Non-blinged-out clothes?

[brokenheart]

I have found there is a very strange phenomenon between size 6X and size 7/8.  It seems clothes suddenly jump from cute to "tweeny" with Justin Bieber or Hannah Montana all over them, or covered with rhinestones and lots of black, etc.  Personally I hate that stuff!  I don't want my 7 year old looking like she walked out of an 80s video.  And she barely even knows who Justin Bieber is and she hasn't seen Twilight (nor do I want Edward Cullen on her pajamas!).  I know there is Gymboree, but at times it can be a little TOO young/sweet.  I just want cute and simple.  Well, mermaids and seahorses (a huge favorite of hers) are good too.  ;)

Am I just looking in the wrong places?  For example, she had a very specific request of either mermaid pajamas or a mermaid bathing suit (but NOT Disney Little Mermaid) for Christmas.  (There is a long back story to this, but suffice to say she has a fondness for the sea!).  I couldn't find them anywhere....every super-cute thing I found ended at size 6X.  Then it moved into the bikinis, etc for "tweens". 

I feel like there is a big gap in clothes for kids about sizes 7 - 10, unless I'm just totally missing it.

[philomom]

Land's End , Hannah Anderson are good for what I call "just kid" clothes. I also do a  lot of thrift and consignment shopping to avoid those things I don't care for. No girl of mine is going to wear princess or brat across their butt or chest. No boy of mine will wear those gangsta wannabe stuff either

[dbsam]

Originally Posted by philomom 

Land's End , Hannah Anderson are good for what I call "just kid" clothes.

My children's clothing is almost all from HA and LE.  Company Kids also has cute, non-tweeny, clothing.

[zebra15]

Sometimes I notice 'classics' at The Gap. Same for LL Bean.  There was a store called "Heartstrings" when DS was younger that had adorable clothes as well.

I have the same problem for my son. He doesn't like skater clothes, he doesnt really like athletic clothes (basketball shorts etc) or sports teams stuff, He would be happy to live in outdoor/hiking type stuff I guess.

[crowcaw]

I like HA and Lands End too.  Boden has cute stuff -- some with sequins but lots without.  We got really nice nightgowns in girls' sizes with kitties and fairies from them.  Garnett Hill has some non-tweeny girls clothes.  Basic Brilliance is good for simple basics.  You can find things at J Crew, though it can tend to go a little mature looking.  I like Naartjie, but it is a very specific "look."

[happysmileylady]

Although I usually hate spending the money on them, I have always really liked The Childrens Place stuff.  For the most part, it seems to be pretty classic stuff and it lasts a long time.  I actually have stuff that I bought there for my now 15 year old that my 2 year old is currently wearing.  Now, they do still have some of the "tweeny" type of stuff, after all that stuff does sell.  But they have lots of stuff like this http://www.childrensplace.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_10001_10001_-1_665051_133503_27151%7C133002_girl%7Csweaters_biggirls (and hey, that's only $10!  cheaper than I was expecting!  Course...my kids don't need clothes...) that is pretty classic and it looks like they go all the way up to size 14.

[AnnieA]

Lands End is great, especially their overstock section. I especially  like that their skirts/skorts are not too short. My girls still wear skorts from there and they are not unreasonably short. Also, sometimes you can find some classic pieces at Old Navy. Plain t-shirts, khakis, jeans w/out sequins. I look on ebay for Hanna pieces and also shop Goodwill for Gap pieces.

[One_Girl]

We found a wide variety of clothes at Shopko, Target, JCPenny's, Fred Meyer, and Ross from plain to fancy.  LL Bean is also really great for nice kids clothes that are high quality but you have to order online.  The Children's Place is wonderful for clothes and when they have a sale they are the cheapest place around.  We are in a more conservative area so the variety is there even at the stores that market towards tweens. 

Where are you finding the stuff with the rhinestones?  My dd really wants stuff with jewels on the front.  For some reason she thinks it is pretty.  We had quite the discussion/argument when we went shoe shopping and she was set on a pair of shoddy shoes just because they had the jewels on top and looked fancy.  We did finally find another pair we both liked but it took a long time.

[Momsteader]

You could also look online at places like etsy.com or hyenacart.com for things made by the seller. You can get custom requests a lot this way, and they also seem to be more kid friendly.

[LynnS6]

I buy most of dd's clothes at Target, plus a few things at Lands End. Target has simple, age appropriate clothing. I just bought her 3 shirts at Target yesterday because she's gone through a growth spurt. One has a snowman, one has a unicorn wearing a scarf and one has a glittery star. They're all cotton (except for the decorations) and wear reasonably well.

[zebra15]

Originally Posted by One_Girl 

We found a wide variety of clothes at Shopko, Target, JCPenny's, Fred Meyer, and Ross from plain to fancy.  LL Bean is also really great for nice kids clothes that are high quality but you have to order online.  The Children's Place is wonderful for clothes and when they have a sale they are the cheapest place around.  We are in a more conservative area so the variety is there even at the stores that market towards tweens. 

