FITTING KIDS CLOTHES SIZES

[Black Jade]

This is a rant. Anybody else know what I'm talking about? I'm a grown woman, 5 ft 3 and 140, which the last time I looked, was a not kids' sized. I think 5 ft 4 is actually average height and 140 lbs at this height is not super-skinny. It's actually very near to the top of what weight and BMI charts say is acceptable weight for this height, within two or three pounds. Literally.
So how come I have trouble buying adult sized clothes, in the misses dept unless I go very high end designer and spend lots of money?
Don't tell me to go petite, that's a bad joke; petite pants nowadays are so long that I need to hem them 3-4 inches and they are still mostly too wide in the hips, unless the waistband is so tight it's cutting into me (and often there's no way to alter the waist). I got used to wearing junior clothes for the best fit some time ago, when I CAN--junior clothes are often ridiculous looking on anybody older than 20 and I'm over 50. I don't like sequins on my butt. Nor I like the very very very low waists. But why is it that I now fit little kid clothes? Isn't a twelve year old who is five foot three and 140 lbs unusually well-grown, shall we say, even with the US having expanding sizes? Plus I hate little kid clothes. They are usually made of truly cheesy fabric, since the idea is that the kid won't be in them long, that they will GROW. Yet, the last four or five times that I've bought logo shirts, all of those supposed to be for adults are swimming on me. Last week I went to buy a skirt and the only plain navy blue one that fit well was in the kiddie department (meant for a school uniform, actually). It's annoying and inconvenient--and I'm not so badly off as some, because I do know how to sew and alter. Plus--this is really the question of the day--what are women doing who are actually truly small? Like five feet tall and 98 pounds. There are actually lots of women like that, and not 'only' Asian. If 5 ft 3 and 140 lbs can't find clothes, what do they get to wear? Toddler?
I knew there was a problem five years ago when we bought our dining set and my legs dangled from it AND I couldn't lean my back against the back and the seat was twice as wide as I am. But I could still find clothes to wear at that time. Adult clothes. This is quite a RECENT phenomenom. Size labelling makes it worse since when I complain people tell me that such an such a store sells tiny sizes (and I repeat, I am NOT tiny) and then when I go there the sizes say they are small, but the clothes actually are not. They fit big. In my case, there are still some places where I can find clothes. But the kiddie department is getting to be a regular thing, and that's scary.
Anybody know what I'm talking about?
I went out to work completely dressed in kiddie clothes today and thus the rant--I am feeling QUITE upset.
If you live in a city like New York, don't answer this. I know there are lots of clothes my size there (so you probably won't even know what I'm talking about). But I'm not there. I'm in middle America. And I don't want to pay New York prices AND the cost of travelling there everytime I shop.

 

[asscherisme]

Actually 12 year old girls ARE that big. My 12 year old daughter is 80 lbs and 4'10 and is TINY TINY next to her friends. Most of her friends are taller than me (Ii'm 5'6) and some are fully developed. Its really surprising when you go into a jr high these days how girls bodies are.

I just bought my daughter some really nice jeans from gap.com and some nice solid tees there. They are a nice heavish cottein in cute solids. I have found gap.com has good basics. Yes, you have sparkles and embrodery, but they also have nice basics too. Old navy can be hit or miss. I also have found shopjustice.com hit or miss. But mostly miss. Even llbean can have some nice basics sometimes.

I hate hate the low rise thing and lots of styles aimed at her age group. I can imgine it would be worse for you trying to fit into that size. But if you look around, there are some decent clothes. If you see something you like on gap, check back every few days because they always run 20 or 30% off coupons. I never pay full price.

Thankfully my daughter is not into the super super short shorts or low rise pants so we don't argue about clothes.

Clothes are definately bigger than they use to be for the same size.

 

[TooPatient]

I'm 5'3" and have been in the 140-150 range for the last few years. Macy's has a pretty decent selection of stuff in the women's section that fits nicely. I don't have to do any sort of adjustments. I get pants (really like the Worthington), skirts, and some tops there.

They have a REALLY good return policy too so even if you don't have one nearby you can always order online and return what you don't like.

 

[mogster]

I can very much relate. I've gotten by on the Banana Republic petite section and accept as a fact of life than any pants I buy will need to be hemmed.

 

[jaysonsmom]

I have an instant solution for your problem ladies.....wear super-high platform heels.

I have 2 very tiny sister-in-laws. One is maybe 5' the oher 5'1. They always wear petite clothes and 7" super-high platform heels.
.

 

[yennyfire]

Joining the bandwagon, though I'll admit that when I saw the title of the thread, I thought it was totally on another subject. I am 5'3, 125 lbs. and I have the same problem you do. I have a bad back, so I can't wear heels and pretty much have to hem most of my pants. My other problem is that my waist is proportionally smaller than my tush, so I always have to take the waist in or live with pants that slip WAY too low for my taste. I am so irritated by the trend of clothing designers/manufacturers to "dumb down" sizing (this isn't the correct term, I'm not sure how to say it). Fifteen years ago, I would have been a size 6 and that was reasonable. Now, I am often a size 2 or an XS. This, of course, is because there is now a 000 and an XXS...it's a way of trying to make people feel better about themselves. I for one, am pissed. I would MUCH rather walk into any store and know that I'm a size 6 and not have to take 3 sizes into the fitting room to figure out what works for me. It's such a waste of time and no one is being fooled.

