Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To be starting to think that girls clothes are shit?

130 replies

Sockstealer · 30/11/2014 23:59

Basically I've been looking at clothes for my nieces, I'm also pregnant so I've been thinking I could be having a daughter this time.

I buy most of my ds' stuff from Next or H&M, there's loads of cool, trendy and practical stuff. Functional coats and shoes, tshirts with Lego, dinosaurs, super heroes and funny pictures or slogans, sensible trousers.

I'm looking at the 'girls' sections and most of what I can find is what looks like somebody has vomited a load of pink, glitter and sequins, pictures of birds and cats, daft slogans like 'think pink'. Leggings and more leggings (I mean they're not going to keep your legs warm), shiny fluffy coats with leopard print or sickly pink that's going to show up every mark. And what characters are there, frozen or hello kitty?

Is there a shop that I don't know about that sells better stuff?

I had to give up looking because all the pink was hurting my eyes, and even the stuff that isn't pink is smothered in hearts or fairies.

OP posts:
Original poster
Sockstealer · 01/12/2014 00:02

And having said that, ds adores my little pony, he wants my little pony pjs and socks, but can I find any in the boys section, can I find any that aren't shocking pink? No.

I don't believe that little girls don't love lego and dinosaurs and are only interested in hearts and cats. And vice versa.

It's bullshit.

OP posts:
WorraLiberty · 01/12/2014 00:03

As a Mother of 3 boys, I can tell you that there is tons more choice out there for girls.

If you don't like the colour pink and you don't like hearts a fairies either, there is still tons of clothing to choose from.

Why not choose from the 'boys' section? I don't ever remember seeing pink, sparkles or hearts and fairies there no matter what shop I think of?

WhatWouldCaitlinDo · 01/12/2014 00:04

I couldn't agree more. Retailers seem to think all girls clothes should be designed by Barbara Cartland.

Jojo Maman Bebe and Vertbaudet have nice stuff, as does Polarn O Pyret.

WorraLiberty · 01/12/2014 00:05

And having said that, ds adores my little pony, he wants my little pony pjs and socks, but can I find any in the boys section, can I find any that aren't shocking pink? No.

Errrm....so why not walk a couple more steps into the 'girls' section? I promise you won't die Confused

ClawHandsIfYouBelieveInFreaks · 01/12/2014 00:05

I go to H&M. I don't find as much pink as you describe in Next generally. There is some...but some girls like it. Mine have both always worn more primary colours though. Leggings are warm when teamed with a dress or a jumper, socks and boots. They're just as warm as jeans which let the air in.

ClawHandsIfYouBelieveInFreaks · 01/12/2014 00:06

And what Worra said. Nobody is forcing you to stay in the "correct sections" for your DC. My DC wear boy's t shirts from Primark as they're made more sturdily and aren't as small and tight as their girls' range.

Original poster
Sockstealer · 01/12/2014 00:06

Worra you have a look at Next and H&M, there's little exception to the rule. Although I may just be looking in the wrong places as that's where I usually shop.

Bloody love the boys selections available.

OP posts:
WorraLiberty · 01/12/2014 00:08

Jojo Maman Bebe and Vertbaudet have nice stuff, as does Polarn O Pyret.

I don't know who the fuck those ^^ people/shops are but most street markets and shopping centers have a large enough selection of children's clothes to choose from.

However, if you're going to limit yourself to shopping in 'boys' and 'girls' sections, you're causing you're own problem imo.

ClawHandsIfYouBelieveInFreaks · 01/12/2014 00:08

Sock it's just not true...I don't buy anything pink really and I generally go to H&M. I've just recently bought grey t shirts, white t shirts, purple, navy and also red leggings....a white jumper for one DD and a grey one for the other...all from H&M!

LaurieFairyCake · 01/12/2014 00:08

I think leggings are much better than trousers and really help girls play as they've no fastenings and they stretch - and they're very warm with a nice stretchy tunic

Boys clothes nearly always have buttons and zips and they're so bloody restrictive and annoying

WorraLiberty · 01/12/2014 00:10

If you bloody love the 'boys' selections available, can I ask you what's stopping you from buying them for your daughter?

