What Size?

I seriously dread the question, what size does Aria wear?  I have absolutely no idea how to answer it.  Let me explain.  Aria has always had short legs.  She gets those from her Daddy.  She's not short, though, because they have extra long torsos.  Last winter I had a really hard time finding pants because she needed the 2T for the waist, but they were way, way, way too long.  I was thankful for brands that made 18-24 month, 24 month, and leggings.  All of her shirts last winter were 2T.  Naturally, this year I expected to move up a size to 3T shirts and have the same too long 3T pants problem.  The good news is her legs have grown.  The crazy news is she needs 4T shirts.  Pretty much just skipped right over 3T shirts.  She did have 3T shirts this summer, but size 3T was pretty short lived.  Except for pants.

I'm already confused and I haven't even got into the most confusing part.  When you move up to 4T there is that crazy question of toddler clothes or little girl clothes.  Little girl clothes start at size 4.  Last weekend I went shopping in a Carter's outlet store.  I held up three sizes of the exact same shirt, wondering what to get Aria.  The sizes were 4T, 4, and 5T.  That is the order of size, too.  The 5T was the biggest.  The 4T was the smallest.  The regular 4 was in between.  I chose the regular 4.  It fits Aria perfect.  Some brands don't have a 5T, but most have a 4T, which apparently is generally a tad smaller than a regular 4.  Phew!  Who knew dressing my child would be this difficult! 

Let me just give the run down of Aria's wardrobe...

Shirts: She has some 4T, 4, and a few 5T. 
Pants: If they are jeans or zip/button type pants, 3T.  If they are leggings, 4T.
Dresses: 4T
Don't even get me started on tights.

So when someone asks for Aria's size, do I give them all the above info?  I wish I could just state a size and call it good.  And, even though I have sort of narrowed down the different clothing parts, you always run the risk of a brand running big or small.  For example, Aria has one pair of 24 month pants that still fit and has a regular size 4 coat that is too small. 

What I have learned from all this is that my days of just buying clothes without trying them on are probably over.  I took Aria into a dressing room at Target to try something on her for the first time this week.  She thought it was fun.  We'll see how long that lasts.  I guess I don't buy clothes without trying them on.  And it really depends on brand for what size I wear, too.  I know I have shirts that are small, medium, and large.  Why would I expect kids clothes to be any different?  Let's face it, all people are shaped just a little bit differently.  Clothing companies can't make clothes that will fit everyone perfectly. 

But if you want to know what size Aria wears, you're going to have to let me know what type of clothes you want to buy or be sure to include a gift receipt so we can exchange if it doesn't fit!  :)