In M & S today and thought I'd look at their newborn basics for DC1, due in early October. We're not planning to buy masses for DC1 as my sister warned me that we're likely to get given lots, but obviously I don't want to be out shopping straight from the labour ward.
Clothes for 0-2 years, already separated into boys and girls. There are a few bits in white and almost nothing else that could properly be described as being gender neutral. We don't know the sex of the baby but even once he or she is here I am determined that whatever sex the baby turns out to be, they will not spend their lives dressed exclusively in blue or pink (delete as appropriate).
Why is it so hard to find stuff that is neutral? I tend to buy more neutral things for friends with children, even if they are obviously for a boy/girl. For my DC1, I have basically had to tend towards the more boyish end of the spectrum in order to avoid being drowned in sugary pink. I wear blue about 4 days out of 7, so why do little girls have to spend their lives in pink?
Ironically, given everything I have heard about how shit they are in all other respects, Mothercare seems to be one of the few places you can get genuinely gender neutral clothes for very small babies.
AIBU?
To get really quite cross about gender separation starting from newborn?
ComtessedeFrouFrou · 14/07/2013 12:16
Oh I get bored of looking in the girls section at some stores for my 16 month old girl.
Last time I was looking and honestly 90% of the girls stuff was all pink and the other 10% had some pink on them.
I went to the boys section and found a lovely blue and red top and shorts set. She looks great in them. 
Boys section always gets scanned now.
"Have you honestly actually looked for gender neutral stuff. Most of the shops suggested here are where I head for baby clothes anyway (H&M, most supermarkets etc). I find it's the baby stuff all together with sleepsuits etc, then the older kids stuff that's more specifIc. Seems a bit like you looked in one shop and have made a huge generalisation about kids clothes from probably a small selection, then posted on here in an effort to get everyone agreeing and riled up because you know the general mumsnet opinion on boys/girls toys. YAWN. You need to stop being so pfb."
Mustachio did you mean to be so rude? If you don't like it, don't bloody post.
Just so you don't think I'm being too PFB (what on earth has that got to do with it? I'm not looking for diamond encrusted booties 
) here is a list of shops I have looked in that happen to be near me. I apologise in advance that I don't live in a big city with infinite choice:
Sainsburys
Mothercare
John Lewis
Tesco
JoJo Maman Bebe
Marks and Spencer
Mamas and Papas
Babies R Us
Debenhams
Is that sufficient research for you? FWIW (although it sounds like you've already made your mind up) I didn't post on here to get everyone riled up. If I'd wanted to do that, I'd have posted about parent and child spaces or Liz Jones.
It's simply the case that, on the occasions I have looked online and in the shops near me, there is very little that isn't clearly intended for one sex or another and since we don't know what we're having, I want to hedge my bets. That is particularly true if you don't want to be spending £20 a sleepsuit
YANBU. My DS (2.8) often requests pink clothes, and has several tshirts and shorts and a tutu to choose from if that's what he feels like.
My friend's daughter of the same age has fantastic monster socks that we're frequently invited to admire :o. Apparently the shop assistant tried to persuade her to get "girls' socks". It's insidious.
I think the most jaw-dropping example if this I've come across is a woman at playgroup who said to her daughter, "come on X, let's practice writing your name ( at that). We'll use the pink crayon, because you're a GIRL."
I may have snorted.
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YANBU.
You have to make a conscious, concerted effort to buy non-pink clothes for girls, and even then, their wardrobe is still bound to be inundated with pink.
I don't mind pink. I very rarely buy it myself, but some shades I like. Hardly any women's clothing is pink, but girls' clothes are overwhelmingly pink.
The thing is, the clothes other people buy as presents (which are naturally gratefully received) are often as not pink, and it's a waste not to wear them simply because of my anti-pink principles. I don't take myself that seriously. So pinks stuff slips in this way. In fact, to the casual observer, DD probably often looks like one of those girls whose mother goes out of her way to dress her in pink! Purely because I can't seem to avoid it.
I've also noticed that pink clothing slips in in all sorts of other ways. You go to buy some pyjamas, for instance, and there's a range of colours, although probably 80% of them are some shade of pink or pink-themed. You look for your DD's size, and chances are the only ones left are the pink ones. So because you're in a hurry, you just buy them.
We bought rain jackets for the DC recently - a really good, outdoorsy, hard-wearing brand that was on sale. The only colour that was in DD's size was ... bright pink.
You go to buy accessories like socks and tights and you buy a few, but again, at least 80% of them are pink.
Underwear, scarves, hats, swimming togs, other bits and bobs. At least 80% of them are pink. You have to hunt the non-pink stuff out because everyone else presumably wants the non-pink stuff too, and so the pink stuff is all that's left!
Chances are, by the time I've got DD, who's 2, dressed, she will be wearing at least one pink thing.
It is tiresome. I am over pink - it is ubiquitous if you're the mother of a small daughter. It has become over-familiar, boring, dull and tired now. But I do feel like it is a losing battle.
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