Girls' Fashion
Buy and sell girls’ clothes, shoes and accessories in Guatemala.
Many Guatemalan girls own two very different kinds of clothes: a school uniform worn five days a week until the hem has been let down twice, and a dress for a wedding or a baptism that was worn one evening and still has its sash tied. Families pass on both, along with the shoes and hair bows that go with them, from little-girl sizes up to the early teens, new or pre-owned. A girl moves out of a 6X or a size 10 long before the fabric gives up, so much of what changes hands here has years of wear left in it.
The school jumper and the party dress:
sit at the two ends of a girl’s wardrobe, and most listings fall somewhere between them. A pleated uniform skirt and a tulle dress both belong in girls’ clothing, whatever they cost. Black school shoes, sandals and sneakers go in girls’ shoes, and hair bows, hair ties and small backpacks in girls’ accessories. A brother’s things sit next door in boys’ fashion, though plain sneakers and PE kit often suit either.
The 6X, and the jump to big-girl sizes:
are where most sizing mix-ups happen. Most labels here follow the US system: little-girl sizes from 4 to 6X, big-girl sizes from 7 to 16. A 6X is a slightly longer, roomier 6 for a girl of six or seven, and a big-girl 7 overlaps it rather than following on. Watch the letters too. Many brands print S, M and L on both ranges, so a little-girl M is around a 5 or 6 while a big-girl M is a 10 or 12. Ask for the number as well as the letter. Dresses usually run short before they run tight. One that still closes at the back can sit well above the knee on a girl who has just shot up, so ask for the length from shoulder to hem and hold it against a dress that fits her now.
School uniforms with an embroidered crest:
are the one part of a girl’s wardrobe with rules of its own. Many Guatemalan schools set their own colours and stitch the crest onto the sweater or blouse, some sell the uniform through a single supplier, and there is often a second set for PE and sometimes a third for school ceremonies. New, that adds up quickly for a family with two daughters at the same school. A used jumper in those colours, on the other hand, has one set of buyers: families from that school, who go looking for one between the end of one school year and the start of the next.
Pleats, hems and patent leather on a pre-owned piece:
tell you how much wear is left. Lay a pleated skirt flat: pleats that fall back into line still have life in them, while soft pleats and a shiny seat mean a couple of years at a school desk. Turn the hem over. A paler band or old needle holes above the current hem show it has already been let down, so there is no growing room left. Check that the crest’s embroidery is not fraying at the edges. On a party dress, lift the skirt and look at the tulle underskirt, which goes limp and snags, then at the zip, the sash and any beading on the bodice. Underarm marks on satin rarely come out. Black patent school shoes crack across the line where the foot bends, and that crease only gets deeper.
Passing on a uniform in Quetzaltenango or a party dress in Cobán:
starts with the name of the school, because that is what a parent types into the search. Give the size on the label, the waist and the length, say whether the hem has been let down, and mention it if the school has changed its design since. For a party dress, photograph it full length on a hanger in daylight with the underskirt showing, and give the shoulder-to-hem length. Say what it was worn to and for how long: a dress worn for one evening at a wedding is close to new. Most mothers will want their daughter to try it on before paying, so say whether that is possible; with a uniform, the hem against her knee settles it.