Children's Fashion
Buy and sell children’s clothes and shoes in Guatemala.
A Guatemalan child’s wardrobe often runs on two size systems at once: a Carter’s sleeper from the United States marked 18M or 3T, and a jacket from a European label marked T.6 for six years. From babywear and toddler sets to the clothes, shoes and accessories boys and girls wear into their early teens, pieces come new with tags or passed on after a few months’ use. Close to a third of Guatemalans are under 15, so the bag of 2T clothes your child has just outgrown nearly always suits another family with a child one size behind.
Boys’ fashion, girls’ fashion and the unisex baby years:
until about the second birthday, most of what a baby wears could go to either. Plain bodysuits, footed pyjamas and rompers in a neutral print get handed from a sister to a cousin’s son without anyone minding. After that the wardrobe splits in two. Shirts, trousers and sweatshirts lead in boys’ fashion, while girls’ fashion adds dresses, leggings and hair clips. Each branch splits again into clothing, shoes and accessories, so a pair of sneakers goes in boys’ shoes and a party dress in girls’ clothing, whatever the child’s age.
Carter’s 3T, Zippy T.6 and the other size labels:
do not belong to one system. American brands such as Carter’s and Garanimals size in months up to 24M, then switch to toddler sizes from 2T to 5T. The two overlap without matching: a 24M is cut with room for a diaper, a 2T for a child who has stopped wearing one. Carter’s also prints a single size where other labels print a range, so its 3M is another brand’s 0–3M. European labels sold here, such as Zippy from Portugal, count in years from the start and are cut to the child’s height. So shop by height and weight rather than age. Lay a garment that fits now on a table, measure it, and ask the seller for the same measurement. Tops and trousers rarely land in the same size on the same child.
A Q100 set and the months it lasts:
an everyday outfit, a top with trousers or a bodysuit set, costs roughly Q100 to Q300 new, and until the first birthday a baby moves up a size about every three months. That is why so much pre-owned babywear looks nearly new, and why it sells for a small share of the tag: the buyer is paying for one season of fit, not for the fabric. From school age children grow more slowly and are harder on their clothes, so a used size 8 has usually given more of its life away, and a well-kept one from a sturdy label is worth asking more for than a thin one.
Necklines, snaps and knees on a pre-owned outfit:
are where children’s clothes give out first. Hold a bodysuit up to a window: milk or formula that never fully washed out turns into yellow patches on the neck and chest after months in a drawer, and rarely shifts. Tug each snap, because if the fabric around it has torn it will pull through. Stretch the waistband; tired elastic crackles and stays slack. On toddler trousers look at the knees, and on footed pyjamas at the grip dots, which wear smooth once a child walks. Character prints deserve a closer look. Bluey, Disney and football club designs are copied widely, and a copy gives itself away in a print that cracks and fades after a few washes. If a small child’s hooded jacket comes with a drawstring, take it out before it can catch on a slide.
A 3T lot from a home in Villa Nueva:
is the way most children’s clothes are best passed on, sorted by size rather than piece by piece, because parents shop one size at a time. Write the label exactly as printed, Carter’s 3T or Zippy T.3, and add the height of the child who last wore it. Lay each piece flat in daylight and photograph the size label, the neckline and any mark, then name the marks in the text. Say whether the clothes come from a home with pets or smokers; it is the question a parent asks before crossing town to collect. A bag of 6M rompers outgrown in a single season can dress somebody else’s baby through the next one.