Two unrelated questions - tween clothes and soccer socks

[countthestars]

1) DD is in 6th grade and is looking for a dress for a school dance. Besides Franki, H&M, GAP, Old Navy - where do tween girls shop?

2) DS plays soccer and all do the socks we have that are the right size in the size chart are SO TIGHT and difficult to get on. H and I have never played soccer. Do they have to be this tight? Any recos for socks that aren’t the most annoying to get on his feet?

[huskymom]

Abercrombie Kids, Zara, Hollister, Ae/Aerie

[scribellesam]

My kids wear the Sof Sole brand, you can find on Amazon. They don’t seem to have trouble getting this brand on by themselves.

[erbear]

1. My girls like Aerie, American Eagle, Target, Lulu/Athleta

2. You can get looser socks. My kids only like the Adidas socks.

[jinkies]

So my DD was in adult/juniors sizes by 6th grade. She liked AE/Aerie.

When she needed a dress though we had the best luck at Kohl's.

[expectantsteelerfan]

For dresses we would look at Lulus online (not Lululemon like pp was referencing), Amazon, and stores like Francesca's or Alter'd State at the mall. My DD is 7th but tiny, and she can fit in xs at most places that sell juniors clothing.

[Deleted]

Soccer socks all seem pretty tight, even on my kiddo with basically no calf muscle. The kind from Dick’s Sporting Goods (DSG brand) seems stretchier and a little easier to put on. Buying a bigger size results in the foot part being too big and rubbing inside DS’ cleats.

[statgirl]

We have adidas, academy, and an off brand that is adult sized (9 and 12 yo). Adidas are the crowd favorite.

[roxysoxy]

My son also prefers Adidas socks. He hates his Nike uniform socks and finds them really hard to get on. 

[mae0111]

DD1 had luck at Altar’d State for dresses.

DD2 love Adidas socks - they’re stretchy and thin. She also likes Puma socks if more padding is necessary. As long as her feet aren’t wet/sweaty, she can get them on easily.

[pinkly]

Honestly middle school was the worst time period for dresses for my girls. And I don’t think Altar’d State was so much a thing in our area then. If she can fit into their stuff, it’s a great option. But Kohl’s was basically the only place for us at that time.

Both girls have also played soccer for a decade. The preferred socks have been the basic adidas ones since year one. So easy to pull on. They might wear out quicker than others but they aren’t terribly expensive either.

[DotAndBuzz]

for a nicer dress that's not something like a homecoming dress, my girls like Altar'd State. We got my daughter's piano recital dress there last spring, when she was in 6th grade. They run small, so it works well for tweens who can't quite fit into Old Navy XS, but also wouldn't be caught dead in clothes from the kids section.

[UMaineTeach]

Kid played soccer for all of two days, but I can tell you that the Umbro socks (we got them on clearance at Walmart) were very tight and made her feet sweat bad. She preferred to wear shin guards on the outside (which, whatever, she’s not a soccer player) and there is little chance they could have gone under the socks.

[sproctopus]

Sept 3, 2024 18:05:00 GMT -5 @villainv said:

Soccer socks all seem pretty tight, even on my kiddo with basically no calf muscle. The kind from Dick’s Sporting Goods (DSG brand) seems stretchier and a little easier to put on. Buying a bigger size results in the foot part being too big and rubbing inside DS’ cleats.

This. The DSG brand are definitely the stretches (esp if you buy the "all sports" version).

Adidas socks are much tighter, IMO.

[livinitup]

The socks for soccer have to be tight enough to hold their shin guards in place when they run. It does take some trial and error to get the right fit for just walking around and then playing.

[meanie]

My DD is also in 6th, how fancy is the dance? We've lucked out at Kohls, the other stores she likes are more casual

Baseball socks always have the same issue - way too thick and tight. Summer baseball was different, the socks were very stretchy and it was amazing! 

[sonrisa]

Urban outfitters is popular with kids around here. I don’t know that they’d have dresses. last school dance, DD wore a black sundress with bike shorts underneath and her chuck taylors.

[jeaniebueller]

This might sound like a dumb idea, but check the Walmart junior section, my fifth grader can often wear extra small there and many of the dresses work on younger girls.

[countthestars]

Thanks everyone! The dance is not semi-formal, but it looks like the 6th graders in my Facebook feed wore casual but not too casual dresses last year. We'll check out some of these suggestions! DD is tiny - between a size 8 and 10-12 in girls clothes.

[sandandsea]

Ds1 (12) is a soccer socks connoisseur and prefers the Under Armour ones. Nike are tight and some are super long like thigh highs. DSG are too stretched out after one practice. Adidas and Nike get holes in the toes and heels very quickly. He likes the ridges on the bottom of the UA ones that help grip the shoes so his feet don’t slide inside the shoe at all. The Nike ones have them too but they’re “not as good”. Some of his teammates have the actual grip socks and they like those too.

DS2 (8) has to wear the Nike ones and I hate them because they literally would go up to his underwear and I have to help Him get them on every day and fold them three times.

[bittybomb]

My 13 year old likes Hollister and altar’d state for dresses.

She’s also a soccer player and prefers the Nike ones that are kind of tight. If not they get too loose and start to fall down, which is definitely a problem for keeping shin guards in place.

[nicolewi]

Dresses— definitely try the main stream department stores. Kohl’s, Macy’s, JCP has a lot!!!, even Target

The teen specialty stores hardly carry any dresses.

No advice on soccer socks. Our league provides a pair every year so we have such a backlog. We just use those. I’m sure they aren’t expensive, but they seem to work great and they’re not tight

[6fsn]

My kids cut the feet off of their uniform socks, wear grip socks, then use the uniform socks like legwarmers.