Childhood is an incredibly precious time of life. This is a time to grow mentally, morally, and physically, to be shielded from adult cares in order to better prepare for them. This precious time of life is indeed meant to be fleeting, but it rankles me when I see children being pressed into adult roles – or clothes.
Time to 'fess up. I was a tomboy as a child, and I still require my clothes to be, above all, comfortable. What's the point of putting something on that makes you feel uneasy? If you're looking for discomfort, life will provide many opportunities for such. I also enjoy children's company, and I find those wearing clothing that they can run, jump, wiggle, climb, in short, be kids in to be happier children overall. There are places where highly restrictive clothing is appropriate, but those come with padded cells and nurses. If you are allowed to have shoelaces, you should be in clothing that allows you to bend over to tie them.
Unfortunately, my outlook on clothing isn't universal, even when it applies to children. On one hand, we have our siblings in faith who dress their boys wearing white (!) polyester thobes. Aside from the unnaturalness of expecting anyone under thirty-five to keep that much fabric absolutely spotless, having kids wearing fabrics that don't breathe is asking for a rash, or at least a rather hot, damp, uncomfortable kid. What surprises me most about this is the fact that in most places in North America, these things have to be either ordered or bought at special stores. It's one thing to pick up whatever Target or Walmart has on sale to cover your young in a pinch, but going out of your way to make your child uncomfortable is just sad.
Boys, however, don't have it as bad as girls generally. It's still pretty easy to clothe a boy in modest, comfortable clothing. Girls seem to have two equally uncomfortable, overly adult choices: either the mini hausfrau, or the prepubescent Britney Spears. The former comes almost solely from religious clothing companies, that merely make smaller versions of the wretched, frumpy adult attire. The long, narrow skirts are not made for running, or climbing, and are generally designed for a far more sedentary lifestyle, and I am certain that these clothes help train girls to sit still, to discourage girls from being active and curious. On the other end of the spectrum, the options range from overly sexual (what eleven year old needs an underwire in her training bra?) to the uncomfortable (itchy, tight, synthetic fabrics abound) to the unsafe- between the platforms and the low cut, tight jeans, playing tag is asking for an injury. Where does one find clothes that allow little girls to be both active and protects them from being sexualized before their time? After discussing this issue with a delightful mother I happen to know, I thought I'd look for options that might work for her two little girls with divergent tastes. I found a few options for her no frills girl, and a few more for her little lady. As this mother is an actual mother, and not some fantasy creation, I kept the price range at a low to moderate level.
Finding tops wasn't so bad, I found a few nice options, which in the right colors, will work for the no frills elder girl, and won't be too bad for a few hand me downs to her younger sis.
I'll start with a classic: a turtleneck. Great for hand me downs, as it never goes entirely out of style
A crew neck long sleeved T shirt, also in cotton- comes in several colors, shown in pink just because.
http://belowtheknee.com/product-pages/P1010044.html
An all-cotton sweater, in colors that will suit girly girls and no frills filles:
A longer sweater, with a slightly funky stripe pattern:
With pants, it gets more complicated. The options are almost entirely limited to low cut flares, jeans, and pants designed to be worn with a school uniform. Even the jeans are often low cut and/or flared. Here's what I suggest:
For casuals, a cargo pant style:
A set of khakis, to continue the classics theme:
And for the girly girls, a sweater/skirt set that is too precious to behold. The link will take you directly to the skirt, but features links for the whole set:
http://www.hannaandersson.com/style.asp?from=SC%7C18%7C2%7C24%7C25%7C1%7C%7C&styleid=&mwp=N
And a striped dress that, like the skirt, falls below the knee:
http://www.hannaandersson.com/style.asp?from=SC|10|2|24|25|1||
For older girls, a longer hem may be in order, and for them, I offer this:
http://www.melodyclothing.com/FSS04.htm
And a surprisingly stylish and modest piece from Target:
These are mere pointers, there are more clothes available that allow little girls to stay that way. All of these clothes are in natural fabrics, and all are machine washable (please let me know if one slipped through the cracks). Alas, I couldn't find anything in fair trade clothing shops, but few of them offer clothes for children beyond toddler age, and many had not put their fall collections on display at the time of writing. Of the religious clothing shops that offer clothes for little girls, many of the Christian and Muslim collections were especially frumpy; the Jewish shops have a slightly better selection. I really couldn't recommend any religious clothing shop at this point, not with the lovely alternatives shown above. I was able to find a few pieces at mainstream clothing stores, so don't give up hope, and if necessary, head over to the boy's section for very basic items. For older girls, think about heading over to the Petites section, and see what may be available in smaller sizes. Try thrift and vintage shops, and inform every parent that you know that hand me downs are a good thing. And establish good karma by saving these classics for the next generation, that is, if they survive your young ones. Speaking of classics, I highly recommend Hanna Andersson, but do keep in mind, their prices are definitely higher than what you would find at Walmart, but not too expensive. Visit them at: www.hannaandersson.com The clothes I've shown aren't of the hausfrau nor the hussy type. I hope that any little girls in your lives have the opportunity to be their wild, inquisitive, sensitive, bossy, humorous selves. Thank heavens, indeed, for little girls.
And as always, Be Beautiful to Yourself.
