Thu 6 Mar 2008
in which i consider the vagaries of hipster toddler fashion
Posted by bon under mama-baby stuff, stuff to buy
of the many things keeping me awake at night these days, add one new item to the list.
why, oh world, do little kid pants suddenly stop coming with elastic waistbands once they hit the size 2T? why, exactly, does a not-quite-two year old need to be wearing narrow, slim-hipped jeans that cling just like i wish mine would an Olsen twin’s? is everyone else’s offspring sprouting into a lithe, willowy, diaper-less supermodel the minute those 18-24 month sizes start getting a bit snug?
you hear what i’m really saying here, right? is Oscar the only husky little short-legged munchkin in Canada whose cloth-diapered derriere still requires cute little bubble-shaped baby pants?
am i emasculating and infantilizing him by being blind to his need for big-boy streamlined skinny jeans?
or is the consumerist marketing fashion machine just evil? is Pampers designing for Old Navy these days? cause sending O out to daycare with half his diaper hanging out the back of waistband and his cuffs rolled up to his fat little knees seems to be the only option available to us once he’s outgrown those last wee tot rags we’re still squeezing him into.
i mean, dudes. he’s not even two. he doesn’t need tight back pockets to slip his pack o’ smokes into, now does he? he just needs some fanny in his freaking pants.
dignity, folks. dignity in children’s clothing. where do i buy that?













March 6th, 2008 at 3:03 am
Oh baby, wait ’til he’s potty training. Can I find elastic-waist pants for a girl who needs to learn to pull them down and get on the toilet by herself? Noooooo. And then there is the matter of doing up buttons and stylish waitbands around her paunch–AND she’s not even a stocky kid. Sure she’s no slim minnie BUT she’s 3. She’s supposed to have a gut. We went to your Old Navy on the weekend in hopes of stocking up on those perfect b&w striped tight b/c they are the best pants she owns. Sadly there wasn’t a pair to be found.
March 6th, 2008 at 3:38 am
We should all wear fig leaves and call it good.
March 6th, 2008 at 4:58 am
Amen Sister. Preach it.
I miss the days when you didn’t have to shop at a boutique to get toddler clothes in toddler sizes.
March 6th, 2008 at 5:28 am
Oh, this is SO, SO true! And it is NO better for little girls. My little Pumpkin actually is quite petite but I would still rather see her in bubble pants than in “skinny jeans.” What on earth? Who says I want my 3 year old to dress like a 13 year old?? Why would I want to jump ahead a decade? I want her to be THREE!! She should be wearing pants with daisies and t shirts with puppies on them! Quit trying to sell me spaghetti strap tanks and slim fit capris!
March 6th, 2008 at 9:12 am
OMG, Bon, I complain about this — on the blog even — with startling regularity. The pants! They’re too tight! And too long! And my baby can’t open her legs wide enough to be carried on my hip! Or sit down!
March 6th, 2008 at 12:00 pm
Maybe skip the jeans and go with sweatpants?
March 6th, 2008 at 12:55 pm
Frenchies, and Superstore-the Joe line has awesome legging type pants, cheap, and most of the other stuff is actually roomy. And freaking adorable.
Children’s place is the worst. Vivian really wants another pair of sparkle jeans (and really, who DOESN’T want sparkle jeans) and at least their pants fit hipless her. Ros though? Built like a linebacker with child bearing hips girl? Not a chance. She won’t even let me put jeans on her because of their pants.
Frenchies is always good since if it’s a buck, you don’t care if it becomes a throw rug.
I’ve also noticed that the sizes are true in most places-some weird vanity baby sizing thing or something-I always buy a size up, and sometimes even that’s too small.
March 6th, 2008 at 1:04 pm
I have noticed the same thing! We are a bit luckier in that my 2.5 year-old can still wear some 18-24 month pants and happens to wear underwear, but I keep thinking every time she wears her 2T khakis, “how would we slip these on over a diaper? I can barely get them on over her skinny tush!” And FIVE pockets? For what? I can’t wait ’til we start wearing nice roomy jumpers and sun dresses in the summer.
