We have started to look for back to school clothes, because the first month of school is hot and by the end of summer clothes are so warn they are not fit for school. If I wait much longer there will be nothing but winter coats in stock. My 8 yo daughter is a self claimed tom boy and is very picking in what she wears. I have taken her to the stores and we have come out with nothing. She likes to wear things that are comfortable and baggy. She finds the girl's short & jeans are too low or stiff &-the t-shirts cling, without shopping in the boys department, where and what do you find to suit a "tom boy"? I would still like her to look like a girl.
I would take her to the thrift store. You can find loads of great deals. Without spending a fortune. Sometimes even new with tags. That way in case she changes her mind about what "style" she wants it is not a fortune to go and get other styles
have you tried the more athletic girls clothing at target? I have babies, but I see them every time I walk into Target and think that the girl's athletic shorts are cute, maybe they are a style that she would wear.
My daughter is the same way (9). She has two older brothers and she like to tumble with them. I shop at Old Navy. They have a flare jean that my daughter likes. She wears them with polo shirts, vest or sometimes I can get away with a tank top and a tshirt underneath. She always wears chucks or vans. But this is where I get my girly girl. She wears alot of pinks, greens and vibrant colors, her shoes are usually pink, orange or multi color. So I get a bit of both. Kudos to you mom for going out of your way to make sure your daughter has both comfort and her own sense of style.
I was just like her. What about dickies, those are unisex and they come in khakis and or shorts. not too mention, target sells CONVERSE brand that is very boyish... by that I mean, straight lines, nothing too girly.. I like it.. lots of gray tones , blues and black.. lots of cute shorts too that arent as she says too short.
plus they have Massimo brand which although some are brightly colored some are vintage looking..
if you check out the dickies brand (which I think even J.C. Penny's may sell, she might be happy., again, very clean lines.. simple..
get dickies, converse pants/shorts and some gap tshirts (they have plenty that don't cling) and bam........... simple but cute.
also.... albeit in the guys section, I must say Target does have cute hats..if she is a tomboy, she'd like their hats..
really, sounds like your daughter has a good sense of style.
Also, check out the surfer type stores like Roxy (can also be found at nordstroms) granted, it IS more expensive, sometimes you can catch a sale... they sometimes have cute unisex looking clothing. or other surf type stores will have have a longer shorts.. also, Volcom..
best of luck
Don't know how old, but I'm as "tomboy" as they come. Always have been. I had a GI Joe Big Wheel... Not a pink one. Now, I work on prototype military trucks for a living... Go figure.
I love board shorts and they have them in girls that don't look so girly. I also love my baggier "surfer" type t-shirts. They're almost all I wear. I also wear my husband's t-shirts sometimes too. I wear a lot of rock t-shirts that I get from Hot Topic or from a concert. Jeans are difficult, but there's nothing wrong with them being a little snug in the bottom, but I understand wanting them to be baggier in the legs. Try either Pac Sun or Buckle for jeans. Also, some of this depends on her shape (that goes along with age). I went through a phase at around 10-12yrs old that I would only wear boys clothes.
If you have any questions, I don't mind answering anything. Just send me a message! Good luck!
My 8 year old daughter is pretty tom boy also :) I agree with the skater route. You can do a pretty "girly" kind of skater without her realizing it. We got cute "becky bones" sneakers that were pink and black. She loves to wear funky clothes with peace signs. You can even sneak in the occasional skirt...with black leggings and neat patterns. I have to admit... she is the most fun of my girls to dress ;)
My daughter is 8 also & in my opinion "Destruction on two legs." We go to the Salvation Army, Value village, second hand stores & as little as possible Good Will. My daughter is a very conservative dresser. My daughter does wear some boys clothes like jeans no one can tell. She doesn't like low or tight clothes either.
I have one like that. She just turned 9.
