Kids clothes not going past age 14

[Username2101]

My DD has a Christmas party Thursday with her drama group. Money is a tad tight so I looked on Asda, Tesco etc for a party dress. Barely any have clothes for children over age 14. She's 10 but very tall and women's clothes just aren't suitable. I don't understand why they have done this? AIBU to complain?

Am I right in saying kids clothes are meant to be tax free? I wonder if companies are using that as a reason to stop at 14? It's cheeky for 15 to 17yo tho and for those of us spending extra years on clothes tax.

Some do. I'm a short arse so quite often buy age 14-15 or even 15-16. I only buy second hand so not entirely sure which shops they're from originally but I think M&S is one.

@Username2101 definitely look at M&S, they go up to age 16. H&M divided range (not in all shops, but in some) is the teen range which is worth looking at

Lean teenage boys don't exist.
Which is awkward when you actually own one.

Trying to find XS or even S men's clothes is a laugh.
I sometimes resort to size 6/ 8 / XS womens if the cut and colour are relatively neutral because he needs to wear something!

It's such an annoying gap in sizing.
Plus add in autistic sensitivities about fabric, cut and style. (Or in OP's case needing age appropriate cuts)

My 11yo's waist is an inch smaller than my thigh... and I'm only a size 10!

The 14yo has 14-15 "slim waist" school trousers and they're still pulled in like potato sacks to stay up! I haven't seen 14-15 in casual wear in the shops though, and no way am I buying stuff that can't have the size checked in person prior to purchase. I'm not pissing about wasting time and money on a 80% chance of returns!

@BogRollBOGOF Next do basic cotton chinos for 15, 16 & 17yos in a superskinny cut, online, that are worth a try.

Our school specifies them, in navy, as uniform because they are available to fit almost any shape teen. No polyester so not sweaty, wash easily and don't need ironing.

Unfortunately he hasn't done any casual trousers for a decade- it was a big thing having to accept trousers for secondary school.
At least his preference for shorts takes worrying about length out of the equation and we only need to worry about waist: thigh ratio and fabric. Next do the thicker, soft shorts he likes though.

How tall is your child? My dd is 5.6 and wears the 10-15 range in H&M. Is you child taller than 5.6?

H&M have 3 clothing ranges for children babies/toddlers, then up to 10 and 10-14+. The 14+ clothes are quite generous and would comfortably fit developed and fully grown 16 year olds. Mango also has a teen range online.

You want to complain to supermarkets because your ten year old is too tall for ages 14 clothes? Seriously? How would that go exactly?

My mil and sils buy children's clothes and shoes all the time for themselves. Can I complain about that?

I know they used to do clothes for up to age 16. This isn't my first rodeo. But I don't understand why the sudden stop at age 14 now.

DD is a tall 10 but still very young in outlook. She seems to fall into a gap where the women's are too big/ not appropriate and the kids are too small.

School uniforms are an even bigger nightmare. All I wanted was a cheapish dress she could wear for one day. Her current growth rate means it won't fit much longer so I'm reluctant to spend loads, that's why I thought the supermarkets would be a good shout.

How tall @Username2101 ?

@Username2101 it is a total pain if you have a child who is tall for their age but, as I and other PPs have pointed out, it’s because the VAT rules for children’s clothes are based on a maximum size/height. Most teenagers don’t want to wear children’s clothes and any size above the HMRC defined “age 14 size” (161cm height for girls) would be subject to VAT so it would be 20% more expensive. As this thread shows, most people don’t know that, they think all kids’ clothes have no VAT. I assume stores avoid the issue of disgruntled customers who don’t understand why there is a huge jump in price between sizes, especially as there is only a small market for those sizes.

The actual rule for clothes to be zero rated for VAT:

HMRC will accept that garments are designed for young children as long as they are at or within the tabled measurements. These measurements are based on children up to the eve of their 14th birthday, as this is when the body dimensions begin to merge with those of the general adult population.

I feel your pain as DD was a very tall, very thin 10 year old and lived in leggings and oversized T-shirts due to lack of alternatives. H&M and the New Look teen range were sometimes helpful.

The problem is that a 5'4" 10 year old is usually a very different shape to a 5'4" 14 year old of the same weight. By 14 they usually have the body shape of a petite woman, so basically an adult 4-6. What you really need is age 10 clothes that have a Tall option!

The reality is the sales of girls age range (13+)bombed about 5/6 years ago. They tended to move to either small lady arguably older clothing styles or sportswear. It will always be demand led.

Not many at secondary age want to wear the same style as a young primary aged child. This has definitely been very noticeable amongst my sons class mates, no uniform schools. From about age 11+ they are pretty much in leggings hoodies and casual soft clothing.

I wonder if you want the dresses would searching international shops be a better option? Perhaps there's a bigger market elsewhere.

I have to buy my eldest tracksuits from France as their sizes are slimmer, the UK sizing is very large at the waist for boys on my experience.

I feel your pain. I’ve got an 8 year old who is very tall and skinny and is now in clothes for 11-12 year olds and has size 5 feet. There is a significant mismatch between the clothes available and her taste. Shoes are the biggest issue though.

They don't have 'children's' clothes for over-14s because most kids over that age aren't going to want to wear the same clothes as a 10-year-old.

Obviously your daughter is tall, but if she's the same size as a 15-16-year-old at the age of 10, that's unusual and it's not really surprising that children's clothes don't cater for her. They wouldn't have many takers for girls' party dresses in what would effectively be adult sizes. I appreciate that it makes things tricky because of course you don't want to dress a 10-year-old like an adult, but I can see why manufacturers aren't going to make kids' clothes in adult sizes for the small number of kids who would be tall enough for them.

13-14 years H&M clothes will fit the OP's dd perfectly.

She has said her dd is 5 foot4, that's 163cm so a comfortable 12-14 in H&M kids range. She can also try the Mango teen range, she'd fit teen size XS or S. Have you tried these OP?

Sizing is crazy in adults clothes and kids clothes.

I'm in my sixties, 5ft 1 and not abnormally petite (an adult size 8 or 10 or even 12 depending on cut and brand) and most of my casual clothes (boots, trainers, jumpers, leggings, overshirts, hoodies, puffa jackets, socks, some nightwear) come from children's ranges. The lengths are normally better than adult sizes and they fit my narrow shoulders. I'm particularly fond of a pink puffa with a label in the back to write my name and tutor group on.

The only casual thing I can't buy from a kids range is jeans because if they fit my hips and bum they are about 6 inches too long.

It can definitely be a saving but what I save on VAT is more than offset by constantly having adult clothes taken in or up or having the sleeves shortened.

Just to say that I recommend checking Amazon - they often do the younger-girl stuff up to much larger sizes. Although if she's very slim, you're going to struggle even if you do find size 14 as she'll be too small for a lot of this stuff.

Some of the sparkly zara stuff does seem to come up very small ito width though - I have wondered if it's to do with their measurements being done pre-sparkles added - so DD, who is on the slightly bigger side, can easily wear their normal jumpers/t-shirts/jackets... but the moment there's a sequin or something, it all weirdly cannot be worn so that might be worth checking for your DD?

Glad to read this, I was worried about my just turned 9 DD having size 5 feet, all her friends are max size 2/3, glad we aren't on our own.
School shoes are a huge challenge, the ones in her size are too grown up and flimsy fir a child who still runs around the play ground playing tag. Trainers are fine but expensive.