An sure this has been done before but girls clothes- what's going on??

[lizardqueenie]

Just popped to shops to get last minute Xmas pressies for a couple of friends little files, wanted to get a top or pjs for a 5 yo & 3yo. My own DD is only 14 months but I was really shocked at some of the clothes aged 1-5 in m&s or 3-12 in next. Really found it hard to find something that wasn't covered in loads of ott sequins or lace really garish ( as opposed to nice & bright) colours. Of course each to their own but it made me feel a bit :( for what girls clothes might be like for my dd in a couple of years time. Where do you shop once your dd's are past the baby stage?

Boden & Darcy Brown for my daughter (4) & son (2). Can't stand trendy tat

PS Molly n Jack in Boots used to be fantastic for girl's clothes at good prices (still available on Ebay) but they were discontinued last year & their new brands aren't a patch on them.

asda has colourful not-too-frilly children's clothes atm.

Pumpkin patch, charity shops, primark for plain tops that can be layered. Some h&m things are nice, some things from next are ok.
I find it difficult too, dd's 9 and a bit of a tomboy that occasionally likes wearing the odd dress but she wears age 11 clothes (has an inside leg of 26"!). I hate all the tat that's out there, and her things are a real mix and match of hand-me-downs, ebay bargains avoiding as many sequins as possible and definitely no lace.

Know the feeling! and then everything is either pink or purple and frilly, which IMHO is boring and restrictive. Much nicer colours out here, and a bit of variety is good! My DD is 2.5. I keep an eye on Gap, occasionaly good plainer stuff. Sale on at the moment. have seen nice things online at La Redoute/ Verbaudet (but sometimes a bit too pastel for my liking). H&M occasionally has one or two nice things if you wade through a bit. Eg in summer they often have bright coloured plain Ts. I've found some good bits and bobs in TK Maxx too (a bit hit and miss as a lot of it is Uber garish!). Polarn O Pyret (swedish, online or a few shops in/around London) and other Scandinavian brands (eg Katvig) are great. They're a bit pricier but they're good quality and come up on eBay frequently, worth getting second hand. And on my wishlist: Bonpoint (though ridiculously expensive!).

Zara is fab as is some of the Debrnhams stuff.

We use Gap, Boden, John Lewis, Skandi brands, H&M (but don't ever shop there with children present!) and Sainsbury's (surprisingly good for 2-5yo, not so great now my children are older).

worth wading through the tat in H&M for some great, good quality basics at really good prices. Gap always has something desirable. Zara is good, John Lewis have some lovely designs.

Landsend -good quality basics in non sugar pink
Joules - sweatshirts /fleeces best quality in reasonable price range -

Land's End, Joules,JoJo Maman had some pretty dresses and Boden. M&S Autograph has some very nice things occasionally which are not typical of M&S.

Also wade through Debenhams larger stores for Baker girl and Jasper Conran bits.

I agree! Girl's clothes are getting harder as DD gets older. We use John Lewis (which bizarrely seem to have the quality going on forever, DD takes ages to grow out of them!), some basics from Sainsburys, M and S, Boden (in the sale).
We also have a couple of really good second hand shops nearby (and I'm not proud!) so I regularly raid these for lovely everyday pieces.

another vote for H&M, always get my DD some nice bits from there, also Zara do lovely stuff. George at Asda for basics and very occasionly Primark.

Thanks everyone. I'm already there with some second hand & nearly new sale bits, especially the scandinavian brands which are really good quality though expensive to start with. We've got a bigger sainsburys about a 25 minute drive away & might go & stock up on a few basics there as I've found the quality quite good too. Already got DD some bits in the Boden sale. I knew I wouldn't be alone & in aware if the mumsnet campaign, it's not just the stuff that looks, for want of a better word, tarty, it's stuff that just looks too grown up to put on a little girl iyswim. My SIL seems to dress her DD (6) in very grown up clothes, and she does always look very smart, well out together but just so very grown up. Not really dressed to go & play & have fun.

H&M boys section - tshirts with cartoon monsters and muppets on and Zara as well. You dont have to stay in the girls section you know - break out!

MincePi I do!! Much to the horror of some other mums (ok mainly SIL) who insists that all of DD's mega blocks/ playlets/ bedroom should be pink I got DD a great long sleeved T-shirt from H&M boys section when she was v small saying Love my world. Super-cute.

Off to check out some of these companies....

Ooh, Funky Rascal is relatively near to me! I shall pop up when the sale is on maybe, and probably find time to visit Fisher and Donaldson too. Yum!

Definitely pay visits to boys sections- good for plain brights and jeans etc. Lusting after Funky Rascal- lovely stuff.

Clothes are one thing, but at the moment am trying to find some decent, not too expensive girls winter boots- most high street shops have pretty but totally impractical girls boots- eg Ugg styles which are not waterproof or supportive and no good for running about outside in winter. Boys shoes are much better in that respect, but also very heavy and 'macho/butch/gangster' in their styling...its never ending. And wellies just aren't really warm enough. So the search goes online, and will probably end in spending more than I would want to.....ho hum...

I finally found some good winter boots for dd in Lidl of all places - really warm, waterproof and only £7

Thanks HollyGhost, Lidl is always full of surprises!

didn't make it out to lidl, but ordered girls shoes online from Javari (first time I've used them), with a trawl through found some really good quality red boots from a brand called Baby Op, discounted, free next day delivery.

My DD who is 5 and a real tomboy wears H&M and GAP and very little else.