First, let’s talk about why it’s not always easy to find clothing that fits well, and is both comfortable and durable.
Trousers hang on my slim boy like a bag. But if I buy the right size at the waist, his legs will stick out of the trousers just below the knees. Good for casting in Les Misérables, not good for everyday school.
Or the opposite case. A friend of mine asked me to help out with the trousers for her little boy. He had a chubby botty and stompy little legs. What to do in this case? Buy trousers to fit the bottom and roll them up fivefold. Handy? Not really—especially if they unroll and become a step-on-my-trouser-legs-and-fly-face-down hazard.
Recognise yourself? I hear this story time and again.
So why is it so difficult to find the right fit?
- The obvious one. Children come in different shapes. Same height—different proportions. Shorter or longer legs, rounder or slimmer tummy, oddly shaped botties.
- There is no industry standard for sizes. Each brand uses measurements typical for their target customer. That’s why the same size from different brands will fit differently on the same child. And that’s why French sizes are different from UK sizes, for example.
- Children are getting bigger. Some brands are following the trend by producing wider clothing for the same height to fit 90% of their customers.
- Fabric shrinks in the wash by 5–7%. Not every brand includes that allowance in the final pattern. As a result, you buy something and then—magic—it shrinks two sizes after a wash. “Oh, my daughter is so big, she is just 4 and wears 7/8 years.” No—she’s not some Alice in Wonderland; some brands are being a bit skimpy with fabrics.
We’ve worked out your child is not some Alice in Wonderland who gets bigger or smaller overnight. Some clothing lasts longer; some is cut and made to fit the exact size and gets too small too quickly.
What to look for if you want to buy something to last and fit your child for a bit longer?
Easy to remember: HEAD – SHOULDERS – KNEES – AND TOES… and WAIST – and SIZE (continue to the tune).
HEAD. Stretch the neckline of a dress/t-shirt. It should be flexible and big enough for independent dressing. Ideally avoid small fastenings at the neck for simple reasons: (a) you’ll have to fasten them on your wriggly child; (b) they can rip fairly easily.
SHOULDERS. Look at the sleeves. There should be enough space under the arm. If the sleeve is narrow and the armhole is small, a top/dress will last no more than 3 months. Better look for a wider armhole and a wider sleeve.
In addition to wide armholes and sleeves, look for raglan sleeves (the sleeve starts at the neck and the seam goes across the shoulder to the armhole). That way the shoulder is less defined and gives more room for growth. A dropped shoulder will also do the trick.
KNEES. Trousers reinforced at the knees. Or the simplest thing you can do—apply knee patches as soon as you buy trousers, or attach fusible interfacing to the wrong side at the knee area. That way they’ll last beyond the standard month of wear.
TOES. Trousers gathered at the hem (with elastic or a jersey rib). Even if the trousers are a few centimetres long (and to grow a size up they only need to be ~3 cm longer), they will still sit nicely at the ankle. No rolling up or down.
WAIST. Adjustable waist in trousers or an elasticated waist in skirts. That way the width at the waist can be adjusted easily. A cord is a no-go, especially for potty training—no self-respecting 2/3-year-old ties and unties a cord to do a wee-wee.
SIZE. It’s better to go for clothing with double sizing on the label—for example, 110/116, 3–4 years. Single sizing (like 104) often means a garment is cut precisely to this size and doesn’t allow much room for growth. These garments also tend to shrink a size after washing and become small quickly. Go a size up in this case.
With these tips in mind, I hope you can reduce piles of clothing that grew small too quickly and save yourself a lot of time on shopping.