Shopping for clothes as a parent is rarely easy. For one mom, it had become a nightmare.
Sharon Choksi’s young daughter Maya was very particular about what she wore. When she was 3-years old, she refused to wear pink or dresses.
Then she stopped wearing sparkles, bows, hearts, and flowers. These items just didn’t fit with her personality. Maya was more interested in climbing trees, playing with cars and trucks, and building LEGOS.
They tried shopping in the boys’ section, but those clothes did not work either. They were usually too baggy and did not fit properly.
One day, Maya asked, “Why do boys get all the cool stuff?” That is when Sharon knew she wanted to send girls a different message. Sharon didn’t want Maya to think that what she thought was “cool” was only for boys.
Sharon realized that there was a problem with clothing for girls. Girls’ clothing was often made to have a small and tight fit. But not every girl wants to wear clothes fitting in that way.
Sharon recognized an opportunity to provide other options for young girls, but before she started making new clothes, she did a bit of research. She gathered clothes from some of the biggest retailers that were meant for boys and girls of the same age.
She found that shorts for girls were barely a third of the length of shorts for boys. Also, girls’ shirts were much thinner and sleeves were shorter.
Some may argue that boys are usually larger than girls, and so the difference in clothing size makes sense. However, this reasoning is incorrect. On average, girls between 8 and 12 are usually taller than boys. Yet their shorts are a fraction of the length.
Choksi knew she had to do something, and so in 2013, she started Girls Will Be. The primary purpose for the brand was to make sure that young girls could wear shorts that had an “in-the-middle” fit.
These shorts have a fit that is “in-the-middle” between short shorts and boys’ shorts. For many girls, this is the perfect fit.
According to Upworthy, Choski says “there are so many parents out there looking for this.” In fact, many other parents are taking the initiative to create the type of clothes they want their children to wear. Here are just a few examples:
- Svaha: Jaya Halepete Iyer started this clothing line to combat what she saw as “a significant gender bias that exists in the kids’ apparel industry,” according to her Kickstarter campaign. Unable to find space-themed clothing for her young daughter who dreamed of becoming an astronaut, Iyer took matters into her own hands and made the clothes that aligned with her daughter’s dreams.
- Jessy & Jack: Launched through a Kickstarter campaign, this brand creates gender neutral shirts, onesies, and bibs. According to their website, “We think that dividing animals, objects and hobbies into ‘girl stuff’ and ‘boy stuff’ is silly, so we design things that both girls and boys can love.”
- Handsome in Pink: This clothing line was started by Jo Hadley when her son went through a big “pink and purple phase.” This brand asserts “that colors (such as pink and purple) and active imagery (such as firetrucks, tool belts, and electric guitars) belong to everyone and should be mingling, not dividing up along gender lines.”
These companies may not have the same reach or distribution that larger retailers like Target and Gap do, but they are making a difference nonetheless. According to Upworthy, Choksi claims that retailers are beginning to change their inventory:
“Mainstream retailers have started to change a little They’ll have a space shirt or a dinosaur shirt in the girls’ section now.”
Although the size gap still persists, Choksi hopes that retailers will begin to realize not all young girls want to wear tight shorts.
When they do, Choksi and other small retailers who set out to solve these problems may be put out of business – but she is okay with that.
Choksi hopes that by changing the kinds of clothes that are available for young girls, we can also alter what we think is “acceptable” for them to wear. Doing so would “do so much for the self-esteem and confidence of girls.”
Doing so would make a difference.
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