How Do You Manage Being In-Between

Have you noticed the chaos a girl goes through when she is around 9 or 10 years old? She’s done with the kids’ section. The colours, patterns and designs aren’t her style anymore. However, it’s not ready for the women’s section either. The fits here are a little too pronounced.

She’s stuck in the middle, and for decades nobody paid attention to this middle - especially the innerwear segment.

But here’s what I know from speaking to hundreds of girls and mothers: the in-between is everything.

These years are the most formative stretch of a girl’s physical and emotional life. She forms a deeper connection with her body and her self-image, and it is important that the products around her support that too.

She wants be treated as an adult, but the models and imagery are not what she relates to. When in the middle, her style and choices are constantly evolving with her changing body. So, her innerwear need to be designed exactly for where she is.

• Support without restriction: her body is growing, not defined yet

• Comfort that doesn’t feel clinical: she wants to feel like herself, not like she’s in a medical garment

• Design that aligns with her personality without anything that feels premature

At Qiwion, this is our entire brief.

Every product we build is designed for a specific stage of growth.

The in-between is disorienting.

She may often not find the language for what is happening to her body. Emotions of embarrassment, excitement, fear, or all at the same time may hit her like a wreaking ball on a random Tuesday.

What helps:

• Don’t rush her forward. Curiosity is healthy; pressure isn’t.

• Don’t pull her back. Treating her like a child when she’s clearly becoming something else sends a message she’ll carry for years.

• Ask her questions, don’t assume. “How does this feel?” is a more powerful question than “Does this fit?”

The in-between is not a problem to be managed. It’s like a season that needs to be navigated with care, patience, love, and maybe a shopping haul.

I’d love to know: Where is your daughter in this in-between right now? Is she pulling toward the adult section? Let’s talk about it in the comments.

With conviction (and a little bit of madness),
Aditi

P.S. If you’re new here, I’m Aditi, founder of Qiwion, India’s first growth-stage innerwear brand for girls between 9 and 19. I started this newsletter to have the conversations nobody’s having loudly enough. Glad you’re here.