Clothing for the hard to fit child

[LyLMyssChaos]

I am having a TERRIBLE time trying to find clothes to fit my 3 1/2 year old daughter and almost 2 year old son. She is 38 inches tall and has a 18 inch waist. According to most size charts, she'd need a 4 slim, but nobody seems to carry anything in that size. My son is 36 inches tall and has a 17 inch waist. Any suggestions(preferably on the inexpensive side?)

Also, I thought that this could be a thread for any parent who has a child with different proportions to exchange ideas.

[Geranium]

My DD is almost 3 and I have a difficult time finding the right fit too. She's about 37" tall and fits the waist of her 18-24m skirts perfectly. Gap used to carry one style that would work for her but lately their sizing has been pretty standard. I've found that Nordstroms carries some girls jeans in a couple brands that are super long and skinny. I got a pair last fall and they were around $20. Not sure if you have a Vonmaur near you but I've also had good luck there finding cotton pants and jeans all between $10-$25.
Some brands that I find run long and skinny: Mulberribush, Cotton Resources, Tralala, Soup, Beautees, Plum Pudding and Pumpkin Patch.
Also, since DD has been out of diapers, I take in the waist of most of the pants she wears with a little hand stitching.
Thanks for starting this thread:) I'm anxious to read some other good suggestions.

[jay&erinn]

We also have the same problem. DD is 3.5 and is about 27 pounds. If the pants don't have an adjustable waist, forget it. I really wish they made some slim sizes for preschoolers (size 5 is the smallest I've found that comes in a slim- my neice is turning 6 and is only about 40 pounds so I've been down this road with my brother). Even the adjustable waist clothes sometimes look rediculous- they still barely stay on and have all this extra material. Dresses tend to be the best and sometimes elastic pants and skirts (although I have taken some elastic stuff back because it's fallen right off). Gymboree carries a regular size 3 that is supposed to be cut slimmer for after potty training- they're still too big, but it's better than some other stuff. I think I also saw that MiniBoden carries slim styles for preschoolers- I haven't tried them since I hate to spend so much on the clothes- although they are cute.

[JennZ]

My DS1 wears a 3 slim or 4 slim and I've found some pants for him at Dillard's- if there is one near you.
They actually carry 3 slim and 4 slim. I was so happy!
And Gap jeans with the adjustable inside waistband fit him pretty well, too.
HTH!!

[LyLMyssChaos]

Thanks so much for the suggestions!!

I've tried the adjustable waistbands from Target and although they stay up, they look horrible with the way they cinch them. It doesn't bother me so much as it does my daughter who is a little fashionista. I keep hoping that since the "in look" this year is skinny jeans that I'll see that filter down to kid's sizes.

[mamax2]

I like the adjustable waist pants from Baby Gap or Gymboree. I also find that some Osh Kosh pants are cut pretty narrow (just depends on the particular style). Probably the best bet for girls is dresses or swing tops w/bike shorts, tights or leggings. Luckily, it seems those swing tops and capris are 'in' for spring and Gymbo always sells that kind of stuff too.

[sabrespa]

I like the adjustable waist pants from Baby Gap or Gymboree. I also find that some Osh Kosh pants are cut pretty narrow (just depends on the particular style). Probably the best bet for girls is dresses or swing tops w/bike shorts, tights or leggings. Luckily, it seems those swing tops and capris are 'in' for spring and Gymbo always sells that kind of stuff too.

That's the route we've had to take. My daughter is 42" tall and has a 18" waist. We've had some success with the carters and old navy adjustable waist, but really she still spends a good amount of time pulling on those because they are falling off. By time the pants actually fit well in the waist they are way too short.

Needless to say, we've already started stocking up on sundresses for this summer.

[Winter Biscuit]

I don't have a hard-to-fit child but wanted to share that my personal experience has been that the waist of Carter's pants tend to run small. I bought a bunch of fall clothes for DD#1 at the Carter's outlet at the end of the summer, and even though they had the adjustable waistband, she grew out of those pants relatively quickly. My DD is a bit of a solid kid, so the thin/slim pants don't work well for her. Just wanted to mention this. What's funny is that the waist on all our Carter's pants was too tight, while the length was a little too long. I don't think I will buy Carter's again, since I don't have tall, skinny kids!

[LyLMyssChaos]

Thanks for the tip WB! I totally didn't think about Carter's!

And we'll definitely be doing dresses this year. My daughter would much prefer dresses anyway, but I like to have a few pairs of pants on hand for the rainy mucky days. I think I'm going to have to snag a set of grandparents for the day, drop the kiddos off and head out shopping.

[bea_mama]

Check out Land's End Kids - they now have Slim sizes (google Lands End Kids).

I haven't bought any of the slim stuff but overall I have been happy with the quality of the kids stuff I have from there. They also sell Lands End at Sears (not sure about the slim stuff, but worth checking) if you want to check it out in person.

Good luck!

[Txfish]

Gap Long & Leans for kids fit my DD great. I've had reasonably good luck with their pants, especially that come in slims. They're plenty long, which is a huge deal with her freakishly long colt legs :)

Gymboree *sometimes* works; I found a few skirts last fall in slims that were terrific. But then I got 2 pairs of cords with the adjustable waist, and they looked awful -- too much material cinched up, and they weren't nearly long enough. It's really hit or miss, I think especially once you get beyond toddler sizes.

Lately I've been impressed with some of the Circo stuff from Target -- it was always "short fat kid" stuff when DD was a baby, but it's started to be cut a little slimmer and is fitting much better. Their skinny bermuda shorts are so cute and do not bulk up too much when you pull in the waist.

I've had to take in almost every waistband for this kid since she was a little over a year old... and we still have some shorts that are 18-24 months, that she can wear now at almost 6. I even have a problem with dresses now, just because she's so tall -- I have to get everything tailored to fit her in the body and not be at mid-thigh length.