She is very hard to shop for/with, as she likes the cargo, chunky looking bottoms, and camo. She practically refuses ANYthing if it is pink or purple, or yellow... any "girlie" color you can just forget it. So we do shop at Old Navy alot. I will get her jeans/pants/shorts there, at Target or at Land's End sometimes. But the tops, I let her do most of the choosing. She usually will lean towards the black, brown or other dark shades (dark red - NO pink tones, dark green - NO neon stuff, etc). She really likes hoodie type shirts though, and since I discovered that (her fav all last year was a grey and black striped one with 3/4 sleeves) I have been able to find some in other colors that look a little more girlie (one is hot pink/red/blue blended threads in the fabric). She also loves the converse or vans skater type shoes. I let her. She's cute. She has super long straight blonde hair, so I figure as long as she doesn't want to cut it short, she can be a little more boyish with her clothes. After all, she doesn't do tea-parties, she is out climbing trees and playing with the dog or keeping up with her older brother. She DID agree to a fabulously feminine hot pink and silver metallic swimsuit this summer though!
I have gotten her to start painting her nails some, so that helps add femininity without compromising her clothing style. She does like the dark greens and blues on her nails though, ;)
OLD NAVY!! I'm a tomboy myself, always have been! I love Old Navy because their jeans actually fit, there are a lot of shirts and sweaters that do not have lace and bows and frilly stuff. Plus they tend to have great sales. The clothes are also good quality. Another place that I find stuff at is Kohls and Target.
Good luck, hope you find stuff she likes!
I am very tomboy and love camoflauge t shirts. green pink or any color. I like baseball looking jerseys. and football looking jerseys. I have them in pink so I still look like agirl and feel like I am wearing boys clothes. I buy mine a size bigger than what I would wear. buy her boys shorts they are a better length and look more appropriate to me. I hate daisy dukes. if she wears at least a size 0 look for rocky jeans alittle pricey but built very tough. get them on sale the price isn't bad. and they look girley but are boyish at the same time too.
I also love western shirts and sweats are the bomb.(pants and shirts.) rocky jeans are also very stylish. get her like an oxford shirt with a tank top to wear underneath still boyish but also girlish. take her to a western store I bet you hit jackpot. girly but still boyish. good luck and if you live in a small town and can't find this stuff like I am refering to try ebay.
Have you tried the Children's Place? My 9 year old daughter is a tom boy / skater girl and they have some really cute clothes that are more comfy ( think jeans, flannel shirts, tshirts) but still girly and cute. Its a nice compromise for us.
I agree with checking out the skater and surfer oriented shops in your local mall. There is almost always a clearance rack, the clothes are made to last because of the sports they cater too and frilly girly clothes are never in style for those cultures.
Good Luck with your girl and her newly developing sense of style! My son is 8 and still doesn't care what I dress him in.
What about getting her some longer cargo type shorts since they are baggier and comfortable but get them in pastel or brights that are more "girl colors". Some even come now as pants with a zipper mid-leg so you can unzip the bottom half of the pant and take it off so she will have shorts too.U can guy her tops that coordinate with the shorts she likes, but get them in a size bigger if she doesnt like clingy clothes. Do you have a Children's
Place store in your area, they have a great children's clothing that is pretty reasonable and awesome sales too, it wears very well. I would also look at Old Navy girls dept, JC Penneys girls and of course Target, they have some very cute girls clothes at great prices. Even though she is a tom-boy I would not let her dress like a boy, girls her age and older can start getting mean about things like what other girls are wearing and I'd hate to see her be picked on or made fun of. THere are lots of great girls clothing out there it just may take you a little longer to find styles and things that she likes. Good thing you are starting early Mom. Good luck.
Go to Goodwill and see if there are things you can agree on. Girls jeans weren't always so feminine in shape at such a young age! Second hand and consignment are great places to buy kids clothes because they never wear them very long anyway.
At 8 I liked coveralls when the weather was changeable as you could wear a light s/s shirt and switch to a sweater, also a looser fit. For shirts, polos look neat and are genderless as are turtlenecks. Band t-shirts are not girl shaped or gender specific if you avoid the baby-t style. Good Luck!
