'We're told we dress like adults at 13 - but we’ve got no choice!'
Monroe, 13, is coming down hard on Aussie brands for the complaint so many parents have made.
Since the age of eight - the starting age for a lot of teen clothing ranges in Australian retailers - Monroe Mills says she’s been uncomfortable with what’s been on offer for her.
Years later, at 13-years-old, she’s changed, but teen clothing hasn’t.
Now, she’s calling out the big brands in hopes of seeing a change that doesn’t leave young girls stranded in clothes that are ill-fitting, uninteresting, and just plain ugly.
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“I remember being so upset because of the clothing I had to wear”
Monroe recalls being just eight or nine the first time she really struggled to find clothing she loved in stores.
“I remember being so upset because of the clothing I had to wear,” she told Kidspot.
“I looked at the younger kids’ clothing, and it’s full of pink and Barbie and sparkles and everything that I wanted to wear. I didn’t want to be wearing the stuff that 14 and 16-year-olds are wearing.”
In many stores, like Kmart and Big W, teen or girls' clothing ranges begin from the age of eight, and go up to age 16. At Target, it starts at age 7.
That means that girls like Monroe aren’t even in double digits, and already feeling like they have to give up all of the things they love for the sake of finding clothes that fit.
“When she was in those younger years, as well, it was really hard, because she started to doubt herself, and think, ‘Am I too old for Barbie? Am I too old for LOL Dolls?’,” her mum Sarah shared.
“She was a 9-year-old who was quite tall, and she couldn’t buy any of the stuff that was in the younger kids’ section, but she still loved Barbie, she still loved LOL Dolls - and she should, because she was only 9. So, she was looking at the teenage clothing and going ‘Well, I must be too old for this stuff now’.”
“We get picked on, and told ‘You guys are dressing like adults at 13’, but we’ve got no choice”
Now, age 13, it’s no different.
Monroe might be a few inches taller, but like many other pre-teens, she still loves everything pink and feminine.
And, unfortunately, affordable teen clothing can be just plain ugly - missing all the sparkle from the kids’ section, and instead picking up trends from the adults' section without the same flattering cuts and patterns.
On social media, Monroe said she’s been told plenty of times to stop dressing like an adult. But, she says she’s got no choice.
“A lot of the clothing in my size is so ugly. They have ugly prints. And, if all the prints are ugly, we have no choice but to look in the adults’ section, [but] it’s so cropped, and it’s low-rise jeans and even on the chest it’s low and revealing,” she said.
“We get picked on, and told ‘You guys are dressing like adults at 13’, but we’ve got no choice. We don’t want to be dressing as adults already. We still want to be dressing like we’re 13.”
Having also struggled with an eating disorder, Monroe said that forcing teens to shop in the adult section can be detrimental to their mental health.
“It plays tricks with my mind when I have to buy adult stuff, because then I’m thinking, ‘Am I the size of an adult?’,” she shared.
Affordability can also be a huge issue.
While Monroe said there are a few stores she likes to shop in, like Ghanda, they come with a much higher price tag.
“When it comes to Ghanda and other Australian clothing brands, they might have really pretty clothing, but they’re really expensive, and we don’t have the money to buy that for every single day,” she shared.
And, if you can’t shop in person, you’re left to head online - where ethics come into question, and sizing gets even more challenging for constantly changing bodies.
“She likes the pink and the bows and the feminine… so then we’re left to shop on Shein, and then you’re in trouble because it’s fast fashion,” mum Sarah said.
“I find a lot of online boutiques that have that girly look, but it’s a lot more expensive. And also, it’s hard because they’re literally coming into puberty, you have to try things on. It’s really difficult to shop online when their bodies are adjusting so much.”
What’s next for teen clothing?
As for how teen clothing lines can be fixed, Monroe has a few ideas.
For starters, she suggested expanding patterns and prints from kids’ lines into larger sizes - so everyone has a chance to feel beautiful.
“[They] need to make prints that are in the younger kids’ section in all sizes,” she shared.
“There can be some things just for the younger kids, but most things can be in all sizes so everyone can wear what they want to wear - like florals, and prints and bows and pretty things and dresses and skirts.”
She pointed out swimwear as a major issue, as additional padding and revealing styles make shopping in the adults’ section impossible for her when the teen section is disappointing.
“A lot of the prints are so ugly, but in the little kids’ section, they’re so pretty!” she said.
“I don’t feel comfortable wearing two-piece sets out in public yet, so I like to wear one pieces, but all the one pieces are black or a random neon frangipani.”
Monroe urged that retailers should start consulting with teens directly to hear what they want, directly from the source.
“I think they should talk with the youth industry, with young people, and get to know what they want to wear, and not just assume what they want to wear,” she said.
And, Sarah agreed with the sentiment, saying there’s nothing wrong with feeling like a princess at any age.
“It would be nice if they actually did start to consult the youth, or maybe it even needs to be ages 1-12 and 12-16 [for example],” she suggested.
“There’s a whole generation of eight, nine, 10-year-olds that are still so young and not into ‘cool’ clothing, they just want to be in sequins and tulle and all those fun, beautiful things at an affordable level.
“She just wants to dress up like a princess, and she should be able to.”
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Originally published as 'We're told we dress like adults at 13 - but we’ve got no choice!'
