13 yr old girl , where to buy lovely clothes ?

[SirVixofVixHall]

Dd is 13, tallish, very very slender. Up until now she has worn a lot of Petit Bateau, Miller, I love Gorgeous, Jigsaw. I have a smaller daughter so things get passed down and so I like to buy good quality things that last well, I am a good sale shopper ! I am boycotting TopShop due to their changing room policy, but anyway their things are so badly made and the fabric isn’t great.
So where do I find natural fibres, nice quality things now that she needs a very slim cut age 14 size ? I don’t want her to look too grown up too soon, but I want things that she will love too, obviously. A lot of things I like seem to stop at age 12. She seems to be living in skinny jeans because she’s sunning out of clothes.

I haven’t heard of Brandy Melville or pull and bear, so will google them.
She does have some J Crew knitwear but as a brand it tends to be too big for her. Abercrombie , Hollister etc are not her style really. That American look doesn’t suit her. She is very slight and very pale, big green eyes, curly hair, Celtic. So she looks best in dresses, or very simple things .

Mano kids goes up to 13 and might be more the style you're after. La Redoute for some cheaper stuff but still lots in natural fabrics. They tend to be fairly slim cut as well.

Might be some you like here:

babyccinokids.com/shop/category/tweens.html

Sorry Mabo kids not Mano!

I am amazed that your daughter wears clothes that you choose. Mine wouldn't have considered that as an option at 13 and I wouldn't describe her as mature for her age at all.
I like natural fibres and like to see my children in clothes to my taste but this stopped happening with my daughter in year 5 or 6. Do you think your younger daughter will have the same taste and shape and size at the same age as DD1 because dressing up your clothing choices as being for value in the long run is a little bit disingenuous in my opinion. Nothing wrong with saying that DD isn't interested yet and until she is you enjoy buying her things that suit her and that you like her in.
My sons left/ leave it to me to buy for them.its a mixed blessing. Older DS was easy to dress and grateful to me for not making him go shopping so didn't complain. DS2 is a more difficult fit and fussy , I am desperate for him to sort his own wardrobe out.

Dd1 as my first born was still being dressed by me at 13. As she really didn’t have much idea.I never bought her dresses as she would have been laughed at. Dd2 would not be seen dead in dd1’s clothes and is a completely different shape.She is far more mature and with it than dd1. I actually find it quite bizarre that you want to dress your Dd up in good quality dresses at 13 🙄. Plus the fact you are very obviously trying to keep her young.

Try Matalan teen their clothes are fab and a good price

I’m amused that some posters are imagining me forcing dd into frocks, why so hard to believe that she might just like them ? Her favourite things are a Victorian jacket, and a floor length white vintage dress. She just doesn’t like the sporty, modern look. Oh and I’m not “keeping her young”, she is young. She is 13, she’s a child. She buys delicate pieces of 1930s jewellery with her birthday money, that is the kind of thing she likes. She’s always liked old things.
@TawandaT that website has some lovely things, thank you for the link. I am going to buy some sandals for smaller daughter, and I’m browsing for both girls, really helpful.

SirVixofVixHall - my DD loves clothes, and she also trusts my taste! Not that I get final say on everything, but she relishes my input. Dresses and pretty tops feature hugely in her wardrobe. She is a very romantic and kind girl and likes soft and feminine clothes. She hates anything aggressive. She loves music and art and pretty country cottages and puppies...

User, that is like my dd too. She likes to have my input, she likes to potter round antique fairs with me looking at jewellery ! We are going away to a city soon, just the two of us, so we’ll be able to look in actual shops, which will be fun. I have found some really pretty shorts and tops through the babycino website linked to above.

I’m glad you have found her some clothes to her taste

Brandy Melville?
I have super tall skinny dds and they love TopShop Urban Outfitters and Asos deliveries seem to arrive regularly

You can buy decent breton tops and shorts litearlly anywhere

I know everyone's different but you seem very involved in her clothing choices. Skinny girls with red hair and green eyes can wear jeans you know!

Jack wills is a staple, all women's shops that have smaller sizes, although you are unlikely to find many thinks she will wear.

