Subscribe to Our Feed!Despite getting one negative (and cowardly anonymous) comment on my last post about gender issues and boys’ shirt colors, I heard a general nod of agreement. Yesterday, at church, while talking with the mom of a girl BigBrother’s age and a boy LittleBrother’s age, I got another nod of agreement.
What’s with the total lack of clothing for boys?
Of course, it being Easter Sunday and all, we were talking about Easter clothes. While I procrastinated somewhat this year (which isn’t really the case because I had been stalking online stores for a matching outfit for BigBrother), I was really upset when I got to one store and found that the toddler boys’ section had three outfits, two pair of dress pants and two shirts hanging on one rack whereas the girls had (and I counted) seven racks of frilly, flowery, mostly-pink Easter dresses. Poor FireDad got another earful about the fact that the world wants us to dress girls in overly-girly things, to dress them up at all times and make them feel like pretty, pretty princesses… but, at the same time, we are supposed to dress our boys in sloppy clothing, never dress them up or think of a pastel color being placed next to their tough, manly skin and generally make sure that they are 100% manly at all times.
My question, however, is this: what is unmanly about a man (or, boy as we’re arguing) in a suit? Nothing.
Knowing what I know about business, my guess is that the store I was shopping in was well-aware of shopping trends and knew that parents and grandparents (and friends and neighbors) of girls would be more likely to buy frilly Easter dresses while parents and grandparents of boys in our area don’t normally dress their sons in anything nicer than khaki pants and a polo. While I love the khaki pants and a polo look, I wanted something more for Easter Sunday. And the option wasn’t available.
Sadly, things like this aren’t only noticeable on holidays. Have you ever walked into a store to find that the girl’s section (toddlers and young girls and/or women’s) is larger than the boy’s section? At one of my favorite stores (which is no longer in our area so it’s no longer an issue for me, I suppose), the toddler boy’s section could fit twice to three times in the toddler girl’s section. I once complained to the manager at checkout knowing that she couldn’t do anything about it anyway and she just shrugged.
Alternatives exist online, of course, at boutique boy stores but, especially in this economy, I am not willing or able to shell out more cash than I would on a semi-nice pair of pants for myself on a tshirt for the boys. I’m not saying that I’m not willing to spend the cash on good items of clothing but you know as well as I do that a higher cost does not always equal a higher quality.
In the end, BigBrother ended up with a suit (at half off!) that fit him well, looked nice and garnered hundreds of compliments throughout Easter day. He wore it without complaint, smiling and saying thank you when anyone would tell him that he looked handsome. He didn’t match LittleBrother or even compliment his colors at all (as was my original intent) but, in the end, I don’t think BigBrother minded.
In fact, I think he was happy just the way he was. (As was LittleBrother. Promise.)
31 Responses to “Where Have All The Boys’ Clothes Gone?”
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I completely feel the same way. I get so frustrated when I shop for Nathan. Girls get so many more options for clothing.
FireMom Reply:
April 13th, 2009 at 10:16 am
Shannon; It’s so true. And so frustrating!
It ‘s the truth shopping for boys is so hard with the limited types of materials and choices. Boys only get one small section where Girls has the whole department store floor.
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FireMom Reply:
April 13th, 2009 at 10:16 am
Dominique; Glad I’m not the only one who has noticed the huge difference in sizing of sections!
I know what you mean. It’s frustrating that you either have to settle or shell out loads of money. I decided to try to actually make some clothes for G this summer. But even the patterns are lacking for boys!
Leshas last blog post..More than Just a Cold
FireMom Reply:
April 13th, 2009 at 10:15 am
Lesha; And patterns aren’t exactly cheap anymore. I considered that briefly last summer because I couldn’t find plain cotton play shorts for BB. But I realized I was going to be paying far more than for pre-made shorts. It took me a month and a half, but I finally found some last year!
Lesha Reply:
April 14th, 2009 at 7:45 am
Yes, I bought one pattern, but it was a cheapie. Very basic shorts pattern. And then you have to buy the fabric.
There’s just no winning I suppose!
Leshas last blog post..More than Just a Cold
I totally understand where you’re coming from, though from a slightly different perspective. I shop for both a boy and a girl, so no kids’ clothes are off limits for me to buy… they just obviously go on different kids. There’s definitely a difference in the variety of clothes available for a boy vs. a girl.
Your kids are adorable, btw.
FireMom Reply:
April 13th, 2009 at 10:13 am
Maura; Definitely a difference in the variety. I could create a wardrobe for a girl in one store whereas I have to go to multiple stores to get enough clothing for one boy child. (Not that I mind going to multiple stores… HA!)
Now that you mention it, I don’t remember seeing any suits at all in any of the stores I shopped in. I wound up settling for just a button down and a tie for my little guy. The only suits he has were hand-me-downs. Boys clothes definitely seem more geared to casual/play and finding clothes for my girls that are appropriate is a challenge.
He looks so proud!
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FireMom Reply:
April 13th, 2009 at 10:08 am
Heather; I have to search pretty hard to find suit-type-stuff usually. This year I lucked out. That said, Children’s Place did have a nice selection of dressy stuff that could actually be made to look suit like (jacket, etc) but I wasn’t fond of the coloring. (While pink is okay, no one in my family looks good in coral colored things. We’re all winters. We need jewel tones or ice colors, nothing fall-y!)