March 6th, 2008 at 1:13 pm
Do you have a sewing machine and can you sew a little bit? Little elastic waist paints are one of the easiest things to sew.
Here’s a link:
http://www.rookiemoms.com/make-some-easy-kids-pants/
Other ideas that I’ve used with my little buttless kids:
- The Boy wore a lot of heavy duty pajama pants in passable patterns when he was that age (plaids and stuff), which made him look a lot like a golfer, but hey, they have elastic waists AND they stay up.
- On things that are too big at the waistband - a real problem for my skinny bolinkskis - my husband would use kid elastics and make a little bunny tale on the back of their pants.
March 6th, 2008 at 1:22 pm
oh dear lord, no…i failed sewing in grade 7. i was afraid of the sewing machine and put the pockets on the wrong side of the apron. so i don’t think i’m going to venture into making O any pants. i’m not that cruel.
and Thor, i love Superstore’s new Joe stuff but even his 2Ts from there are slim-hipped and elastic-less, and the leggings? um, they’re all pink. if he asks for pink, he shall get it. but only when he asks.
we buy a lot at Value Village and Froggies (the PEI Frenchy’s), but other than skanky little gym pants which are all pilly, i’m not finding too much in the elastic waistband category there either. maybe pyjamas are the way to go, Beck!
that or it’s apparently time to force potty training on my child so he can look good in clothes.
March 6th, 2008 at 1:27 pm
Most of Bub’s pants have the maternity-pant-style adjustable elastic insert that you can button up. It works really well until you wash them a few times, and then the elastic usually breaks, or the button pops off.
March 6th, 2008 at 2:11 pm
Actually, I’m thrilled about it–no really–because it means there may be fashion options for Frances when she is ten but the size of a six-year-old. I’m already pretty excited because she FINALLY fits into a size 2T, and will no longer have to wear baby clothes, which are entirely the wrong shape for her now.
But I agree, it stinks for everyone else.
March 6th, 2008 at 2:16 pm
I am pretty sure I saw some bubble butt kid pants in the right sizes in either or both Costco and BJ’s. Do you want me to inspect closer and put together a care package?
March 6th, 2008 at 2:18 pm
Do you have a Kohl’s up there? Or can you order online from there? The only elastic waist jeans with good diaper room I’ve found are from Kohl’s. KayTar is 3 and still not potty trained for obvious reasons and those slim fits just don’t cut it for her. BubTar on the other hand needs the little slims because he has turned into such a beanpole this year! Sob. My baby is no baby any longer.
March 6th, 2008 at 2:18 pm
Oh, and they cost roughly $3.50-$5 a pair, which is a STEAL.
March 6th, 2008 at 2:47 pm
mmm…i’ll check out Kohl’s and BJ’s online, folks. i’ve never heard of either. many thanks.
Costco we have in Canada but not here…though perhaps i really need to go visit Thordora in the Great Armpit soon…they have one there!
March 6th, 2008 at 2:52 pm
What?
Patience is a legging girl, 100% cotton, elastic waist only need apply kinda girl and we have no problem.
Take a trip here and we’ll get him outfitted. I can name three stores off the top of my head I’ve been in recently that can handle what you need.
Maybe Kyla and I can go shop for you. She’s a good shopper.
March 6th, 2008 at 3:02 pm
hear my two words of wisdom: consignment shops.
there you will find older items from all the popular stores, pre-dating low-rise jeans and the like. At this very moment, my boy is wearing bubble-butt all-elastic jeans from Old Navy, circa 1999.
Mad- gymboree for girls leggings.
March 6th, 2008 at 3:26 pm
I was going to suggest Frenchy’s too, that’s where I get all of Isaac’s clothes. His grandma keeps buying him fetching outfits from various department stores and they are gathering dust in his closet, because the legs are six inches too long, there is a button right where his toddler potbelly sits, and his bum won’t fit when he’s wearing diapers.
