Nice clothes for a nine year old girl. Where to look?

[treaclesoda]

I need to clothe my nine year old. She is tall for her age and very very slim.

We have reached a horrible age where she is too grownup for the little girls clothes but some of the 9-14 ranges are just too grown up. She is not really keen on jeans and trainers, but will wear jegging type jeans. She does like her clothes to be 'pretty' in the sense of things going together and the colours matching. She likes bright colours and is happy to wear jersey dresses etc, but ultimately her favourite clothes are really things like leggings and T-shirts or tunics. (But an awful lot of the T-shirts available in her size have really horrible writing on them - either unsuitable or just irrelevant). And I want proper cotton T-shirts, not those horrible polyester mix ones that fade and go ball-y.

She loves Boden clothes, but our budget only stretches to the very odd thing from there.

Where on earth can I buy her clothes? Preferably online, because she hates shopping too!

I mean a horrible age for clothes, not that she is a horrible age

I find the same problem although my dd isn't tall and thin. Just that everything so grown up looking. Surprisingly i manage to pick up some nice thing in Zara as whilst they are grown up they are smart casual rather than dressy. Reasonable prices too.

Gap has 50% off at the moment. I was there today and got some nice dresses for DD they had lots of shorts/tops/hoodies/t-shirt dresses. Also pretty cotton dresses with cut-out patterns. Try it!

I shop in GAP and Lands End mostly with the odd great item from H&M

Would she wear boys tops? My 9 year old DD wears a lot of boys tops and hoodies. She likes bright primary colours and isn't put off by the boy label. Only a year ago the boy label bit would have put her off though.

We have just re-discovered BhS (there's a phrase my teenage self never thought that she would write!) and their Tammy Girl range. Goes up to age 15, lots of bright colours, but also some really simple pieces and gorgeous dresses. Still the odd slogan type t-shirt to be avoided, but it's my very tall 9 year old's favourite shop right now.

Have you looked at M&S? Their older girls range is 5-14 and always looks nice to me as I pass through on my way to the younger stuff. I'm not looking in depth though so I may be way off.

On a budget too, my 10 year old DD mostly wears Boden bought from Ebay or Facebook, or new in the sales (summer sale should be fairly soon).

She might wear boys tops, as long as she hadn't seen a boy wearing the same one, if you know what I mean.

Girls T-shirts seem to be all wishy washy pictures with the words 'Paris' or 'Amour' over them, or they say something like 'Sports Team USA' and a number and I'm always looking at them thinking 'eh? what does Paris, or Amour mean to a nine year old? And why USA?' . I just don't 'get' them. And neither does she.

Some good ideas here, I will check them out, thanks.

Loads of Boden stuff on eBay. Also found some nice bits in debenhams.

What about Fat Face? Nice quality and not as pricey as Boden. Not madly girly, but do have some nice details.

John Lewis Girl, fat face, monsoon, Debenhams

I like the hippy styles at H&M (long sleeved tops and shorts or three-quarter leggings) but their teen dresses always seem a bit skimpy in the cut. It's worth a look, though.

I had given up on NEXT but went last month with 9-year-old DD and they have loads of lovely stuff. H&M, too. Now, if only they also had shoes for narrow feet . . .

Boden has an outlet that can be quite good, as are their sales if you hit them early. Polarn O Pyret? Again, good sales - get a lot of my kids' stuff there as they wash SO well and don't fade/shrink and have lovely deep, bright colours

Zara, Zara, Zara - gorgeous things for girls, my daughter is as obsessed with Zara as I am! Online ordering is a breeze too, much more selection than in the shops.

I was going to say Boden from your description, as Britta said too, I normally buy Boden stuff in the sales, I find that you can usually get a good range of outfits averaging 40/50% off. I often buy for the next year too, I find the dual sizing works well so it lasts a few years.

Leggings and t-shirts/vest tops from H&M - 100% cotton, cheap as chips and they wash well. They also are good for shorts. You can get organic if you're that way inclined.
Sure there is a load of "je t-aime" Hello Kitty crap in there as well but just ignore it and hit the basics.

I buy a lot of tees/tops/hoodies in gap with their discounts and sales. For leggings and jeggings I usually get from next.

I agree, it's difficult as my dd is tall and slim too. There's usually an occasional thing in m&s that we like but not much. I love h&m for under 8s but not for over. The supermarkets sometimes have good stuff but again can be a bit hit and miss. Fatface are worth keeping an eye on at sale time as is John Lewis. Matalan has some okay stuff too.

White stuff and fat face may suit your style. They are online.
I liked H & M , online is good and they do skinny fit.
Gap also do skinny fit.
New look online is good for pre teens as well as Next.

Pretty much everything from Gap these days when they're doing their 30/40% off deals.

Zara and H & M

DD has been pinching her brother's hoodies, mainly from H&M, plain colours, but she prefers blues and aquas at the moment.

My dd is only 4 but wears a lot of h&m stuff - she's size 6-7 so I think would be the same clothing range as your daughter. They do great clothes especially for over summer and I find they last well and wash well. Apart from leggings - the knees seem to go in them very quickly.