To be worried DD will find it hard to get clothes that fit?

[Decisionsdecisions1]

I'm short - 5ft. DD (13) is even shorter - 4ft 10. It's been 3.5 yes since she hit puberty so it's unlikely she'll grow taller. She hasn't grown in 2.5 years.

Over the years I've found it harder and harder to find clothes that fit. Lengths are easy to adjust but not necklines, waist positions, fly length, shoulder width etc. The number of brands I can buy from has shrunk to about two.

With people getting taller I assume sizes will get bigger. What will dd do? I feel for her. She already feels clothes don't fit her like they fit her friends. I feel like it's all my fault and feel so guilty. I know this is a first world problem but I can see it's effecting her confidence already and feel sad about it. That's all.

Is she not in proportion is that what you mean?

Yeah, it’s shit.

I have no idea why 50% of the women are expected to shop in the “petite” range so the bottom 10% of women have no clothing options at all.

I have no idea why “regular” length clothing is for women who are well above average height. It’s exhausting.

Heaven forbid she has large breasts too - she may as well wear a fucking bag and be done with it.

The only advice I have is to teach her how to alter clothing, silently seeth and hope that society recognise short women’s existence at some point soon.

From similar threads, you won’t get much sympathy here and will just get told that she can still “fit” into longer clothes (by people who don’t know how clothes work).

Is she progressing through puberty? How tall is dad? If you have any medical concerns speak to gp (without her).

It must be difficult but it's probably the easiest time in history to buy clothes for the less usual body type. In your youth you had to buy from local shops, now you can buy from anywhere in the world - in particular China where women are much smaller.

Also kids wear adult fashion so if she ends up buying teen girl basics it'll look perfectly normal.

Do children’s/young teen clothes not fit right because she has hips, boobs etc ? Or is she upset that she can’t pick clothes based on trends?

So I assume you've sought medical advice and she's otherwise healthy, just petite?

I would look at Japanese and East Asian brands - she's got the whole internet to buy from! She might find clothes there are tailored more to her proportions. I went to Japan, and - at 5'6 and a size 14 - very little in the shops would have fitted me.

I also think that learning to sew her own clothes would be really liberating. Is that something that might interest her?

DD is an adult and 4ft 9. She buys from Asian sites and teenage ranges.
The hardest part is shoes. She's a size 2.

It's unusual to stop growing at 10 and a half . Have you spoken to a doctor to check all is ok?

There are petite ranges, eg Next, I don't know how well they would work for your DD.
She probably will grow another inch or so over the next 4 or 5 years. I thought I'd stopped growing having reached 5'2 at about 12, and was still that at 15. But between 15-20 I grew almost 2 inches, (without noticing) until I was measured by doctor for something unrelated. So it is possible that she hasn't quite finished growing yet.
The main issue will be where the waist lies on clothes, and maybe certain styles just won't work. Stretchy separates will probably work better, and if she has much of a bust, try brands which cater for small backs and larger boobs. Zara tends to come up quite small, being designed for Spanish women who tend to be shorter than women in the UK.
It might be worth both of you taking a sewing course to learn how to adapt clothes so that they fit correctly. I've worked out how to move shoulder seams, but can on/y do it where the sleeves are not puffy!

My mom bought petite range clothing and had a good seamstress on speed dial.
Might be worthwhile exploring making your own clothing.
My dh grandmother would sew up custom sized shirts in less than a day.

Seconding this. She might still grow. Some kids have late growth spurts. I did.

At 4'10" and not growing in 2.5 years by 13, I'd be getting her health checked in case there's any underlying issues. It's an unusually small adult height to reach particularly when not meeting parental height, especially so early. (I had a major spurt at 13, nearly 14 bringing me to an almost statuesque 5'2" before ceasing)

I know what you mean!

I used to be able to buy xs in Uniqlo but it seems bigger now! I bumped into another titch in the children’s section and found we are now aged 12 in clothing (here M&S and Zara - including the boys section!). Same for M&S trousers - no need to try on just grab an 8 petite but not any more (and 6 petite is a bit long!).

I have found a brilliant seamstress and so I can buy anything I want now and I know she can make it fit! Unfortunately not a cheap option!

The internet is wonderful for sourcing small size shoes though!

Thanks all.

Yes we did speak to GP (in fact paediatric consultant who ran a clinic at GP) as her periods started at 9..Her height is normal - I'm shorter than my parents (who themselves are short). Dp is 5ft 8 and his parents aren't particularly tall.
DD was average height amongst her friends until the last 2 years where they've all overtaken her. She's otherwise in proportion though has curves - is in a proper bra.

