Moms of tween and older girls... explain clothing after size 16

[american_mama]

Not sure if I'll get enough traffic here, but I need to understand the transition from children's to junior clothing. DD1 is 11.5 years old, 5'2" tall and about 100 pounds. She's tall, slim and slightly curvy everywhere. Children's size 16 pants sometimes fits, sometimes are too short or too tight in the thigh. Where do I go from here? Are junior sizes bigger, or just longer, or longer but generally tighter? Is size 00 or 0 the next step up from children's 16? She tried on one pair of junior size 3 corduroy's that were a bit tight... is that a fluke or should I be looking at size 3 or 5 pants? How does sizing work for Junior shirts, especially long sleeve T shirts, which are DD's favorite thing to wear in the winter. Children's XL are likely to be too small, especially in the arm length.

Any stores to recommend for a wide jean selection?

I'm at a loss here. DD1 is also saying everything is tight in the elbow and knee lately. I don't know how to spot that in advance.

[queenmama]

You're correct, 0/00 will come next. I don't understand the reasoning, but juniors sizing is going to make her hate herself. Pre-DD I was size 4 in "regular" (misses) sizes but having to wear a 9 or even 11 in juniors. It doesn't matter so much now but it made me feel awful when I was younger.

I would use a soft tape to take all of her measurements and go from there. My 13yo DS is her size and is still teetering the line between 16 in the children's department and small sizes in men's. It's rough when they need adult sizes for height and length but the clothes are cut too wide/boxy. It really depends on the store/brand, so you may end up trying on a bunch until you find that sweet spot. Hopefully someone with a girl will advise; I can't offer specifics since the clothing is cut so differently!

Good luck!

Lara

[bonbon98]

I took DD to Aeropostale a couple of weeks before school started and the assistant manager pulled a bunch of jeans in different sizes for DD to try on. The asst mgr explained that a 000 is equivalent to a children's size 8 waist, 00=10, etc... What a difference in the overall fit of the waist and legs! We should have gone the Aero route a lot sooner to avoid the bunch-y waist pants!!

Both DD & DS are both super skinny and tall. Another mom had told me to also check out the other young adult stores (A&F, Hollister, AEO) because their clothes are cut thinner/smaller...

[gymnbomb]

I can wear girls size 16 in many (but not all) clothes at 5'3" and 110 lbs. I am a size 2-4 bottoms and XS/S tops in misses sizes. At that height/weight, which I've been since I was a teen, I have sometimes been able to wear size 3 or 5 in juniors bottoms although they have never been the best fit for me at any age. Juniors tend to be cut tighter in the thighs and designed for less curvy body shapes -- have her try some, but if they don't work go look at a store like Target or Old Navy that has size 0/2/4 jeans in lots of different cuts so you can find out which cut fits her body shape best. I don't remember if I've ever bough junior sized tops, but I would start with trying on a small and go from there. I believe many of them are cut for slimmer, straighter body types also, so if she's at all curvy or doesn't like things really tight I would be prepared to either go up a size or skip juniors.

[Simon]

I don't have a tween but went shopping with a cousin recently. Yes, its a jump into juniors but the sizing jump is not linear and can really vary for kids. She left kids clothes and went straight into size 4/6 pants in the juniors dept. She has hips plus very strong/athletic legs from sports so she couldn't fit into the legs of the smaller sizes.

[KrystalS]

It is really going to depend on stores. Sizing varies so much once you get into junior sizing. Not sure if she's interested but Justice goes to a size 18. I also suggest trying Aero, Hollister, American Eagle. They have lots of different styles of jeans. You might also try Target in the junior dept, especially for long sleeve tops.

[Globetrotter]

I recently discovered American Eagle and we LOVE it! They stand behind their clothing, unlike some of the other retailers for that age range. I think it is a little grown-up looking for an eleven year old, at least the way dd dressed at that age - she was into Boden, Justice, various NR brands and even some Naartjie, and that sort of thing. At least go to AE for jeans for now and later on for other items. DD is 13 and it's just right for her now.
I wish I had known about OOO sizing before today! We were relying on slim cut skinny jeans from Old Navy and Gap, but the AE OO regular works for her now. She is over 5' 2" and probably 90 lbs at most.

We also go to Aeropostale, H and M, and the dreaded Forever 21. You have to be careful there, but we have found some good stuff, to my shock. I still prefer AE on sale. Don't count out Justice. We still get tankinis and BRAS from there - we really like their bras, of all things, and they have a good selection of small sizes. Women's sizes don't work for dd, and the styling wouldn't have worked at that age, though she likes a lot of the Inc. stuff I get from Macys!

We avoid A &F and Hollister for various reasons - cannot stand their philosophy - but they are very slim cut. Some of their XS clothes were too slim for MY dd, who at the time wore XXS everywhere, which says a lot. At the time I didn't realize they excluded girls with larger body types and wondered how on earth anyone but dd's type could fit into those clothes. ugh.