are an excellent brand, proper soles and comfy with a bit of support. For a slightly more fashionable sandal try Hotter. Expensive but I did find sandals that don’t slide out from under me

Thanks for the info on shorts in tesco. I will need some for work and have been wearing mens because coverage AND pockets. The last thing my work colleagues need if I ever go back is to see my arse cheeks. But my job is physically hard and I will melt in jeans.

On a similar tack, mens trousers and shorts have a bit of the waistband elasticated. This I'm told is for ease of movement, bending down and twisting and whatever.

Why are womens not the same. So if I wear womens shorts and I too bend and twist, by the end of my shift the waistband has left a huge red mark. If I wear mens, I dont have this problem. Are women only to stand or sit still and look pretty?

@Coffeeandbeans my child doesn't like anything she is too young for a preference- I dress her in things I like. When she does have a preference she can wear whatever she likes. I just don't get being proud your girl or boy doesn't like girly things. Like I said it's the child version of 'you're not like most girls'. We are taught to think girls stuff is frivolous, I don't get everyone clambering to say how proud they are their little girl doesn't like something.
Liking unicorns, dragons, dinosaurs, pink, blue, multicolored is fine.
For the record my girl has all sorts, I've not found a problem dressing her in clothes that aren't pink if I've wanted to. I like bright colours and dinosaurs.

We got some nice, good length shirts froM Uniqlo for DD.

For the PP that said this was at the 'cheaper end of the market', not so, I really struggle to find clothes for DD and DS (11 & 13) across the spectrum of prices. DS I particularly struggle with. He hates branded sportswear or skinny jeans, he just wants plain good quality, fairly functional wear. He also suffers from having a rugby-players build and being very athletic and muscular but also fairly short. It's almost impossible to find decent jeans or trousers or unbranded thick cotton hoodies that are fit for purpose and look good. Shirts aren't so bad, he's partial to a bit of brushed cotton plaid and Levis or Boden do some decent ones. General clothes for tweens if they're not into branding or fashion in general and want something that feels quality is a bloody nightmare.

DD 8.5 mostly wears her brother’s cast offs. Also a bit of Hap, bit of Asda, bit Mountain Warehouse, but no one real “go to” shop.

I just wanted to chip in on the sewing front - look up Ellie and Mac patterns. They are great for kids. Quite a lot of stretch fabrics so you might want to brush up on your jersey sewing skills. There's probably a Facebook support group for them. There are a few frillies but loads of hoodies etc.

For a peasant blouse try Twig and Tale Driftwood blouse?
These days a lot of patterns are downloadable PDFs rather than envelope patterns so although it's a bit of an outlay you can use them again and again.

My DD is 14 and very petite. She still wears age 9-10 clothes. Our problem is that she doesn't want to wear a lot of the styles designed for 9 year olds. She wants teenage stuff but she has the body of a primary school child. She likes a good rummage in TKMAXX, H and M and Zara normally but this has not been possible since lockdown. She got on YouTube for instructions, broke out my sewing machine and refashioned some hand-me-downs from friends plus some old things of mine and she is thrilled with her "new" clothes. Summer sandals, however, are a different matter entirely...

Oh gosh I have boys but I have friends with girls. I hate to see pre-teen girls in grown up items of clothing and don’t get me started on the slogan/character crap - that’s the same for boys as well unfortunately!

Have you tried Boden, haven’t looked at their older girl’s stuff this season but they have an up to 12 range and an up to 16 range. They might do the sort of thing you’re after.

There’s always a discount code online somewhere as well.

How about Crocs, ouch? They come in loads of colours and go in the washing machine. There is a sandal kind too. Easy to get online as they're not exact sizes.

May I join you with a moan about the lack of lightweight trousers for girls?
10 years ago they were nicely available in loads of places.

Then came the trend for long tops and leggings, and they all disappeared...

