Dressing the Slim Toddler

For the last year or so, the girls have maintained their growth trends of being around 20th percentile for weight and 60th percentile for height. In plain and simple terms, I have two slim toddlers. Asides from my occasional worrying over their diet, the biggest issue affected by their body dimensions is  dressing them up. I have had to "learn" the best tips for dressing them appropriately for their stature. My objective of course is to get the best use out of their clothes

Dapper Snappers at work

1. Managing the waistline: Choose bottoms that have adjustable waists. Most brands now offer this - it's simply an elastic band with buttonholes in the waist for sizing as required. When adjustable waist bottoms are not available, choose bottoms with belt loops so that Dapper Snappers or similar hold-up-the-pants gadgets can be used.
2. Some brands work better than others. For us, the best brand has been GAP for most items of clothing. With the girls being potty trained, the only brands of underwear that fit are Hanes and Fruit of the Loom (both from Walmart)
3. Choose one piece sleepwear over 2-piece. With the 2 pieces, I've found that the girls outgrow the tops with the necklines becoming too tight while the pants are still too loose to stay up. My favorite affordable brand of girly nightgowns is Carters
4. Choose footless PJs over footed. The girls definitely get more wear out of footless PJs as they can wear them till the PJs are too snug around the waist. 
5. Choose dresses that are designed to fall below the knee. When buying online, some websites will actually specify this - Osh Kosh used to, but as I was writing this post, I couldn't find any example to use. Guess they took it off their website - shame!
6. Choose capris over leggings. Once leggings get short, they look awkward (high waters). Capris on the other hand can start at the calf and still look ok when they end up mid-thigh
7. Turn too-short play dresses into tops by pairing them with capris
8. Jeans: Choose skinny and straight cuts over bootcut. 
9. Special sizes: Gymboree now has "slim" sizes that are narrower at the waist, hip and leg. PS: They also have "plus" sizes that are wider with shorter inseam. Good on them for recognizing that kids come in a variety of shapes and sizes
10. Shop across the aisle: Boys clothes of the same size are typically cut longer than girls. It's worth it to take a look and buy some of the unisex pants from the boy section. Case in point, I got all the lined pants the girls wore this winter from the boy section of Gymboree. While all their other 2T pants are now short, these pants still fit them lengthwise.

Thats my list of 10 tips for dressing the slim toddler. I could add an 11th tip that said "Learn to sew" but that's so not happening, I stopped dreaming.