My oldest daughter was in dire need of some clothes, so last weekend we decide to hit a few stores and pick up a couple of key items (mainly shorts to play in).  Evidently here they've already slashed prices on much of their summer stuff so we got some pretty good deals.  This post isn't about pricing though so I'll move on to my point.

Now, we have always had a hard time fitting my kids both in the waist and the length.  If I go for length, the waist is too huge.  So, I typically hunt for adjustable waist items.  I thought I was doing just that this time.  Unfortunately, when we got home, two of the “skorts” didn't fit at all and a pair of knit board shorts didn't fit very well.  They were all too big in the waist.  The length was fine but they just fall right off of her.   I made this exact mistake two years ago when I bought her a pair of gym shorts.  Two years ago when this happened I was furious to discover that what I thought was a “draw string” (usually used to tighten the waist) was merely decoration!  I planned to check the next time I bought her shorts to make sure it was an actual draw string.

I don't know if I totally forgot or the shorts/skorts I picked out just “looked legit” but we got home and they were all fake draw strings!!  This of course was after she'd already plucked off all the tags and thrown them in the trash.  Even if I had gone back for a smaller size, they'd have been too short.  The shorts I bought her two years ago now fit her in the waist but are so short there is no way she's wearing them out of the house.

I just don't get it - why do boys get legitimate drawstrings but girls don't?  Does this further solidify society’s view that girls are all supposed to be a certain size or what?  Boys can come in all shapes and sizes but not girls apparently.  How hard would it have been to put a draw string in those britches?  I’ll tell you, you take a shoelace and you put it in one of the holes they made (that had the fake string coming out of it) and weave it around inside the waist band and pull it out the other hole they made.  Took me less than three minutes.  I plan to go buy some shoe laces that match them but for now the one from an old sneaker works.  It’s just aggravating to spend money on clothes for kids that you have to alter.  If the fake drawstrings actually save them any money, I doubt it’s very much at all.

So, if you’re reading this, clothing manufacturers, we would prefer that the girls get real drawstrings just like the boys – thanks!