Parents Clothing for tween gymnast body

[CuriousCate]

So my older DD turned 11 three months ago and grew like a weed this past year. She is now 4'10" after barely being on the growth curve in the past. She has really broad shoulders, small "breasts" that are really mostly muscular pecs, and a rather straight waist:hip ratio. Muscular thighs and pretty prominent calves.

She wears a uniform to school and then goes straight to gym so clothing has not really been an issue for her in the past but as she gets a bit older she is wanting to wear more fashionable clothing. She is also a drummer in a rock band (through a music program, not like a garage band!) and her bandmates are all high school kids (she's a kickass drummer - a better drummer than gymnast ) and has mentioned that she feels a little embarrassed at her clothes while practicing and performing there. She looks fine IMO, but mostly wears athletic shorts and tees/hoodies.

Where do you all buy clothes for your tweens/teens? I feel like a lot of popular brands look awkward on her because of her shape. Like if it fits her shoulders well, then it is big at the waist and hips. Or if it fits her waist, it is tight on her thighs and calves. I feel like many gymnasts have a similar body type to her so maybe you all could help a mama out! Thank you!

 

[Deleted member 26368]

I don't have any suggestions, but it is AWESOME that your DD is a drummer! Totally fangirling (fan-momming? Is that a thing? LOL) over here.

Also, I relate to the general complaints about the fit of tween/teen girls' clothing. I agree that aside from athletic/athleisure wear, a lot of it really doesn't fit athletic body shapes well. I'd also appreciate suggestions!

 

[cogymmom2dd]

Although not as tall, my DD is in the same boat and we have had success with Abercrombie Kids and the very small sizes at Hollister.

 

[Stranger.maci]

My DD is also 11 and has a similar body type. She really likes Old Navy for jeans as well as American Eagle (the triple 0 Xtra short is a smidge big but she makes it work). My DD is around 4 ft 7 though so a little shorter. She also really likes the shorter shirts that are in now and most of those are the Wild Fable brand from Target which runs super small or Forever 21 shirts also run super small. Hope this helps!

Oh and I also agree, totally amazing that your DD is a drummer!!

 

[Stranger.maci]

And I second the Hollister, their shirts run very small although my DD is too tiny for their pants. Shes about 63 pounds.

 

[PeanutsMom]

I second all of the above. My DD is 12, still wears a size 8 in little kids. She is so over unicorns and butterflies (Target's kid section). She has found Hollister XS fit her (she got a LOT of hand me downs from a teammate who is a couple years older than her). She is like your DD. She is 4'8" and super muscular. She has broad, strong, gymnast shoulders, but no curves anywhere else. She was 4'4" last March and has just sprouted in the last year. She can finally wear a size 10 in pants lengths, but needs a small waist We found that Justice pull on jeans work really well. They actually look like jeans, not jeggings. They come in regular and distressed, light and dark wash. She also lives in plain black leggings that she can wear any type of top with (hoodies, tees, tanks, flowly boho shirts). She has a pretty athletic wardrobe, but she likes to be girly sometimes and Hollister and Abercrombie run VERY small, so those have been her go to. Again, we go hand me downs, so the price was right.

 

[mommyof1]

Based on your description, kids' sizes might still work better than juniors' sizes for her. Around that age my daughter really liked the big girls' department at Nordstrom. They had more mature styles of jeans and tops. She even had a cute little moto jacket that would be perfect for a rock star.

Mine was a string bean and finally had problems finding kids' sizes that were long and skinny enough. At that stage, the only jeans that fit her were the tiniest sizes at Hollister. I think Aeropostale also runs small.

 

[CuriousCate]

Thank you, everyone!!

 

[gymgal]

at that age, dd liked Kohls girls and Justice. They were less "kiddie" than the other stores. Then she moved into Aero postale and american eagle. We bought used a lot of time so we were able to search through large volume of clothes than just what was in-season. For jeans, she had to move into jrs b/c the girls sections were too large at the waist. stretch 0/2's fit perfectly in waist/butt, though too long in the leg. Back then and even now, she preferred leggings as they fit her legs the best and she wore/wears a lot of cut out shoulders and tanks/spaghetti straps in the warm months.

 

[SMH]

Abercrombie Kids, Zumiez, the ‘art class’ brand at Target is less unicorns and butterflies- more grown up. My 11 yr old also likes GAP- they have a ‘teen’ line that’s nice and the smaller sizes for her ( she’s a size 8/10 usually)

 

[CanAmGymMum]

My daughter is a little older but just wanted to say that jean styles are becoming baggier which would work for muscular legs. She might have luck with dad jeans from hollister. Hollister also has some cropped oversized t shirts and hoodies which won't be overly cropped on your daughter. Tilly's and American Eagle are also worth looking at. And I second the Nordstrom kids section. Very cute stuff there for tweens.

 

[amiandjim]

I’m addition to the above, Pac Sun has some cute things that run small, but they are NOT cheap.

 

[Tigtimes]

All of the above and Ugh sorry to say this but Brandi Melville is a go to, mine can’t do the bottoms but has tons of tops. not cheap but quality is very good. Clothes come in 2 sizes only so go with the small.

Less pricey try Aeropostale, they have triple zeros in bottoms.

 

[GYM0M]

Dd likes The Buckle kids line. The jeans fit her very muscular body just right. She really likes American Eagle too, but it’s still a little big.

 

[MuggleMom]

For tops I started buying in the Junior or women's section and just get small or extra small depending on how it looks size wise. I find that Junior and womens tops are just better made (softer material less of a boxy shape). Pants are always an issue we found some cute "joggers" at target that she lives in I had to get every color. Tie waste bands are the only things I find that fit her right as she tends to like her pants at more of a natural waist than lower on the hip making it hard to fit her. I am hoping sometime she switches to jeans but she has always had tactile issues with clothes.

 

[B&M's mom]

Also try H&M. The kids department is sized using European sizing which is different than U.S. sizing. The styles were often more mature so my then teens who were also smaller but muscular could find sizes that worked for them.

 

[rlm's mom]

Hollister is my kids' go to shop!

 

[Stranger.maci]

My DD has also discovered Offline, its a shoot off brand of American Eagle. They have leggings she loves. Shes 4 ft 8 and 70 pounds and can fit an XS or XXS. They also often on sale and not badly priced.

 

[gymbeam]

Hey Cate! At that age, Tillys was a favorite.