I hear ya! My other big complaint with boys clothes is finding PLAIN coloured t-shirts or pjs. Not all boys like football, snowboarding, skulls (EEK!) or army designs. Why can’t my kid just wear a red t-shirt? or pink, or purple? or PJs that aren’t branded to a TV show or movie? What happened to plaid?
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FireMom Reply:
April 13th, 2009 at 10:06 am
andy; I can normally find plain color t-shirts at Walmart and Kmart. In the winter, I get the long sleeve tshirts in plain colors for layering. In the summer, I get them because it’s easier to get a stain out of a plain shirt than something with a design right where the majority of spills occur. Also, as they are cheap, I don’t feel bad shelling out cash for shirts that I just intend to layer in the winter.
Julie Reply:
April 13th, 2009 at 2:19 pm
Andy,
I’ve had pretty good luck at Old Navy for plain color t-shirts (short & long sleeve). I try to get them off season so I catch a sale.
Julie
Ah, I remember this feeling well. Parenting two sons (age 12 and 6) lead me to this frustration many times.
For me, interestingly enough, I found nicer, boys clothing (dress up stuff) in our more ethnic neighborhoods. Shopping in my upscale white mall found me lacking in options…shopping in our stores that are located in our Hispanic or African American communities warranted better results. Odd to me but it worked. (Do the buyers think only the African American and Hispanics dress up their boys?)
FireMom Reply:
April 14th, 2009 at 2:37 pm
Suz; Interesting. I’ll have to check out some stores when we go back to Pittsburgh next month. I can normally find “something” but I’d really just like a bigger selection.
As someone who shops in the (definitely) larger girl section, can I just tell you that everything over there is essentially the same? Why must I dress my kid in a frilly and uncomfortable dress? Why can’t she wear something that isn’t pink, and that she’ll actually be able to move in without melting? It’s getting better as she moves into bigger sizes, but it was AWFUL when she was littler.
Burgh Babys last blog post..I Might Get in Trouble for This One
FireMom Reply:
April 14th, 2009 at 2:40 pm
BurghBaby; Thanks for letting me know that it’s not all fun and games over in the girls’ section. I know what you mean though, having shopped for Munchkin and a few girls here and there. I also have a friend whose little girl is in love with the color green. (In fact, at the library, she insists on sitting in the green chairs. Only.) Anyway, she has a rough time finding enough green because everything is pink.
I agree with Burgh Mom – the girls’ section is definitely larger than the boys, but it isn’t helping me any. I don’t want my oldest (who is hovering between 5T and Girls’ XS) to wear clothing that is too old or provocative for her. She’s only 5 for crying out loud! She should wear dresses that are good to play in, not that shout ‘in a few years, I will be sexy!’ to the other kids on the playground. Usually I can depend on Old Navy for those types of dresses, but this year they seem to be a little more formal in their dress selection. Man, do I miss me those jersey, litte-kid-friendly dresses.
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How cute!! He looks GREAT in his suit. And pretty happy about it as well.
We were just having that clothing discussion at work today. It seems like the girls’ section has outweighed the boys’ section for generations. You’d think someone in the business would catch on by now.
BigBrother is adorable in his suit! I love the pocket square
I have three boys 7, 9 & 12 and have recently discovered that Sears has the best selection of dressy clothes for them on a consistent basis. They carry a couple of different lines (Docker, Steve Harvey etc), and while there is lots of black and neutral they have had a good color selection especially when it comes to shirts & ties. Hope this helps in the future.
Julie
Big brother looks smashing in his suit! I have been searching high and low for a suit for my son (size 3T) for a wedding coming up. Any chance you would share where you finally hit dirt?
My son is 11 now and it has always been frustrating. My parents wanted something dressy and took him shopping before an event and even found something that was cool and a little more stylish.
Shopping with them he bought black jeans, fun t-shirt, but a vest! It looks so cool on him and is much dressier than the normal jeans and t-shirt we can only usually get him in. lol Score 1 for the grandparents.
But typically there is no slacks for his age group anymore. Just like you said, it’s all lounging clothes, t-shirts, jeans and that’s about it. Plus he’s tall and skinny for his age, so we have an even tougher time finding stuff. Never ending I’m sure.
Vals last blog post..Santa Monica
Oh it is so true!!! Back in October I wanted my son to wear a suit for my daughter’s baptism. I searched everywhere and could not find one. I wanted a real suit, with a jacket and everything. But I could not even find the ones they usually sell at Easter time with a vest but no jacket. Apparently they only sell those at Easter time. In the end I had to order one of those. One with a jacket was not attainable, at least not at a price I was willing to say.
And as for the boy girl thing. Ya, know when I found out I was pregnant with a girl everyone went on and on about how much cuter girl clothes are but I don’t think so. Not always anyway. And really if we got as many choices for the boys as we do for the girls it would not be the case. I am not a frilly mom – I am looking forward to some of the cute sun dresses this summer but really I like the shorts and tops for my son too.
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What a cute picture of your big boy! Love it! And you’re right, there is always a much bigger selection of girls clothes in most stores. But that doesn’t stop me from shopping to my heart’s content for my little guys!
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