Girls Size 6: Why I want to punch children's clothing designers in the face.

Hearing "its a girl!" was one of the most exciting times of my life. (Well, it was three of the most exciting times.) Having my baby girl dressed in a cotton gown, wrapped in a soft light pink minky blanket and put into my arms filled my soul in a way that I didn't know was possible. I pull the sweet bundle close to my face and breathe her in. I nuzzle her cheeks, I run my fingers through her few strands of hair, and I am overwhelmed. I spend the next year of her life putting her in soft patterns, rose buds and pastels, whites, creams, and pinks. I spend a fortune on bows as big as her head. And even though she kicks them off within a few minutes, I slip ruffled socks onto her feet and work ballet slippers on. She wears smocked dresses with puffy sleeves and holiday scenes embroidered on her collar. Gradually, she becomes "bow trained" as my sister puts it, and sits still while Mommy clips a light pink grosgrain bow into her hair, and leaves it there all day. She learns to walk and before I know it she's old enough to actually play outside- riding bikes, scrawling her name across the driveway in sidewalk chalk, and fluttering around the yard with her sisters, all three pretending to be fairies. I'm not describing one of my daughters in particular- it could be any of my three, because the first years of their lives were all nearly identical. I am raising three daughters, and I am trying my best to raise them to be young ladies.




But I've reached a road block. You see, Maggie is now wearing a size 6, and up until size 5, children's clothing stores cooperate, somewhat, with what most mothers are looking for. I'm willing to work with what is offered. But now, she has reached magic size 6.




And something absolutely mind boggling has happened. I walk into the Girls section to see what I can scrounge up, but as I make my way in I feel more like I'm walking into a rave. There is so much glitter, air brushing, neon colors, mesh, spaghetti straps, cut off jean shorts, and cropped tops that I have to actually look up at the sign above my head to make sure I'm in the right area. Yep, "Girls". I stand there in complete disbelief and denial. Maybe if I stand here long enough with my eyes closed, I'll open them to see racks and racks of cotton play dresses, ruffled shorts long enough to cover her backside, and sweet little rosebud tee shirts. But no. I open my eyes again and attempt to focus. "Okay, there has to be something here. Anything." I turn and immediately feel my throat tighten as I try to keep myself from dry heaving right there in the middle of the store. The bathing suit rack. I won't get too far into this, but y'all, why are there leopard print and hot pink string bikinis in the Girls section? A child in sizes 6-14 has NO BUSINESS WEARING STRING BIKINIS. Okay, yeah, I said it. And I mean it. I turn around to see the most repulsive 80's teenager inspired, neon pink, mesh "shirt" on a hanger next to a table of camisole tops and jeggings. So I'm assuming that the intent is to layer. And why, OH WHY, do size 6x pants come in "Low Rise"?? Y'all, I just can't even. I run out of there like a total Mommy psycho walk away feeling defeated, and so so confused. I feel rage crawling up from my stomach. I want to tell off whatever ass hat that is responsible for this spread of clothes that I'm left to choose from. I mean, do these designers have kids? Better question- Have they ever even seen a child? Do they know that they are not just like super petite grown-ups? If you have shitty questionable taste as an adult, that's fine by me. Do your thing. Wave your freak flag, I don't care. But we have an obligation to our daughters to dress them like little girls while they are still little.





What is it about a size 6 that has led anyone to believe that a child that fits in that size should be wearing the same outfit that a 12 year old would wear? Is there some imaginary milestone that we hit? We're talking about little girls, not tweens. Where are the ruffles? The puffy sleeves? The flowing dresses? My 5 year old still wears princess dresses nearly every day. She's having tea parties with her baby dolls, she's pretending to be a mermaid in the bath tub, she's wearing fairy wings and tutus. So, I ask you, WHY WOULD I DRESS HER THE SAME AS A GIRL MORE THAN TWICE HER AGE?! Why is she banished to a department that has pleather jackets, mini skirts and padded training bras?! I have a 5 year old that still wears pigtails, bows in her hair, and loves nothing more than a dress she can twirl in. My daughter, my sweet, innocent, little girl, is not a run way model. She is not a tiny adult and she is no where near being a "tween".



(Eating a beignet)


My solution? Well, I buy the least expensive and least trashy of the trash that is available. And I let her play in it. Usually its a t-shirt with some awful design on the front, covered in peace signs and glitter. And when she comes in and its covered in grass or she's sweating like crazy from running around, I don't bat an eye. Instead of spending hundreds of dollars on clothes from stores hell bent on making my 5 year old look 18, I have become enthralled in the world of online shopping. And I finally understand why people pay more money for clothes for their kids! I also understand why some people invest in a sewing machine! It seems so old fashioned today to actually make your own clothes for your daughters, but guess what? I totally get it. The women that own these online shops? They totally get it. That's why so much of it is so expensive and why auction sites are so popular. If we stop buying the garbage being geared towards our kids, they'll stop making it. I've seen a handful of things at Target that look strangely like outfits that I've fallen in love with on online boutiques. We have to stop buying the lie. They will catch on. Its not okay to dress little girls like teenagers. Its not okay to train our daughters to use their bodies to get attention. We have to change the way we teach- I want my girls to know that they don't have to use the clothes they wear to get anyone to look at them. Clothes for little girls should be a representation of what they are, NOT what designers think they should be. So let's all band together moms! Let's leave the funky, completely age inappropriate "clothes" geared towards our baby girls on the racks! Let's vow to bring back all things feminine! Girly! Ruffles! Pink! Ribbons! Sweet details! Eyelet lace! Ruffle socks! Let's preserve what makes them precious and innocent instead of attempting to objectify them before they even know what it means!






Long live smocking, apron dresses, and all things girly!

{After nearly 40,000 views on this post, I have to acknowledge a group of little girls that I unintentionally left out- the tom boy! My girls are the girly girl type, so when I wrote this I was thinking of my own experiences. But as a little girl, I was a tom boy and I loved to be outside, climbing trees and in the mud. Fishing is still one of my favorite things to do! Those little girls deserve the same as the girly girls! Not every little girl will wear pink or ruffles and lace, but that doesn't mean they have to wear the clothes being targeted to them either! I mean, let's face it, what tom boy is actually interested in wearing low rise skinnies and a crop top anyway? They wouldn't wear the clothes on the racks right now either! We all want the same things for our little girls- Classic, modest, age appropriate and affordable. I can't say anything about little boys because as the mother of three little girls I have no experience in that department, although I am told that the little boys section in stores is just as bad! Maybe there will be a little boy in our future and I can write about it then :). ALL of our children, boys and girls, deserve better than what is being marketed to them! Thank you for your overwhelming support!!}