Mums of very thin reception girls, pls help!

[kisaki333]

I have ordered (and mostly returned) at least £300 worth of school trousers in the last month I can't find a single one that looks ok and fits.
Some of the ones with adjustable waist can be adjusted to fit the waist but they look like she did a big poo in her nappy (she obviously doesn't wear one! )
To make it worse, all the adjustable waist ones are polyester. ALL the cotton pull ones I found don't have an adjustable waist. Whyyyyy???
So far we tried:
Next (best results so far but still bad)
M&S
ASDA found one slim fit that has really bad reviews saying it's much too slim lol. This one is ok, but feels poor quality.
Sainsbury's
Various Amazon brands with 0 success

Anyone managed to find something that actually looks ok on a slim petite 4.5yo and with good quaility? Preferably cotton?

And before you say about dresses, i don't want her in dresses, she is very active and a climber, she won't be able to do everything she wants in a dress.

In day to day she lives in leggings but the school won't accept those (how crazy is that, why not?!)

For DD I got extra long in a few sizes smaller in the slim fit. Still needed to adjustable waist.

Dresses/ pinafores dont stop the girls in reception doing anything as long as they are comfy and well fitting. Cycling shorts underneath if preferred.

Not a single girl wears trousers in dd’s reception class and even at that age they like to fit in. So I wouldnt make her the odd one out.

Shorts under a dress? I had to pay to have my DCs uniform altered which was annoying but the only option in reception. The sizes were ok fitting by year 1.

DD (age 7) has worn a dress for her main uniform, like others have said, and I mostly stitch in the sides of her leggings & shorts at home (although she's now confortably wearing some age 4 shorts) - but we've run into problems with jogging bottoms for PE. In the end she's been wearing super skinny extra long joggers in age 5 from Next. Asda 2 sizes down are our general option for trousers as they seem to cater for tall kids.

My two main hints would be measuring your daughter's waist and leg length and taking a tape measure on a trip round some physical shops, and learning how to take in waists (at least basic stitching) as this will probably be an issue for you for some time. Good luck!

Do you have a tailor near you that might be able to adjust a pair to fit her better?

Can shorts under a dress be an option?

I have this problem for DS and DD. Best I've found is M&S extra long length. They have 4 extra inches compared to the normal ones (and a bit extra you can let down). Then you go down a at least a couple of ages to get the waist size, e.g. get age 2-3 extra long length. Unfortunately they only do a slim fit extra length in boys, the girls are standard fit, so it might be worth trying both boys and girls.

Next, M&S and Asda slim fit are only 2 inches smaller in the waist so too big if they are really skinny. The M&S jersey ones above my DD really likes, but I will need to tighten the waist band on.

Asda does the gingham playsuits as separate shorts and tops, which I've found work much better than the dresses for DD (which tend to be tent like) and unlike the playsuits they can go to the loo in. The shorts half you can then go down in ages a bit to get a slightly better fit https://direct.asda.com/george/school/shorts/red-girls-gingham-longer-length-shorts-2-pack/GEM1375407-23603,default,pd.html?clr=Red .

Yes shorts under dress are the best idea! DD doesn’t do it, if underwear fits properly I don’t think it’s necessary especially not for infants age. But if anyone is concerned about flashing knickers then it’s an easy, cheap and obvious solution. Especially for older junior girls that still wear the summer dresses.

As the mother of a very slim boy I used to buy French clothes on holiday. Now it is easy to buy them online, albeit they are usually more expensive.

My DD couldn't get trousers to fit so we went for pinafore dress with cycling shorts underneath

I was never able to find trousers that looked decent on my very slim and long legged daughter. She wore dresses and skirts with shorts underneath and that was absolutely fine throughout primary. She was very active.

I used tesco and matalan for my very thin kids. I understand your point in the adjusted waist being bundled together at the back being an issue..We did a lot bit of sewing ourselves to get rid of the extra cloth. Maybe don't buy material, but get it altered that should be cheaper.

