Another apostrophe question

[LifeOfBriony]

I am listing some items for sale on eBay.

Should I say "Boy's shirt" or "Boys' Shirt" ?

I have one shirt for sale which belonged to one boy, and will only be bought for one boy.

But I would say "Ladies' dress", not "Lady's dress" (I think), even though only one lady at a time would ever own the dress.

Help!

[prism]

Would you say "Man's Shirt", or "Men's Shirt"? I'm afraid I can't offer an answer to this one, but you might make your boy choice on the basis of your man one. I'd be inclined to go for the one boy, myself.

[LifeOfBriony]

Thanks Prism. I incline towards one boy (or girl; I have a ballet bag for sale, too), but so often see the plural version and am wondering what is correct.

[CointreauVersial]

Hmmm...would it even need an apostrophe?

Isn't the word "boys" acting almost like an adjective in this case, rather than a possessive?

[alwaysontop]

Yes Cointreau is right no apostrophe needed as its descriptive

[prism]

I'm struggling to see how that makes sense, as you wouldn't say "men shirt" or "women shirt", and I can't think of another plural that functions that way, sitting as I am in an Irish pub. There's the odd singular, like "horse box" or "dog kennel", but then there's "fairy princess", which is a princess who is a fairy, not a fairy who belongs to one. So by leaving out the apostrophe altogether you're getting on very dodgy ground.

IMHO.

[MrsWembley]

No no no, you'd definitely need an apostrophe, certainly for the reason ^^. It is a possessive s, it's a shirt belonging to a boy or meant to be owned by boys.

Women's or ladies' is a good example of how you'd like to phrase it. One boy or many?

[LifeOfBriony]

Thanks for the replies - at the moment they say "Boy's". I will leave as is for now, but would love a definitive answer if anyone knows.

[MissSingerbrains]

I think it's definitely boys' - same as children's or men's or women's, as mentioned before. The whole 'it's just for one boy' thing is a red herring IMHO, as it was a shirt manufactured for a whole load of potential boy customers :)