Plus size tween clothing?

[connorlevismom]

My daughter is almost 12 and is having a really hard time finding clothes she feel comfortable in. She is more of a tomboy, so she does not do dresses or skirts. Her waist and hips are a little larger than most girls her age and so she is really upset when looking for clothes because she wants to wear what they are wearing, but we just cannot find a place that has trendy clothes for tweens who are a little on the heavier side. She likes more athletic clothes and is not into any clothes with unicorns, mermaids or anything she would consider "little girl" clothes.

Can anyone please give me any advice? I am devastated for her because she is SO self conscious.

 

[DisneyJamieCA]

Can't help on the athletic clothes, but for jeans, we've found American Eagle to be great for that in between age. I mean they're still great as you get older (I wear them), but it was our go to when my daughters outgrew the children's section.

 

[Meglen]

I was the same at her age. And even to this day I find it hard to find clothes that fit the way I want. I mostly wore boys shorts they are longer than the mini underpants they try to pass off as shorts these days and can be rolled up till she is comfy. Mostly I wore boys clothes with women jeans. Gotta find brands she like. Boys clothes are in alot of colors these days so not many would even know they are from the boys section.

Other than that I would try torid they have smaller sizes but idk what size she is to offer ideas.

 

[Southernmiss]

At that age, I would plan a day at the mall and try several stores and sizes to see what works for her.

You need to help her find her style and what she's comfortable in.


My daughter was similar at that age. Now, at age 19, she's comfortable in a vintage grunge style. We had to go shopping 2 weeks ago and it's still hit or miss for me to pick things she'll like.

 

[Sjm9911]

You are looking at womens clothing right? And not kids? The mermades and unicorn stuff leads me to belive your shopping in the wrong place. My daugjter is 9 and tall and big we do womens small and medium clothing.

 

[fancymouse]

I love Athleta for women. I noticed the other day they have a line for girls.

https://athleta.gap.com/browse/category.do?cid=1067955&nav=hamnav:Athleta Girl:CATEGORIES:All Girl

 

[connorlevismom]

You are looking at womens clothing right? And not kids? The mermades and unicorn stuff leads me to belive your shopping in the wrong place. My daugjter is 9 and tall and big we do womens small and medium clothing.

Yep - we have moved to the juniors and women's clothes. She is 5'1", so taller for an 11 year old but has such a hard time with the waist and hips. And everything is crop top and she is trying to hide her tummy!

 

[usnuzuloose]

I am 5'2 and was very overweight and that was in the 70's. It was hard to find clothes then. But if she has pants she likes, then focus on shirts. If she can't find any maybe you can find patterns she likes and find someone to make them.

 

[Sjm9911]

Yep - we have moved to the juniors and women's clothes. She is 5'1", so taller for an 11 year old but has such a hard time with the waist and hips. And everything is crop top and she is trying to hide her tummy!

Im no help mine takes my t shirts. I'm a guy and 6'6". She wares them as a dress.

 

[Aurora79]

Try Torrid, Old Navy, and Maurices. I had such a hard time at that age finding clothes, so I feel her pain. I left the mall crying a few times. But, stores are really branching out anymore. Good luck!

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I was also going to suggest Maurice’s

https://www.maurices.com/

And Lands’ End

https://www.landsend.com/shop/girls-plus-size/S-y5d-yp2-xec

 

[mrs. magoo]

My girls love old navy for athletic wear. My youngest daughter was diagnosed with PCOS in December. It has been a real struggle. She plays college lacrosse works all the time but still has gained 15 pounds. She is so hard on herself for gaining weight. We are trying to look at her diet but she also has sensory issues so she will only eat certain foods so it is a nightmare some days. She fits well in Old Navy shorts.

 

[MedgarMedgar]

I'm mostly just a lurker here but my daughter is exactly the same, and Justice actually has a great selection of "tween plus" pants. Lots of jeans of all styles and athletic pants/leggings. She has also found swimwear, sweaters, and sweatshirts/hoodies. We also have success at Old Navy, Hot Topic (she loves graphic tees), and Kohl's.

 

[slo]

My DD17 was never skinny too, unlike my older DD, who was a size 00 in HS. My younger DD was always sad that she wasn’t skinny like her sister, so keeping her self-esteem up was a challenge, since the person she wished she looked like lived with us.