Rugged Bear is great, stores are on the East Coast but they are on line, as well as Mini boden. Rugges Bear is big on polos and kaki's and the like. Old navy is also a great choice. You could get her the gurls denim and maybe wander over to biys and look at their tops, lots of the boys stuff looks unisex. I'm not a tom-boy but I sure as heck hated anything pink and ruffely, florals or hearts. Maybe also shop in pacific sun. It's a skater shop and they make irl clothes a little more tom-boyish but cut for her.
Hanna Anderson (boys or girls) are excellent and very comfortable.
Mini Boden also has some wonderful kids clothes.
Not sure why your daughter wants 'boy' clothes. If she wants to look like a boy this won't help, but if she just wants comfy clothes you may encourage her to try skirts (jersey skirts or skorts - i've seen some nice ones around), dresses (loose fitting and flowy), and peasant blouses. As a tomboy myself i am a skirt convert for pure comfortableness. I've also noticed that blouses may fit more loosely than t-shirts.
I would look at Lands End. They have a lot of really nice basic clothes for girls that are not overly "girly", some not girly at all. Last year I got my daughter some long sleeve T's with pictures of mountain climbing girls on them, hardly girly! They also have a lot of good specials and the clothes are very well made but not super expensive. Their overstock and clearance section usually has VERY good deals, like Wal Mart prices for way better quality clothes.
They just came out with their back to school catalog and if you would like, I have a free shipping code you can use (no minimum order), just message me. This way you can order various things and if you don't want it all you can return it to any Sears store without having to ship it back. I often order more than one size of things then return the ones that don't fit.
My daughter is a Tom Boy as well. I strugle with buying her boy's clothing because she is shaped like a girl and the clothes just look rediculous.
Because we've struggled with the shopping for so many years I've started a company called Tomi. It's truley in it's inception. I buy and design clothing specificly geared towards Tom Boys and no one else. Because the company is in it's infancy our catalog is not complete. But I'm happy to forward whole sale sites from around the world to you. ____@____.com. Please shoot me an email.
Why don't you just shop in the boy's department? I do for my daughter sometimes. She is a girly girl, but let's face it, unfortunately most girl clothes are NOT practical whatsoever! My pet peeve are shoes... how much time I spent trying to find toddler girl shoes that are no mary jane style... we live in seattle for g'dsakes - it rains from October to June...!
Ok, enough ranting, try H&M (if you have one), they have cute and practical clothes some of which are not too girly.
Good luck
What about Old Navy? I wore their clothes a lot after both my pregnancies when I wanted comfy/baggy clothes! Also, try the GAP outlet for similar stuff. Ross for Less is a great place to look for all styles. Target, Fred Meyer, etc., but I'm thinking Old Navy is probably your best bet. I shop there for my friend's little 5-year-old who is also a tom boy and doesn't like anything girlie girl. So far she's happy with what I've found!
So I have not run into this issue as a mother, but as a child, I was 100% tom-boy. I also have brothers, and I have to say that about 3/4 of my clothes were hand me downs from my brothers (and therefore obviously bought in the boy's section). My mother did force me into dresses for church and nice occasions, but would let me pick simple dresses, often in blues and greens. When I look at what is on the girls section today, you couldn't pay me to wear those clothes myself or buy them for my daughter - skinny jeans are one of fashion's worst trends ever!!!
If I were you, I would look for classic fashions - they never go out of style and they are perfectly cute. I lived in t-shirts, flannel shirts and polo style shirtsas a kid and I still do. Plain straight leg jeans/cords/kakis work great, and I eventually became a fan of boot cut jeans as I hit puberty and my hips are pretty wide. I shop of my daughter who is 1 year old in the boys section and she does not own a shred of pink clothing. Strangers are able to identify that she is a girl and tell me she is cute, and lets face it - sometimes it can be hard to tell if a baby/toddler is a girl/boy without some identifying colors :) At age 8 I am sure your daughter looks like a girl regardless of what she wears.
Good Luck!!!
