One more little girl, Anna, who is 8, and not really expressing her own style yet.  But she has her own issues.  When you have a daughter who is a regular 8 when she is 8, it is a simple matter to find clothes that fit and are age appropriate.  But what do you do when you have an 8 year old who is as tall as a 10 year old and weighs 100 lbs.?  


A year or so ago, I saw some growing up pictures of Steve's aunts and realized that my "big" girls came by it honestly.  The women on Steve's side of the family tend to be big girls and grow up to be matronly; not fat, matronly.  Becki complains that she always gets the part of "the mother" in any play she is in.  Matronly doesn't work at 8, however.  Once again, we get the bubbles and rolls.


So, to avoid bubbles and rolls, a friend with 8 daughters and a variety of figures advised me to get tunic or baby doll style shirts, which are designed to be a)loose and b) long.  They disguise a lot, while not relegating your daughter to looking like garbage bag.  The pants are tougher.  Anna is still child size in height, but adult size in circumference and Wal-Mart does not carry plus sizes!  But we have discovered a wonderful thing: adult capris.  Her bottom can be hidden by the long tunic style shirt if she wears adult sized leggings, but we found that capri length pants actually worked very well.  "What Not To Wear" did a family makeover and also dealt with an extremely slim little girl using capris as well.  The length, being an issue when buying trousers, is not an issue with capris.  


After going to all this trouble to find pants that fit her, ironically, she prefers dresses.  They are far more comfortable and the height issue doesn't exist.  At least, at this point.  She can still wear a size 16 girl and it will be child-like in style and  appropriate in length.  We shall see what we shall see when she gets to be 11 and has to wear adult sized 12 dresses!  


One of greatest tricks for turning dresses with not enough fabric on top into modest dresswear, is a variety of tank tops and camisoles.  A camisole with lace at the top can "modi-fy" a dress with too much cleavage, while remaining dressy.  A tank top with wide straps can "modi-fy" a spaghetti string sundress.  As always, finding them long enough is the trick, but a pair of capri leggings under a dress that Mutti gave Gabrielle for her birthday that turned out to have a hem above the knee  fixed that.  


We're not done.  


Shoes.  I love shoes, though I am frugal enough to know that I don't need 14 pairs of flats just because they're cute.  of all the clothing choices out there, women's shoes are the most diverse and finding a pair of dress shoes that are not too faddish (why buy something that you will not WANT to wear next year?) but are attractive isn't difficult, even if you rule out all the high heels.  Shoes are the most expensive part of clothes shopping for us because they do not come in the hand-me-down bags very often.  I have also heard that shoes conform to the shape of your foot and you may do damage by wearing pre-worn shoes.  So, we buy shoes.  Generally speaking however, we have seasonal rules.  Sports sandals in the summer, tennis shoes and boots in the winter.  Dress shoes are optional and, since they buy their own clothes once they get to 10 years old, they may buy dress shoes if they like.  However, not just any dress shoes.  


Mimi, 10, likes high heels.  Boots for horseback riding need a heel, of course, so I don't argue with those but, since all our girls, including 8 yr. old Anna, wear adult sized shoes, we sometimes have a challenge.  Even shoes can be age appropriate.  Becki is 16: she pretty much gets free rein.  Sarah, 14, and Gabrielle, 13, prefer flats, except for concert wear, which is the most dressed up they ever get.  (Ah, the advantages of living in a cornfield!)  For Anna, she likes her tennis/dress shoes that are popular these days.  But, Mimi!  I allow her a 1 inch heel since it is possible to get modest dress shoes with a small heel.  It is a constant struggle to remind her that she is not a big girl yet and that shoes count.  But, she is learning!