I live in Seattle.

Winter and spring are long. Fall and summer are short. It’s just how we work.

But my Uncle is getting married, and he lives in southern California, so we’re flying down there for a week. It’s going to be 95 to 100 degrees there, and I need at least one more pair of shorts.

Which brings me to the problem I’ve been feeling for years.
Everything is too dang short!

It doesn’t matter where you go…it’s freaking hard to find a pair of shorts that are longer than my underpants.

I don’t want to wear those (and I’m not bashing on girls who do…it’s their choice), I just don’t. It has nothing to do with body image or anything. I just don’t. I’m active. I have a longboard and I use it often. I’ve got a boy cousin who’s the same age I am, and I follow him, tromping through the forest and sliding down creek beds and wresting for the soccer ball.

I can’t do that in those shorts.

I’m in tenth grade. Since I was about twelve it’s been a struggle to actually find a pair of shorts that are a decent length. What about skirts? I haven’t worn one in years…everything is mini or maxi, and I’m too short to wear maxi. Dresses? They’re sometimes necessary, but it can take hours to find one that isn’t too tightly fitting or see-through or crazy short. I want to be able to sit down without flashing my underwear, thank you very much!

Even jeans…everything is tightly fitting and sequined, and I can’t sit down without showing my butt. I can only find longer shorts in skater shops and second-hand stores…jeans I can only find the woman’s department, because they’re a bit looser.

Why is it such a struggle to find something? It would be different if the stores carried a whole bunch of different lengths and fits. But no…most stores you can only find super short and super skinny. Even shirts…in most stores the majority of shirts are see-through or short or tightly fitted. In summer it’s even harder, because I don’t have the option of wearing a tank underneath…it’s too dang hot!

But go to the boys or the men’s department…you get longer shorts. You get looser shirts. Mom and I were recently doing Mud Factor. We wanted matching shirts. Everything in the girls department was tightly fitted or bright colors or had a huge V-neck.

But when we went to the boys…we found a broad range of t-shirt styles, and we came away with two gray tees with a vintage batman logo...and it’s quickly become my favorite shirt.

And it’s getting scary.

I recently read the blog post A Target Intervention on Behalf of My Daughters…it’s crazy. These girls are not even in middle school, and they have a choice between short and shorter!

Again, I have nothing against girls who want to wear stuff like that. A lot of girls actually look quite good…but some of us don’t.

I’m active, that’s one reason I can’t wear stuff like that, but I’m also built like a stick figure…almost no curves, and if I wear stuff like that, it makes my legs seem ten times longer than they are, and make the rest of me weirdly out of proportion.

Stores need to start offering more types of clothing. More fits and styles and lengths. That’s what I want.