Yes it's trends/brands she struggles with (Brandy Melville etc) which are made for taller teens. H&M kids clothes are ok.

Definitely think she should learn to sew!

Yep. I’m 4’11, and wear a 30E bra.

Clothes shopping isn’t fun.

Is there a Chinatown area in your city? She might have more luck with clothes made for the shorter average height of Asian women.

My teen DD is short too. Almost 4 ft 10. Growing a tiny bit still each year but is unlikely to reach 5 ft. She’s been checked by a paediatric endocrinologist and her growth and development is normal with no problems. She’s just short.

I do feel for you struggling to find clothes to fit you as a shorter than average person, but as someone who is taller than average, I can say that most ‘regular’ clothes are certainly not designed for those of us who are taller.
using Next as an example, their Petite ranges (available in pretty much every store) is sized for 5’3” and under, while their tall ranges (very limited, only available online and most basics are out of stock a lot of the time) is for 5’8” and over, leaving the entire range in ‘regular’ fit for those 5’4” - 5’7”. I’m 5’11, size 14, which is really not unusual.

Im 5'1 and used to have no issues with petite/short ranges in Next, M&S...now their trousers/tops are all too long as they are about 2" longer than they were. Most of the petite/short ranges are 29" leg whereas I'm a 27".

I feel your pain OP

Basic alteration skills are your friend. As is knowing your brands. ASOS petite is younger, look at petitedressing.com in the US for style tips, madewell petite are great for short jeans and JCrew, they’re US brands but appear on second hand sites in the UK.

I'd be looking at Asian clothing brands

Definitely encourage her to learn to sew. Maybe look at paying someone to teach you both some basic sewing skills?

I sew or ‘alter to fit’ all my own clothes as ‘standard’ cut clothes simply don’t fit my shape properly. I’m short and fat.

Bust darts are always in the wrong place and the low crotch length on trousers make all ready to wear trousers look baggy and Clown shaped on me.

If you do decide to invest in some sewing equipment, don’t buy the cheap Aldi/Lidl singer sewing machines as they’re rubbish but a decent basic Brother/Janome or similar brand machine will last her years.

@Decisionsdecisions1 get her a decent sewing machine with some weight to it and teach her how to use it. hobbycraft do sewing lessons. then get her to classes where they show you to adjust and adapt patterns to what she wants. she will thank you forever! My grandaughter order an evening gown for her christmas dance but i knew it was not going to arrive on time so I went to a shop and bought an evening dress pattern similar to what she had ordered and made it in a week. even put a slit which wasnt on the pattern. it did have the lace up back on the pattern. the dress she ordered arrived a week after her dance. the one I made cost half the price!

5’4-5’7 is above average height.

The fact you think 5’11 is “not unusual” for a woman is kind of my point. It’s extremely unusual. In fact, it’s 2.5x less usual than the 4’10 that everyone is shocked by on this thread. Fewer than 1% of women in the UK are your height or taller. 2.5% are 4’10 or shorter. Average height for a woman in the UK is 5’3.

So, the “petite” range is for 50% of the population. The “regular range” for the next 40%. The “tall” range is for the tallest 10%.

An average height woman shouldn’t be buying regular clothes but a woman who is on the 90th centile for height should be. The fashion industry is for tall women.

I appreciate you will struggle to buy clothes but that’s because you’re very, very tall. Not that it makes it any less annoying. The same problem is experienced by women who aren’t that short, even women who are average height - and that’s the least of our worries when you consider that we’re overdosed on every pill, car seatbelts and airbags aren’t safe for us…

My DD14 is 5ft exactly with size 2 feet, which is good in that there’s no VAT on her shoes but finding shoes that don’t have Velcro fasteners etc and that don’t look like children’s shoes is tough. Luckily she’s into DMs, converse etc but ordinary school or party shoes isn’t easy.

She should probably look into buying clothes online. There's a lot more choice in the rarer sizes. So overall it should be much easier for her than it was for previous generations.

I am short and I agree it is hard because so many brands are hugely oversized. However, while it is true that people are getting taller, I still work with lots of women in their 20s who are short, so it’s not as though everyone is becoming a giant. She will find stuff to wear.

Interestingly I have noticed that all the petite ranges at m@s and other stores get sold out really quickly! You would think that should tell retailers something…