@ChilliCheese123 my DD is tall and slender, and grew out of children's sizes around age 11. About half the girls in her year in Y6 we're taller and broader than me!
I think she went into JL Age 12 at about 8.

Just looked on Boden, fair bit of character crap. But there’s some lovely summer T-shirt’s, bretton tops and nice peasant/smock tops you were talking about - all in cotton.

Issues with girls clothes start very young. My DD has always been average or above average height, so wearing the next size up before she's that age. So Sainsburys do beautiful traditional baby clothes and pre school clothes that morph at size 5 into pre teens impractical clothing. Same when you get to 10 ish and everything that fits is the teen range, all grungy and bown/navy/black/gray.

DD is 13, same height as me and very curvy. She can't wear boys clothes anymore because 13 yo boys aren't the same shape she is. I'm pleased that Boden has done away with their teen range and started making the bright colours in larger sizes, but I agree on the skimpy straps and crop tops.

She has a load of "Steve Backshall" Mountain Warehouse T shirts but they only go up to 13 so won't fit after this summer. She's got sharks and frogs, birds and a unicorn (!) in all colours from bright yellow to cerise to turquoise to green to purple.

It's frustrating to be having to look at women's ranges and pay the VAT.

Trouble is there is no consensus on what people want. You only have to read this thread; 12 yos who want non-Boden colours, small 14 yos who want teen clothes, girls like mine who want practical, bright coloured comfortable clothes. Someone said Asda have a nice Khaki range - no way would mine wear those colours .

I’m sewing lots for my 7 and 11 year-old, using MBJM patterns; they’re really quick and easy to whip up once you’ve made the first one. But there are lots of Indie pattern companies floating about now - loads of choice if you’re tempted into doing your own.
For sandals I’d recommend Saltwater - lots of different colours, sensible and hard-wearing

I think Mint Velvet do girls clothes but might be quite spendy.

Oh just looked there’s some really lovely appropriate things on Mint Velvet. The range is called ‘Mintie’ (bit shit). Goes up to 12 years. Spendy but bet you could find a discount code.

Yes Vintage, I've just had a time of it getting summer sandals for DD. She's a size 6 at 11 and out of children's sizes, she didn't want technical sandal style, but needs something she can mess about in, nothing flimsy. I ended up buying her some Geox women's that cost £85 (and are more the sort of thing my mum woukd wear, but she seems happy with them!).

I really like the Mintie stuff Bette, but DD vetoes it as too 'girly'. Jigsaw do children's too, but again, it's quite 'feminine'.

I buy my DD boys clothes. Much better colours as she looks better in strong colours, hoodies zip up and shorts are longer.

That's interesting @ILikeyourHairyHands
Perhaps because I am usually looking at the cheaper end of the market I assumed that the more expensive would be better.

I also agree with the pp who mentioned that boys stuff can be dull and the 'trouble maker' slogans really annoy me.

I am due dc2 in November and am currently looking for nice unisex baby stuff. Everything is GREY! Why?
Where is the mint and lemon, purple, red etc.

Maybe shops are just getting kids clothes wrong generally and a rethink is needed.

Girls clothing is poorer quality than boys. Try finding quality joggers for girls. Impossible

Zara returns is really easy. We tend to buy lots and then return once tried on. Bermudas/skorts all good length and most have adjustable waistbands so work for a skinny, tall 10 year old.

Could buy from boys section , next normally sells plain t shirts fit girls as well with no patterns and leggings
Shorts seem to be short often even for women as I struggle to find some , can cut down old jeans though
But more shops will be open soon so should be some more choice
Gap tends to do lot of t shirts / shorts as well
And if tall child maybe look at size 6 ladies plain shorts in longer style , have found occasionally in next and sometimes matalan and t shirts they always do plain ones

Last summer I visited 5 highstreet shops trying to find some hooded cardigan type tops for cooler evenings for my son - not one single shop had a plain hoody, that didn't have either wording on it, or wasn't flourescent yellow or black!!!

I went online - and they wonder why we shop online.