And they tell me boys are easier to dress than girls!
Mind you, I have the same problem buying pants for myself. I have short legs, and round hips, and a butt. So good luck buying pants just about anywhere. Everything I buy has to be altered. It stinks.
March 6th, 2008 at 3:33 pm
I think a lot of this comes down to shit stores in shit small towns. Oh, De, I dream of Gymboree. Whenever I am in Edmonton I future-buy. The Joe line at Superstore is OK but the fabrics are so flimsy and don’t really cut it for a girl who spends her days sitting on hardwood floors in winter. We finally have a Value Village (used clothing store) here and I have had a bit of luck shopping there. Time to go back, I guess, b/c the amount of plumber butt I’m seeing these days is embarrassing. Sears, btw, sucks. Their clothes shrink drastically when washed (as do the Joe clothes). One thing I like about The Children’s Place is that their clothes are indestructible in the washing machine.
March 6th, 2008 at 5:34 pm
I have the hardest time finding clothes that fit Porgie properly too. They are too tight or too long or to baggy or too…
March 6th, 2008 at 5:37 pm
We have the opposite problem: super skinny kids for whom even the skinny jeans fall down, diapered or not.
With girls at least I can put them in dresses. Of course, you could try that for Oscar but it would probably make his life a lot harder.
March 6th, 2008 at 5:40 pm
Don’t get me started on girl’s jeans. Bella falls in the 50% of weight, and many are too tight around the waist. I often head to the boys department actually, to get the wider painter-type variety, which thankfully also come sans rhinestone butterflies on the ass. Cuz SERIOUSLY. However, just so you’re prepared, she’s currently going through a “NO SNAPS ON MY PANTS!” phase which has me really struggling to find stuff in the morning that she’ll wear. Augh. Do you by chance have H&M in Canada? Their kids stuff is so cute, inexpensive, and all the waists are adjustable.
March 6th, 2008 at 5:46 pm
no H&M either.
clearly we need to move.
but yes, having a boy does at least mean i don’t have to deal with the rhinestones. it also means the leggings and dresses are conventionally out, and that we are beginning to navigate the strange world of bigger-boy clothes where EVERYTHING is sports or camo-related (ask me how i like those particular versions masculinity being imposed on my son. come closer. just ask me. aaaagh!) but…no rhinestones or bedazzlers, small mercies.
anybody who can sew want to start “Sackcloth Tots” and sell me some nice organic cotton undyed togas in a size 2T?
March 6th, 2008 at 7:32 pm
I did sweatpants a lot with Drew until he was potty trained. Do you have a Bonnie Togs out there? I used to have good luck there.
I was going to send you a link to this organic clothing site with elasticized pants in 2T. Then I noticed that the pants cost $60.
*cough, cough*
That seems excessively expensive to me.
March 7th, 2008 at 1:28 am
I hear ya.
I find that the “crap” stores like Kmart have less trendy clothes. We get a lot of stuff from Goodwill, so it’s not too hard to find normal kid clothes there. Em and El mostly have hand-me-downs from when A was a toddler. A is 6 and I have started getting her slim jeans cuz she is so skinny and it’s easier than a belt every morning. But it’s still a bit weird sometimes. They aren’t skinny jeans, though. Bootcut. I guess it’s better than the pants with “sweetie” written across the ass or “Little Bitch” t-shirts. For real.
March 7th, 2008 at 2:21 am
LOL. My first kid, he’s a totally lean machine, and he can hardly keep up the Old Navy pants in a 3T at age four. My second kid, he’s a tank, and he’s 2.5 wearing 3T’s, but alas, as you so duly note, his thighs are too chunky so even most of THOSE don’t work well. It’s a farse. I have him in a few old hand-me-down Gap numbers that, apparently, were cut more appropriately four years ago. Now dressing a baby girl, imagine that. The jean problem is magnified times ten - the cut on those things is horrid; needless to say I had Moira in a handful of her older brother’s hand me down pants!!! I really like Babystyle stuff, on sale of course. Their comfy “Softest” line is awesome for kids all around. Wears through two kids at least, FYI ;).