Urban Outfitters and Abercrombie are also quite good, although my dd is now in womens sizes with Abercrombie and it is all a little bit too 'sexy' for her to actually wear.

things

We have also ditched topshop due to the fact they have decided men can now use the changing rooms. What 12/13 year old girls wants to get changed with men??!!

If you dd likes vintage take her to vintage shops, we have so many of them. Or buy her some fabric and help her make something.

Scabbersley- she does wear jeans, I said so at the start. She fits the 14 slim in gap jeans, so jeans are sorted. Matelot tops I can also get, that was just an example of how she looks day to day.
We live in a remote rural area, no vintage shops for hundreds of miles, sadly. I have tons of vintage stuff that she borrows, but for knocking around in she needs some new things that can cope with repeated washing etc. Shorts, skirts, dresses for Summer.
I am involved in her clothing choices, because she is still very young. There are things I would veto, just like I veto too much sugar or late nights. Luckily so far I haven’t had to say no, other than with school uniform, but I absolutely would say no to certain things, because I don’t want her getting lechy revolting adult men making comments. I would definitely not let her wear anything obviously “sexy” eg very low cut or extremely short bum flashing shorts. That’s fine with her, thank God.
When I was 12/ 13 we all looked like milk maids in floor length Laura Ashley. This is how she would choose to dress if she didn’t worry about what other girls might say. She has my best friend’s party dress from 1977 and loves it. When she is with her friends she feels the pressure to conform and so wears jeans. So it is finding things in natural fibres, that she likes, but that won’t stand out as much as full on vintage.
But anyway, I’m getting upset at all the slightly snide personal comments about me. This is style and beauty not AIBU.

Well your dds taste is not mainstream. That's absolutely not a criticism, she sounds as though she has her own style, but 'lovely clothes' doesn't really describe what you are looking for.

My dd has just bought herself a pair of wide trackies with stripes down the side and a cropped vintage t from urban outfitters. I think she looks lovely! But clearly you are looking for something more unusual. The European brands are probably what you want.

My DD is 12, tallish and pretty slender and wears a lot of fat Face... Sonu can say that they will be too short for your DD, as mine is coming to the end of fitting 12-13.
I agree about zara- so wide I have bought her 13-14 for the length, but everything just hangs off her (she has hips, but no bust yet, but has v broad shoulders, long arms, so smaller sizes are no good) yet Zara adults are slender cut (particularly compared with the rest of UK market).
Gap size 6 may be a good way forward?

My DD dresses for comfort more than fashion, so I'm sure will just switch to smallest sizes of adult sportswear soon.

You may be missing a trick with Hollister, Jack Wills etc as they do have pretty dresses, tops, hoodies etc and an interesting colour palette. Also New Look, HM etc throw up the occasional gem.

Yes the width of zara is strange, I bought her a little cord mini skirt in the Winter, and it fitted me! Yet the women’s wear can be freakishly tiny.
I will have. A proper look at Jack wills etc. We went into a shop in London a year or so back, and then there was nothing for her, so I haven’t bothered since.
Scabbers I love wide leg trackies, I think they look great. But dd won’t wear them, sadly.
So far Bellerose has had the most things that she would like, I’m going to buy a couple of things now and then wait for the sale.
I am going to look at La Redoute as I used to get her the slim fit cords they do but I’d sort of forgotten about them. French brands fit her nicely.
One of the brands linked through babycino has some floaty tops and shorts that she will like I think, I’m going to show her when she gets home. I also had a look at Massimo Dutti, some things on there look promising. She’s off on a residential thing soon and needs trousers, shorts, t shirts etc that she can put in a tumble dryer ( we don’t have one at home as I think they destroy clothes more quickly ) plus some more special things for trips out. I also found a little mini pinafore thing on one of the sites linked to by a pp.

Bellerose is a pretty mainstream brand! Just not so well known in the UK, but it dresses families all over Europe and it’s got a very definite hip vibe, in a soft/vintage way...

UNIQULO was DD's staple at that age. Because they are originally Japanese, it's possible to get fairly small sizes. It's good for good quality basics. The jeggings are a particular favourite.

Oh I’ll have a look at Uniqlo, thanks for that suggestion.