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I feel your pain...my daughter is 6 (about to be 7) but she is VERY tall for her age so she wears a size 10 (though she practically SWIMS in the waist bands). We have been struggling with this because so many clothes out there are downright slutty and the other ones look too babyish. We have found our nirvana and have received so many "where did you get that outfit?" questions since we began shopping at Children's Place and Landsend.com. We have a few things from Gymboree and a lot of plain t-shirts (both long and short sleeve as well as turtlenecks for winter) wherever we find them (sometimes Old Navy, Target or Wal-mart). I love the layered shirt (long sleeve under short sleeve) look as well as the leggings under skirts/dresses. That allows my daughter to wear her summer clothes even further into the Fall.
This age is a challenge and it's made even more difficult by the designers who cater to the fashions of teenagers and are trying to make the little girls grow up too fast. I volunteer in my daughter's class every week and I cannot tell you how many kids have pants that are low-rise and when they sit down, their entire butts (or most of their underwear) is showing. Combine that with midrise shirts or micromini skirts/dresses and high heels and some of these girls (whose parents don't seem to care) look like real-live Bratz dolls. Not cool.
Just a tip from someone who has a pretty strict budget...wait until the end of September to shop. We bought nearly all of my daughter's summer clothes at the end of June at Children's Place and we got 6 outfits with lots of interchangeable clothes for under $100. They have amazing sales and if you sign up for e-mails, they send you great coupons too. Same for Lands End. Don't buy stuff just because it's "Back to School" time. It's still summer. They can wear their summer clothes until the end of September/beginning of October. If they really want some new clothes, buy them a few summer outfits...everything "summer" is on-sale right now.
I bought a few outfits for my little girl for this school year, but found it kind of hard. It seems like all the cute styles are really grown up looking, and in a way i want to keep her dress atttire more childish with the cartoon character shirts and colorful ruffled shirts or is that more for the 2-6 year old age group. On the other hand she will be 7 soon so is it time to coordinate the shirt, pants, shoes and hair bows with accessories...hannah montana has some cute outfits but i was thinking that was more for the 9-15 age group. Uggg... so many choices. This age group is hard to shop for because she's not a teen or preteen but not really a baby or toddler anymore.
Hannah Montana works through about fourth grade. I suggest Hartstrings, Gymboree, Gap, Lands' End, LLBean, and even Target.
I bought a few outfits for my little girl for this school year, but found it kind of hard. It seems like all the cute styles are really grown up looking, and in a way i want to keep her dress atttire more childish with the cartoon character shirts and colorful ruffled shirts or is that more for the 2-6 year old age group. On the other hand she will be 7 soon so is it time to coordinate the shirt, pants, shoes and hair bows with accessories...hannah montana has some cute outfits but i was thinking that was more for the 9-15 age group. Uggg... so many choices. This age group is hard to shop for because she's not a teen or preteen but not really a baby or toddler anymore.
I read a book called "Packaging Girlhood" I forgot who the authors were but it was a good book. It made me think of things that I really didnt pay attention to. While I dont have a girl I do have a niece that I occasionally shop for who is 5 yrs old. And I have to say it is very hard. For my son I am in and out but for a girl you have to make sure its age-appropriate, some of the clothes are way to inappropriate for young girls to wear. One Christmas I was going to pick her up some underclothes and I saw underwear that said "bikini." Why in the hell would bikini underwear come in a size 6 for a little girl? That is just wrong. They are trying to sexualize our children, and most of the stores that do have age appropriate clothing sometimes can be expensive.
Why in the hell would bikini underwear come in a size 6 for a little girl? That is just wrong.
Ha! I was in Target looking for underwear for my daughter and not only are there bikinis, but STRING BIKINIS and if you are shocked by that, take a look at the bras that are made for girls nowadays. They have moved a long way from the training bras I wore (that came in standard cotton, white/nude/black). They look like miniature Victoria Secret bras. There is no way a little girl with developing breasts needs pushup, lacy bras. And yes, I know there are bras out there for women who are very small, but those are not the bras that are hanging in the girls section. I shudder at the message being sent to our kids. Every day is a battle for parents of girls.
My daughter is 6 and going on 7 as well and I totally know what you mean. 6/7 is still young but now that she is out of the toddlers sizes and into the girl sizes they are much more teen looking than I want her to look. Sometimes I simply cannot find anything I like, even the jeans are not what I like. I just shop around until I find what I like, it is frustrating.
The traditional Gapkids jeans are a pretty good fit for my long and lean pre-adolescent daughter and the waist is high enough to ensure modesty when she bends over.
As far as the bikini underwear from Target is concerned, I think it's okay. The waistband falls about an inch below her belly button and they fully cover her backside. Gapkids bikini underwear also fits her pretty well.
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They are trying to sexualize our children, and most of the stores that do have age appropriate clothing sometimes can be expensive.