Now, onto what I *thought* this post referred to. Same phenomenom that I referenced above, but for kids....they're even playing with kids clothes sizing. It is so annoying. Most kids don't enjoy trying clothes on, so having to try on multiple sizes before finding what fits is really, really irritating to me.

Sorry to add on to your rant, but this is a sore subject for me!

 

[iheartscience]

Vanity sizing is pretty nuts. I bought a pair of Seven jeans when they first came out around probably 2000, and I was a size 28. But when I started working at the store I originally bought them from about 5 years later, I wore a 26, sometimes even a 25 in Sevens!

 

[centralsquare]

I find that Banana Republic has a lot of options as it relates to length of legs of pants. I have the reverse problem (my legs are bizarrely long for my size) and Banana has three length levels.

 

[PintoBean]

Have you checked out Lands End? You can choose the length you want for pants - down to the 1/4 inch, and there are regular, petites, petite plus and plus size versions of their clothing. They are the only company I can get bottoms from without needing to get them hemmed. They also will indicate how high/low the rise of the pants are in the description. The best part is that if there is a Sears nearby, you can return the stuff you want in store. I can usually get everything at a discount because of the e-mails they send with coupons and the clearance section online. Lands End has been such a godsend - I'm 5'1" and put on 40 extra lbs these past 4 years from the stress of working full time and attending law school part time. At my current size, anything that was "petite" was too small in the waist and too long in the legs in departments stores, such as Macys.

 

[oneam]

I am 5'3" / 115 w/ a short inseam and I find things at J Crew, Ann Taylor/Loft, Lands End, Talbots, Gap, Levi's (online store) and sometimes American Eagle. I only really need true petites for pants and I can find petite sizes, ankle length (Gap) or cropped pants that fit like normal pants at these stores. For super petites, the vanity sizing practices of most of these stores is sizing them out. If they're a true 0-2 and the 0-2 at the stores is the old 4-6, they're out of luck. Like you, some of them shop in the kids dept. I've tried tailoring but I don't usually have much luck w/ the final product and end up spending a bunch of money so I try to find something off the rack that works.

 

[jaysonsmom]

I find that Banana Republic has a lot of options as it relates to length of legs of pants. I have the reverse problem (my legs are bizarrely long for my size) and Banana has three length levels.

I was going to post this as well...That is why I buy pants at Express. Most retailers assume that if you're sizes 0-4 you must be short, and I have problems finding dress pants long enough so that I can wear heels.

 

[qtiekiki]

I am 5'3" and 110lbs, and my jeans are mostly AE or hollister, so I guess junior sizing. But as far as tops go, I fit S in most brands and XS in some. I buy mostly contemporary clothes though. I haven't shop at gap, BR or J Crew for a long time since their stuffs were too big for me back in college. Not sure how they are now.

 

[dragonfly411]

I've noticed this. Unfortunately length of pants isn't the only problem. Many times I cannot find shirts or pants that fit me at all. I'm LUCKY if I find something at Ann Taylor, or in the women's section of most stores. Express is great for business stuff. Many times though I'm stuck in juniors. Sometimes it's fine, since I'm still younger, and many things fit my taste. It just makes it hard to find professional clothing that will last. That's been my biggest problem.

 

[Lew Lew]

I used to buy my suits from Petite Sophisticate, but they are out of business. I still buy my jeans from the junior's department. Like everyone else has mentioned, I too wear really high (like 4 inches) heels and wedges when I wear my "petite" length trousers.

 

[NovemberBride]

This post and the responses are very surprising to me. I am 5'2" and 130 lbs and I have absolutely no problem buying women's clothing. I am either a 4 or 6 or small at Gap, Banana Republic, Ann Taylor, AT Loft and myriad other stores that are all over the US. Yes, I do usually have to hem my pants unless they are available in ankle length (petitie pants are too short for me). I am not sure why others are having such a tough time?

 

[JulieN]

My 13 year old cousin is already taller and heavier than her mom, and every other woman in my family, which as a rule runs petite and thin. She really is one of those big-boned girls.

 

[Guilty Pleasure]

This thread reminds me of an episode from "The Office" where we found out that Angela, a very petite woman with a stick in the mud personality, buys clothes from the American Doll store. I laughed so hard at that episode, I got a sore stomach.

As for the clothes issue, I haven't had this problem really ever, but I have lived in or near large cities my entire life. I do find it irritating that I seem to be between the "regular" and "petite/ankle" lengths for hems, but I don't think it's unreasonable to pay a few dollars to hem our pants when necessary.