I’ll Have What She’s Wearing: Allie is a Kids Clothes-Wearing Photographer

Meet Allie. Allie is a rockin’ North Jersey native and an awesome photographer. Gotta be honest here guys, Allie is a friend of a friend. I didn’t just walk up to her on the street. It turns out that’s really scary to do. Also, it turns out that it’s not socially acceptable to ask strangers what their sexual orientation is and then ask if you can take their picture. Who knew?

Allie claims she’s all about being comfortable, but it’s obvious she knows how to put a look together. “Since I’m only five feet tall and about 90 pounds, finding the perfect shirt/jeans/whatever can be tough.” Plus, Allie’s figured out the secret to slim fitting button ups: the little boys’ section. “Almost all of [my button ups] come from Crewcuts (little kids J. Crew) and they fit perfectly. Most boys’ button downs are so puffy! These ones are super slim.”

Either way, if it’s already August and someone needs to warn J. Crew about an impending rush on the little boys’ section, then I’ll have what she’s wearing:

so hot right now

Man, that little boy’s shirt looks awesome. Crewcuts goes up to boys’ size 14 which is around a women’s size 4 if you’re not busty. And by not busty, I mean really not busty at all. Also, Allie points out, “the sleeves are a little shorter, like right above my wrist, but I like them like that — and I can roll them up.”

Well, Allie goes basic with a red plaid button up and an American Apparel v-neck. Her jeans are the best kind — hand me downs and worn in — but she makes sure they don’t blend in too well with her shirt. She finishes off with a pair of TOMS shoes (which we all have a lot of feelings about) and winning Jean Lafont glasses.

$19.99-J.Crew (Boys) $54.50-J.Crew (Boys) $44.50-J.Crew (Boys)
$24-American Apparel $120-All Saints $44-TOMS

Oh, and if you recognize Allie’s name that’s probably because she took pictures for us at NYC Rodeo Disco last year. As you see (if you clicked on that link) Allie isn’t just a sharp dresser, she’s a bomb photographer, too. So check her out if that’s something you want/need.

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Lizz

Lizz is a consumer, lover and writer of all things pop culture and the Fashion/Style Editor at Autostraddle.com. She is also full time medical student at Brown University in Providence, RI. You can find her on the twitter, the tumblr or even on the instagram.

Lizz has written 261 articles for us.

64 Comments

  1. She looks cute but I do not weigh 90 pounds and am ethically opposed to Toms and AA and don’t have $120 for jeans so now I just feel kinda bummed out

    • Ethically opposed to Toms? Enlighten me! Enlighten me (please) so that I might enlighten my kid, who is irrationally obsessed with Toms and wants a pair in an animal print, so help me God.

        • But I thought this happened:
          “Had I known the full extent of Focus on the Family’s beliefs, I would not have accepted the invitation to speak at their event. It was an oversight on my part and the company’s part and one we regret. In the last 18 months we have presented at over 70 different engagements and we do our best to make sure we choose our engagements wisely, on this one we chose poorly.
          Furthermore, contrary to what has been reported, Focus on the Family is not a TOMS giving partner.
          So there is no misunderstanding created by this mistake, let me clearly state that both TOMS, and I as the founder, are passionate believers in equal human and civil rights for all. That belief is a core value of the company and of which we are most proud.”

          I mean, he could have totally just not anticipated the outrage and this could be him covering his ass, but I thought I actually read about this apology on Autostraddle a while ago. Must have been somewhere else.

      • This kind of goes into my reasons for not buying Toms http://whereamiwearing.com/2011/04/06/toms-shoes/ I just see it as a form of perpetuating the cycle of poverty (whether or not TOMS is aware of that I can’t say, it’s possible they have all the best intentions but I don’t think that changes anything) and enabling a co-dependent relationship between the areas that are making and receiving the shoes, and the US. Carmen San Diego’s link is also informative about possible shadiness on TOMS’s part.

        I am trying to think of a way that you could relate that to your kid that would be interesting and not depressing. I don’t know much about kids but I would suggest wearing a backwards baseball cap and rapping the information over the Pokemon theme song, on facebook.

  3. sometimes i’m not sure whether i want the girl or the clothes or, you know, option c: all of the above

    ehm anyway, great look!

    • I once tried to explain this phenomenon to by bestie who is a straight man. The dilemma of not knowing if I want to date her or look like her or be her best friend is a very uniquely terrible/awesome gay feeling.

      It doesn’t happen often but crushes can’t get more pathetically confusing than that, can they?

  4. I love clothes advice from other tiny people! I have a couple of vests from J. Crew but I never even thought about their shirts. Thanks Allie and Lizz!

  5. As a fellow tiny person (5 feet and 98 pounds!) I can also vouch that the H&M kids section is superb, and they go up to 14yrs as well.

  7. My life changed when I discovered the boys section. Suddenly, clothes that fit me and that I actually liked existed! A boys’ large is about equivalent to an extra small in womens’, minus awkward boob room I don’t need, plus better quality fabric. I have, however, found that sometimes boys’ shirts end up looking kind of… mini, somehow. I think it’s the pockets. I think sometimes they purposefully don’t scale down the pockets. That might look cute on a little boy, but not on a little boi. So what I sometimes do, especially with oxfords where this seems to be particularly common, is I ever so carefully remove the pockets with a seam ripper. Also, for people who like to buy fancy underwear from places like Calvin Klein, often times the boys’ section has pretty much the same stuff, but way cheaper because nobody’s going to pay 30 bucks for their kid’s underwear.

