I am with you in this! The ONLY way to make sure your little girls dress like CHILDREN these days is to 1- shop in high-end, boutiques or 2-sew their clothes.
There is NOTHING in reasonably priced retail clothes- aside from your basic shorts and t-shirts- that I would buy my great-niece. It's all short, tight skirts, midriff baring tops, or slinky float dresses.
You know it's gotten bad when you take a little girl out, dressed in a smocked dress and maryjanes and lacy socks, and EVERYONE oohs and ahhs and comments that 'you don't see little girls looking like little girls anymore.'
Granted, this is the deep south-so maybe we're more enamored of old-fashioned childrens clothes. Not everyone likes them, but there should be SOME choice for those who don't want their 5 year olds to look like Britney Spears.
Meanwhile, I'm sewing and smocking and making pinafores and passing up the kids departments in every store I go in.
Keep up the good work. I truly believe it will pay off. As parents and grandparents-who-parent we've got a much bigger battle with the current society than our parents did. I've noticed that, in general, there is no shame anymore. Shame was a big motivator in my day.Of course,I grew up in '50's Houston. I look back wistfully for those days.