Where are you finding the stuff with the rhinestones?  My dd really wants stuff with jewels on the front.  For some reason she thinks it is pretty.  We had quite the discussion/argument when we went shoe shopping and she was set on a pair of shoddy shoes just because they had the jewels on top and looked fancy.  We did finally find another pair we both liked but it took a long time.

Rhinestones are all over.  I have a son but I've been 'bling' everywhere.  Gap, Target,(I think every pair of girls jeans at target has stons or glitter on them), Dillards,    There is a ton of 'bling' in the girls section.

Now if I could just find 'normal' boys clothes.  Clothes that dont sag, arent sports clothes, arent skater clothes, my kiddo would be happy.  Regular type jeans and shirts please.  Shirts w. out smart alec saying on them. 

[brokenheart]

I see bling everywhere here (in Canada).  I seriously have such a hard time finding clothes for her here!  I went to Sears, H&M, The Children's Place (here it seems a lot more blingy than online...strange), Bonnie Togs, (ahem) Walmart.  I almost wish I had the money and know-how to start a great company for the clothes I would LOVE to see somewhere.  She has one really sweet 1 piece bathing suit (good quality with a sort of ruffle-skirt at the bottom...cute and modest) but she's just grown out of it.  She wanted a replacement (with "mermaids" lol) and I looked everywhere online and found nothing.  Lots for little kids though!  They start to turn into this type of thing (I don't love triangle bikini tops for little girls personally, and I like her to be more covered...these things mean I have to use a ton of sunscreen):

http://www.labellaflorachildrensboutique.com/flowers-by-zoe-tie-dye-bikini.html

(OH! The other thing that is weird....when companies classify "Little Kids 4 - 6x" and then "Big Kids 7 - 16".  Um, what 12, 14, 16 year old wants to dress like a 7-8 year old??  So strange.)

[dbsam]

Originally Posted by zebra15 

Now if I could just find 'normal' boys clothes.  Clothes that dont sag, arent sports clothes, arent skater clothes, my kiddo would be happy.  Regular type jeans and shirts please.  Shirts w. out smart alec saying on them. 

Check out HA, my son wears mostly HA and there are no obnoxious sayings, skulls, sports themes, etc.  I also get him jeans and khakis at Penny's or Levis at Kohl's.  He also likes Car-hart t-shirts and long-sleeved T's - they're pretty durable. 

We live near a HA outlet, but if you don't, you can phone in orders and they will ship the items to you. When I am in the store, I cannot believe how much shopping the sales clerks do for phone buyers.  e.g.  Someone will phone in and say 'I need shirts in a 130, what do you have.' and the salespeople pull items from the floor and describe them to the person on the phone!  Monday many of the boy's shirts wereon sale for $12.

[woodchick]

For "mermaid" (or other non-commercial character animal/creature) how about Gymboree?  They often have lines of clothes that are mermaid, panda, giraffe, etc themed.

We are also big fans of Rugged Bear clothing for our girls.  The quality is great and the styles are classic while still being fun.  There's a big sale going on there now, too!

[indigosky]

I also bookmarked this site a while back as having nice, simple solids: http://basicbrilliance.com

[Polliwog]

Gymboree's Kid Girl section is much less "cutesy" than it used to be.  I love a lot of their styles.  We mostly do Lands End, Gymboree, and GAP and will continue to do it.  I've gotten really good at "bargain shopping" those stores.  They all have great sales.

[Graceoc]

They usually have some good basics at Target mixed in with the 'bling' stuff LOL!   I also buy stuff for DD at Old Navy - great basic jeans, yoga pants, tshirts, ect...she is not a girly girl so we just buy basic comfy stuff.

[karemore]

Target has plain jeans, but they are sort of hidden along the back wall. The bling jeans are prominently displayed on the outer racks.

I used to buy all DDs clothes at JCPenny, the Okie Dokie brand. Now that she's outgrowing size 6 I've had the same stuggle as the OP.

At the end of summer I stumbled on the Land's End clearance sale at Sears. At 60% off I can do L.E. I ended up ordering a bunch of stuff for next summer online. I'm watching now for the winter clearance.

I have been buying shirts, sweater, and pants at Target. They do have plenty of the stuff I won't buy, but mixed in are a good selection of inexpensive more age appropriate items.

Kohl's is really bad too going from 6 up to 7/8. I couldn't find a single item I would buy for DD at Kohl's this season.

[mkksmom]

I am a big fan of The Children's Place. I like HA too, but as a PP said, you can't beat the sales at TCP, and the clothes last. The colors stay bright and they don't tend to hold on to stains. I do shop at Target, but those outfits don't usually get handed down because they tend to fade more.

My dd has the striped sweater and 3 different pairs of cords from the Children's Place. It does take some time to sort through the tween looking stuff, and there are some things she likes that I won't let her wear like t-shirts with skulls. But there are enough options that I can find something usually.

[Drummer's Wife]

I was also going to suggest gymboree. Lots of cute stuff there (as well as Janie & Jack).