March 7th, 2008 at 2:59 am
The people at GAP should be fired for trying to shove my curvalicious Baby Girl into skinny jeans. The INDIGNITY!
March 7th, 2008 at 7:57 am
Q’s favorite pants are sweats from Carter’s, which definitely still have room for diaper butt through size T3.
March 7th, 2008 at 10:16 am
Send sizes - we’ll go to H&M and M&S on a mercy mission and send some pants to O
Also - saw Miffy stuffed soft toy this week, all fluffy and minimalist, and wondered if O might like it?
e
March 7th, 2008 at 11:55 am
WAIT! Where do I find these jeans made for skinny kids? Because, Ben is so stocky that we have to buy clothes made by CUT FOR CLOTH (awesome brand with room for his ample behind), but Zach is so skinny that his pants fall off. I NEED more jeans with narrow waists (but also elastic, because the kid has to get his pants down to pee).
March 7th, 2008 at 4:43 pm
Yeah, it’s even worse for girls in pants. I buy boy’s pants for Chloe. But girls can always wear skirts, and boys can’t. Overalls, perhaps, are the answer? Or as someone said, handmedowns that predate the current crappy trends? Hanna Andersson catalog usually has good stuff, but their prices are rather high.
March 7th, 2008 at 5:39 pm
Overalls are NOT the answer - they can’t get them down by themselves.
I haven’t had trouble finding elastic waists (in the back anyway), but I hate that she can’t do up her own jeans.
Girls, luckily, can wear leggings.
March 7th, 2008 at 7:26 pm
I hate shopping for jeans for my 16-month-old daughter, too. Her adorably chubby, pot-bellied shape is not meant to be adorned a la Britney Spears. Thankfully, I have a mom that sews, so my daughter has a couple pairs of jeans that, you know, FIT COMFORTABLY. Overalls work too, although even those can be curvy in strange places for a person whose age is still measured in months.
March 7th, 2008 at 9:03 pm
It doesn’t get easier as the kids age either.
My daughter’s choices are to look like a two bit hooker or a stripper polishing the pole, while my son can choose from gangsta-cool or rock star wanna be.
Oy.
March 7th, 2008 at 10:07 pm
when he gets to my age he’ll be back in the elastic
March 8th, 2008 at 4:38 am
I’m all about sweatpants and soft cotton drawstring pants.. My favourites are:
expensive - Baby Gap
low end - Baby Bum from WalMart
The Boy has a buddha belly at 3yrs, is not potty trained, and could still wear 24mth pants for length.
March 8th, 2008 at 7:32 pm
Sing it sister.
My eldest wore only sweat pants from age 2 til 5. Either the waist band would be too big, but the legs would fit OR the length would be perfect and the waist too skinny. So he mostly wore sweat pants with elastic ankle cuffs. And the occasional splurge on Gap pants when I could no longer stand to live with a preschool-sized George Costanza.
But the youngest child LOVES jeans and has decided the compromise is to wear four pairs of underwear at once. I don’t recommend this solution, though.
And the clothes quandary continues because there is a no-man’s-land of boys pants between the sizes of 4T and 5T. Plus at this stage children tend to wear out their clothes before they out grow them, so thrift store finds are rare.
March 12th, 2008 at 5:19 pm
Can I say adjustable waist pants? Honestly, I recently paid $3 for a pair of jeans not even thinking about not being able to adjust them. And guess what, they fall off his skinny little hinney. ugh. He is a 2T in the waist and a 3T for length. Bites and has been made worse by his now wearing underpants full time. sigh.Adjustable waist is the way to go and you can even find them at Walmart.
March 17th, 2008 at 4:52 pm
My daughter is 16 months and I couldn’t fit any pants on her, even 2T pants, without an elastic waist band. I agree, why is elastic gone from pants? Plus, the pants are all too long. We finally went to leggings which unfortunately is not an option for boys. If we don’t get a growth spurt for summer, I don’t know what she is going to wear for shorts!