Anybody else out there, small for age?

[bcnups]

My dgd has the professional advantage of being slim, 4ft 4ins at age eleven years. This is great for playing much younger parts. Unfortunately, this also means that for everyday wear she often has to wear clothing in the seven/eight year old range. Now she is in Senior school, she is in daytime school uniform (which was difficult to get in the right size) but wants to wear trendy stuff outside school like the other kids. But they're all much bigger than her, and the chain store clothing that does fit her, is a bit young, (cartoon stuff etc). Where do you go to get age appropriate style that is small enough to fit her - and won't break the bank?) Or do we have to look at designer labels? Surely there must be someone on this site that has the same problem?

[GEORGIEROSE]

My dd was tiny at eleven. She played Jemima in chitty when she was nearly thirteen. She did have great advantage professionally. Her clothes she got from new look which had a 8-12 age section ant tammy girl also. Very trendy if that's what you want.she is now 18 and just over 5ft and is def still growing I can see it. And glad she is now reaching a normal although very petite height.she is auditioning soon for tinker bell in Disney. Let us hope size will help. Good luck with your Dgd and search for tiny clothes!

[francescasmum]

From what we saw at the Matilda auditions this is not unusual, the height restriction for Matilda is 4 ft 3ins yet most of the girls there were 10 or 11.

[Fruitcake]

My DS is 16 and is just over 5' tall! He struggles to find appropriate 'grown up' clothing to fit. He is in age 12 clothing and hates it! This is a constant struggle for us, too, so if anyone can help for boys, too, I'd be really grateful!

Hey, bncups, perhaps we've found a much needed gap in the market and should start our own line in small-size grown-up clothes!

[2dancersmum]

I had similar issues finding clothes for my DDs at that age. Actually it is the 'slim' that causes more problems than the height. Adult size 6 clothes are often smaller in width than aged 10/11, 11/12, 12/13 childrens clothes. My DDs liked clothes from BHMS (Tammy teenage range), New Look (many size 6 tops are really small!), Matalan and Primark (again check adult ranges too) and M & Co. I generally bought trousers/leggings in childrens sizes (Gap are quite slim fitting for jeans) but shopped around for tops. My 12 year old currently has clothes that fit her ranging from size aged 8/9 to adult sizes 6 and 8, depending on the style and the make and I don't think any of them are designer labels so no, you don't have to spend a fortune. Have fun with the shopping.

[dadadance]

We have an opposite problem, DS is 6ft very slim with very long legs. All he wants to wear is joggers preferably from well known shops! but none of them have long enough legs. We noticed in one shop yesterday that the ladies had short, regular and long in the joggers but not for the men. Usually to get long legs you have to buy much larger size as well which is not a good look. Any suggestions for good quality long legged joggers?

[bcnups]

Yes Fruitcake, just as difficult for boys. Dgd has a younger brother, (also small for age). He is not particularly aware of clothes sizes, at the moment. Also my sympathy to the young man with long legs, (or anyone with large feet).
In the States they used to have Big and Tall to cater for people who were different. Why isn't there a Little and Short version of this in the U.K? Researching petite sizes, I found they only seems to cater for adults who are small, not children. The idea being I suppose, that you just buy the younger sizes. But dgd doesn't want glitter butterflies/fairies, or Dora the Explorer (or Justin Bieber) on her stuff. Thanks for your suggestions on possible labels.
Being slim, dgd does wear skinny denim jeans, (which look great btw) but she wanted a frock for the Festive season, and she couldn't find anything that looked right. Good tip though, to look at size 6/8 in adult range. Although I fear an adult tee shirt mght gape at the neck and armholes, but worth checking out. Her mother will soon start trawling shops again. I saw a few outfits online at Abercrombie Kids (being sold by Debenhams) and some were reduced in the Sale. If anyone does come across a fantastic outlet, please let me know.

[mogs]

My DS is 16 and is just over 5' tall! He struggles to find appropriate 'grown up' clothing to fit. He is in age 12 clothing and hates it! This is a constant struggle for us, too, so if anyone can help for boys, too, I'd be really grateful!

Totally agree.There is a huge gap in the market for teenage/small boys.My ds was also small for his age (he has since had a massive growth spurt) and very fashion conscious when he was 11/12 yrs old. We found Next good -you have to be quite picky(wasnt allowed anything that said next on it!!!) but could get him skinny jeans etc and also Topman do an extra, extra small in a range of their clothing (which fitted him at this age). You're better off looking on line than in their stores as stock there can be limited. Another trick-don't know if he wants to do the superdry/hollister craze -which my ds did but was too small-certain t-shirts/hoodies etc could be worn br either male/females- he used to try on the size 6 or 8 in the female size and found that these would fit! If i can think of any more i'll add them on.

[suzysue]

Have you tried H&M? My dd is tall and skinny rather than small, but I find their clothes are a good fit for her as they tend to be slim fit. They don't have too many cartoons either, so may be worth a go. She also has long skinny feet which are a trauma!!

[beanie-bean]

Hi, Next and Matalan do nice bits and most of their stuff has elastic in the waist. xxx

[Fruitcake]

Not sure if the girls range is the same, but we have found the best place for jeans for DS is GAP. I know we have to pay a bit more, but they actually kind of fit my poor boy with no hips and short legs!!

[shootingstar*]

Ive always been tiny for my age and although Im in my 20's now I often play 14 years olds on tv and film. When I was starting senior school my shorts for PE were age 5 to give you an idea of how tiny I am. I still by a lot of kids clothes and find the best places for little people are:
H and M kids section
New Look (as mentioned- theyre really great)
Zara kids section- it may be a little more expensive than the other two but the clothes are lovely and great quality

Hope this helps : )

[Fruitcake]

School PE shorts are in a league of their own, aren't they!!

DS had the same pair throughout the whole of Primary School (he was only just 4 when he started) and they were still plenty big enough when he left at the end of Year 6!!