Anyway....back to the clothes.....
My DD is an athlete and a bit of a tomboy too, so her clothes came/come from Dicks, Kohl’s, Old Navy and American Eagle.

I know you didn’t ask for advice on this, so just ignore this if you want. If she’s upset about her weight, then this is the perfect time to start helping her get control of her weight with what she eats, drinks and lives. I’ve always struggled with my weight and wished I could be thinner, so I understand how my DD feels. I’ve explained to my DD that she may never be a 00, but she can be the healthiest that she can be. So her and I together work on eating healthier and not eating garbage. When I want something not good, she will flat out tell me NO and I do the same thing for her. We can’t eat stuff that’s not in the house, so I don’t buy it. We can’t eat stuff we don’t drive to a drive thru and get, so we rarely get fast food. After 5 years of watching what we eat my DD17 is very good with knowing what she can and can’t have, which I’m proud of. She reads food labels and makes sure she avoids certain foods. She‘s now introducing me to low calorie or low carb foods that I didn’t know about. She‘s an athlete so she works out regularly on her own because she knows that if she doesn’t the weight will start creeping on. Weight loss and keeping weight off is a life journey that never ends and the sooner we learn how to live on that journey the more we can enjoy our life. I wish my mom would have helped me when I was in middle school, so that’s why I walk along side my DD to make sure she doesn’t get her weight out of control like I once did.

 

[unrequited23]

Kohls and Target both carry junior plus sizes. If her height is more leg than torso, womens sizes in pants might work better. (I'm 5'2" but short waisted.) More and more brands are making comfort fit waistbands for various styles of pants. I believe everyone deserves to be comfortable in their clothes. Or boys clothes tend to have more similar measurements between waist and hip. Tween is a hard stage because they are growing just not at the same rate as their friends.

 

[RangerPooh]

This was my struggle through the 90s as you had t shop in the women's section. When she was younger (now 16), I'd shop for my oldest daughters clothes in the Girl Plus section at JCP. Not all stores have a selection in shop, but there is one online. We would also shop at Old Navy. Her favorite these days is Torrid, but they can get pricey, and some items might be too low cut for a 12yo. Target has a juniors section that goes up to size 15 or 17, try online if you're in store options are lacking. I like Maurices too, my daughter likes them too. They have regular and plus-sized clothing that is trendy. My youngest daughter 14) is size 8-10 and loves America Eagle for jeans, so you might try there too. Kohls also carries juniors sizes to 17. I just bought my oldest a pair of skinny capris there in size 17.

 

[tzolkin]

I’m glad to hear that some stores carry juniors plus sizes because I was going to actually suggest NOT shopping in the juniors section. My oldest is now 22, but juniors sizing was way off when she was a kid. She was 5’4” and maybe 95lb and the xl juniors shirts were often still skin tight on her. I remember her commenting about how the sizing could cause self esteem issues.

Skirts/dresses are the easiest for those who are larger on the bottom. Maybe leggings with long shirts (tunics, flannels, etc) would work for someone less “girly”? I would also not hesitate to check out the men’s section. My daughters and I all have a few men’s items that are very comfortable and look great.

 

[connorlevismom]

Thank you all so much for your help! I am going to check out all these options for her. I am not a clothes person and am just a jeans and sweatshirt kind of person, so I have NO idea what is trendy. LOL

I just wish she could see how beautiful she is instead of seeing what she see's as a flaw.

 

[Sjm9911]

Another option. But not as easy, i take my daughter to the thrift store, so she picks out stuff and holds it up to her body. Takes longer, but she prefers it over the store. This only works if you have a good thrift store with lots of clothing. Between this and amazon we do ok. But she is also much younger and is not as picky about fashion. But it is a pita to find stuff that fits. Especially bras for a 9 yo, that are adult size. At least you moms have some backround with this stuff, i only have amazon return policy for my mistakes.

 

[pweyl36]

My daughter is almost 12 and is having a really hard time finding clothes she feel comfortable in. She is more of a tomboy, so she does not do dresses or skirts. Her waist and hips are a little larger than most girls her age and so she is really upset when looking for clothes because she wants to wear what they are wearing, but we just cannot find a place that has trendy clothes for tweens who are a little on the heavier side. She likes more athletic clothes and is not into any clothes with unicorns, mermaids or anything she would consider "little girl" clothes.

Can anyone please give me any advice? I am devastated for her because she is SO self conscious.

JC Pennys