I like to shop ahead for the next season. Recently, when scouring the sales racks at Kohl's, I saw this:
It is a girl's size 10. If I had looked a little harder, I could have probably found one closer to my daughter's size. No, thank you, she is not quite ready for a little black dress.
I know Kohl's is not the only store to blame. Justice offers this:
And this:
Neon aside, is this appropriate for an almost-5-year-old? To me, it looks like what teenagers wore in the '80s (gawd, I'm getting old ...). And the fringed shirt is just plain tacky. Maybe if she were auditioning for Jersey Shore ...
Full disclosure: I looked around the Justice website and there WERE a few cute, appropriate things. But they still looked "old." I feel like there are very few options for girls in size 7-14 who are still, well, little girls.
Some may suggest Gymboree, but I'm a little over the coordination out the wazoo. And I swear their color palettes are just a leeetle off--meaning it is near impossible to mix and match with clothing from other stores.
And then there's the Gap. Ah, the Gap. The "meet in the middle" option between dirt-cheap Old Navy and overpriced Banana Republic. Relatively modest yet stylish.
For little kids, it's great. The clothes are super cute and can easily be worn with items from other stores.
The "big girl" styles are okay overall. I'm not going to dress her in this (that's a shirt, by the way--I think it would be better as a dress!):
But overall, the styles are pretty cute. The problem is the sizing. Lauren still has some baby fat. A size-7 t-shirt from GapKids is skintight. And Old Navy is even worse, sizing-wise, because the clothes are so cheap.
Lauren loves clothes. She loves when people comment on her outfits. She is the type of girl who will want the "older" styles, and I'm dreading it.
So, moms of elementary-age girls, what do you do? Where do you find clothing that is modest yet still stylish?
I completely agree with you. We are quickly outgrowing easier to find 'modest' looks. I cringe when I see these inappropriate options hanging on store racks. Someone somewhere is picking that for their little girl. We are dependant on children's place in this house. Lots of leggings and tees here. But shorts are our downfall! I want a pair that covers her caboose wiithout something written across the tush. Two summers ago are only options were this cotton knit ones that went down to just above her knee. She doesn't need them that long but it was either that or skimpy mini low cut tiny shorts ugh. What are telling these girls??
ReplyDeleteFara, I get a good bit of stuff from Lands End, but sometimes their stuff is just plain not stylish. And yes, style matters :).
ReplyDeleteDo you ever look through Kid to Kid or do you just sell your stuff there? I have a large stronghold of "hand-me-downs" from my sister and a co-worker of Mike's that is FULL of older styles from a decade ago and it is all nice and modest, and yet has enough stylish flair to it that I kept most of it. Anyway, I guess the point I am making is that looking for clothing that isn't current, might be your best option- Ebay might be a good place to start too. If I do purchase new clothing for Kara, I tend to go with The Children's Place, Gymboree, Oshkosh (outlets obviously) and places like JC Penney or Bon Ton.
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