Another one with a very active DD who constantly climbs and does some kind of playground parkour who has only ever worn dresses (at her insistence, I tried trousers but she had very fixed ideas based I think on what the other girls were wearing) and it’s not hindered her at all.

We don’t always bother with the shorts under, sometimes do.

The cotton summer dresses have been a god send in the latest heat wave - about the coolest option.

My DD is pretty solidly built so we don’t have that issue with trousers, but her best friend is (and very tall too) and has had success sizing right down in tu/ Sainsbury’s - I think because they’re fairly long or maybe they have an extra long option, so you can go down the sizes for the waist.

H and M, and I sewed a tiny pleat into everything until she was about 12. Not sure if you specifically have to have trousers, but we found dresses and skirts easier, as you can go down a size without worrying so much about the length, or the bulk of the fabric

We had a very thin boy. Options for us were a) but shorts in a smaller age then length is not an issue. Works for 3/4 year. B) buy extra long length trousers - the waist to length ratio is much better.

Edited for typo

My daughter is very active, she just wore dresses with shorts under them

Hi all, thanks for all the replies!
Just to clarify a few things:
Yes, dresses are an option but so far she screams bloody murder when i put thights on. So summer gingham, yes, winter pinafore, no. Also, the smallest size gingham from.m&s still is almost like a maxi dress on her - can you climb a climbing frame safely in that? Or ride a bike?
Culottes would have the same problem as the trousers and don't think they are allowed.
Playsuits are an abomination (for children or grownups) and i will have none on my house
Sadly the school won't allow leggings or joggers, even for reception, which is very sad as I know some schools do.
I cant have just 2 pairs of trousers that would mean I have to wash every day?!
I can't buy a size down and longer because i am already buying the smallest size 🥲
Thanks to all that posted links! The M&S jersey ones are huge. The Next ones still big but I will try to alter myself a bit and see if that works. H&m ones are completely out of stock, no idea if they will ever come back. I'll try the Sainsbury's ones too, didn't see them in store but will order online.

And yes, I don't think it's fair that my life has basically been taken over by this hunt for fitting clothes. I don't get why there's not even one jersey model with adjustable waist. Reading on here, there would be a market for it!

Verbaudet do a range called morphologik. My very slim 11 year daughter has been able to wear jeans for the first time because of this brand.

Also second wearing shorts under skirts. My daughter is always cartwheeling and doing gymnastics at school.

My daughter wears jersey flares sometimes from next. Where do you usually get her leggings from? Is there a more flared or wider legged version? Our school aren’t massively strict but still wouldn’t allow leggings, the extra material at the bottom seems to disguise that she basically is wearing them.

This is why I stuck with pinafore dresses all through infants!

Neither of mine have ever worn trousers to school and it hasn’t stopped them being active and it doesn’t seem to stop any of the other little girls either. I do find the gingham jumpsuits more practical than the dresses though and really love that they are more common now and easier to find.

Pe trousers were also tricky. I had to get joggers in an age 3 for my petit reception starter and they did her until the end of year 1. Similarly cycling shorts were much better than more tailored shorts for PE. She had an age 4 that fell down her ankles when she jumped.

You may find her attitude to tights change next year. My DDs hated tight clothes aged 5. By 6 it was tights and legging all the way. Mainly because she wanted to fit in with her friends at school.

@exhaustedandoveritWe normally get h&m leggings. Some are too big but some models do fit her. I had the same thought basically try and do leggings and wait to be told off. But the thing is i still need a backup. If i am told off, then i need an acceptable solution fast. And i am 3 weeks into my quest atm with nothing to show for ...

I haven’t read the full thread.

OP I have been quietly raging a bit of a war against all of the synthetic fibres and Teflon coatings in school uniforms.

My son wears cotton chinos. They look the same, are usually a slimmer fit and have adjustable waists. I buy next ones on Vinted for a few pounds. Might work for you.

Cycling shorts under a dress. Once she sees all the other girls in a dress she’s going to want one too.

My daughter wears pinafore dress and cycling shorts all year round, she doesn't wear tights. Just get knee high socks.