  10. For the non tinys out there who can;t shop in the boys section (sigh): my secret to finding the best fitting button downs in thrift stores is pay attention to the back pleat. If a shirt has a back pleat it doesn’t tend to lay flat on your body, but sort of billows away in a parachute effect.

    Have no idea what I’m talking about? See: http://images.queensboro.com/KTH/blog/backpleat.gif (there can also be two pleats on the far ends of the yoke. This does the same billowy thing)

    • You can easily remove the back pleat with a seam ripper and a sewing machine!

      Step 1: Flip the shit inside out and seamrip a little past the pleat on both sides
      Step 2: Pin the fabric that you just removed back into place but with the extra fabric in the very center of the back
      Step 3: Sew in a straight line all the way up the extra fabric (obviously still inside out)
      Step 4: Cut off that extra inch or so that you now have against your spine
      Step 5: Sew the part you seamripped and pinned back to the shirt

      Tada! No more weird billow. I know it’s a little weird to have a seam up the middle of your back, but if it’s plaid or dark, no one will know.

  12. yes! I discovered gap kids this summer-awesome button-ups for way cheaper and they go up to XXL (I am 5’2″ and 112 and only wear the large) so it should be good for girls mediums at least. Also- I have the same haircut haha

  13. I have a red checked button-up from the boys’ H&M section which fits me pretty much perfectly, despite my bustiness. I find the biggest issue with mens’ shirts is that they’re so freaking long on me – as in reaching waaay down my thighs. Except then they go up at the sides so no way can I wear them as dresses.

  15. I’ve been wearing little boys’ clothes for years! They’re cheaper, fit better, and look good on me too! I’m exactly 5 feet tall and fit perfectly into size 12 : )

  17. Speaking of TOMS shoes, has anyone seen that Skechers is selling a knock-off of them? They look the EXACT SAME, and when you buy a pair, they’ll donate another pair to someone who needs it, AND GUESS WHAT THEY’RE CALLED?!

    BOBS Shoes. Mmhmm. NICE TRY SKECHERS BUT YOU HAVE TO GET UP PRETTY EARLY IN THE MORNING TO FOOL THIS MOI. Especially if you’re not even trying.

  18. Now can we make a version for us extra tall people? I’m 6 feet even and a C cup. It’s obnoxiously hard to find things like:
    -Long sleeves that are actually long enough
    -Jeans that are actually long enough
    -Clothes that fit both the boobs and go meet(even go past!) where the jeans begin

    Pretty please? That would be awesome

    • Yeah, let’s talk about how fucking hard it is to find a button-up shirt for a lady with C/D cup boobs. Let’s talk about that. Because I totally feel ya. My strategy is usually just buy Old Navy because their sizes run big and get it super big so it’ll button up past my bosoms and then I just rock the baggy look with skinny jeans. But the little boys’ section? I could maybe fit a boob and an arm in one of those shirts and that’s about it.

        • I know I could do that, but I like to button it at least UP TO my chest so it doesn’t fly around. That bugs the shit out of me. And if I’m going to button it up to my chest, I want it to at least look like it could maybe fit over the girls were I to button it the rest of the way.

          • Also I can’t believe I just referred to my boobs in at least three different ways in this whole conversation. I’m turning into my mother, killmenowplease.

      • I have the same problem, except I’m in the DD range. God forbid I ever want to button a shirt up all the way. I’m about ready to cut these darn things off.

        • Same here: 34E, so boy’s shirts are totally impossible, unless I’d want to go for the pancake-look.

          Also: I have hips. The kind that stick out at both sides. Bottom-half-a-sand-timer kind of hips. Which completely precludes any kind of skinny jeans or boy-shorts.

          Seems that nature is more or less forcing me to dress like my mom…

      • being a thoroughly average (5’5″ish/140ish)-sized person with double d boobs and pretty dykey taste in clothes is a constant trial. recently though a flood of “boyfriend cut” (lololololol nice try urban/forever 21/everywhere, pretending straight girls buy these) flannel/plaid type things for lady-shaped people has crashed down, showering me with visible queerness. i encourage you guys to check out the girls section again. be strong. this is our time.

        • That’s true. I was pretty surprised when I was out shopping with my family the other day and saw some shirts in the women’s section that I would actually wear.

          Plus if anyone’s been to Superdry, the amount of plaid there is mind-boggling. Pricey though.

    • I remember reading an article lately (can’t remember *where*, unfortunately) about how celebrities always look so awesome in their clothes because everything is tailored. Same with shows like What Not to Wear.

      So if you can find something with, say, long enough arms but it is baggy as hell around your torso, get it anyway and have it taken in. (Assuming you can even get that, of course. I am a tiny human so I have little experience here.)

      • This is so true. Tailoring is king. This expends past just how good clothes look when you get your clothes fitted. It also includes why a better made T-shirt makes you look hotter than a cheaply made one.

  20. Abercrombie has slim-fitting little boys’ button ups, too.

    Also, thrift this shit (preferably in the kind of neighborhoods where people pay $45 for their kids’ shirts). Little boys grow out of the their shirts in like 30 seconds, parents dump them at Goodwill, and ta da!

    • Totally did not know that… I know what I’ll be checking out next time I’m at the mall.

  21. always went to thrift stores to get grandaddy prints &plaid shirts. then head over to my tailor (term used loosely, my old neighbor is bored, retired and hates making suits now) and get them cut to my size!

  22. I feel better knowing that I’m not the only adult that still shops in the kid section…whew! lol

  24. A big part of me thinks I remember this Allie character from a livejournal community called dyke riot that I was on about seven years ago.

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