You do know that 'boy' 'girl' sections are not legally binding? Grin

ErrolTheDragon · 01/12/2014 00:12

Ignore the stupid 'girls' and 'boys' labelling, just as you have to do for toys (though at least there's some progress there). Choose what suits your kids, and when they're old enough encourage them to choose freely for themselves.

Lands End Kids and Boden do some good stuff (some of the boden is cute but not so much in the pink/sequins/logo sort of way). When you get to the question of girls' shoes, Mountain Warehouse is good for practical styles which are simply labelled 'kids' in various colours.

FelixTitling · 01/12/2014 00:14

Dd (11) hates pink and always has. She is currently mostly modelling boys hoodies and trainers with skinny jeans and black t-shirts. Even in her 'girly' phases though she refused to wear pink, frills or glitter.

There's plenty out there.

Original poster
Sockstealer · 01/12/2014 00:16

That is true about shopping in the boys/girls section. But for one, if ds is out with me he doesn't want to get from the girls section which is labelled so. Most of the things we've seen with those characters on we're either pink and girly looking, or knee high socks, ok the point I'm making is the shops are designing for, and aiming at a specific gender.

I really, really hate leggings, whenever I see little girls playing in the park in them I always think their little legs must be freezing, I know I am in leggings. Ds always has elastic waist jeans, trousers or joggers, jeans or soft trousers for the park.

I agree there are some red/navy clothes, but they all looked very basic, plain, no nice designs on.

And don't even get me started on the fact that at some schools the girls still in 2014 aren't allowed to wear trousers.

I think I may be on my own in my thoughts here though.

OP posts:
ClawHandsIfYouBelieveInFreaks · 01/12/2014 00:21

What's wrong with "girly"? Why are you buying into the lie that "Girl equals less" and allowing your son to do the same?

You want designs...but no cats...you want trousers but can't buy for your son or your nieces from the wrong sections...why not start your own label or dress them all in denim dungarees. Win win.

Original poster
Sockstealer · 01/12/2014 00:22

What I'm trying to say is as a female I don't want to shop in the mens section, i might not want a big baggy pair of jeans but that doesn't mean to say I want to freeze my ass off in tight, thin leggings, or be smothered in hearts, cats and sequins.

Something in between is what I had in mind, I had a few ideas but I can't find much.

OP posts:
ClawHandsIfYouBelieveInFreaks · 01/12/2014 00:24

Your thread was not about you Sock but about children. Who are all more or less the same shape until they're about 11 or 12.

TakemedowntoPotatoCity · 01/12/2014 00:27

I found the pink died down after the first few months. For older girls there really is a lot of choice. I much prefer girls' clothes tbh. Although I don't like the 'primary colours for boys and pastel for girls' which seems to be prevalent, I like nice bright colours.

Original poster
Sockstealer · 01/12/2014 00:27

I haven't said that girly equals less. I'm not buying into that or teaching ds that. And I hate dungarees on anyone over 3 years old.

A girl might not want to wear boxers, but she might not want hearts all over her pants, it doesn't mean boxers = boyish = less.

A girl might want a Lego movie top but she might want frilly sleeves on it or to have it in pink, but it all seems one extreme to another.

OP posts:
LittleBearPad · 01/12/2014 00:30

John Lewis, JoJo Maman Bebe, Boden and Gap are where I get most of DD's clothes. They have lots of other colours beyond pink. And newsflash you can put girls in jeans and trousers. except mine, she refuses

Lovecat · 01/12/2014 00:31

Loads of DD's clothes are from the 'boys' section as her fave colour is blue and she hates pink. She also loves Minecraft and whoever licences the clothes don't appear to believe that girls would want a t-shirt with Steve, Mooshrooms or a Creeper on it...

To be fair, there are girls clothes out there that are not pink, but they are getting scarcer. Next is an especially poor choice - I find their girls stuff (once you're out of the baby/toddler section) is either pink, grey, or black. While the black stuff is ok for basics (leggings etc), DD is only 9 and likes a bit of colour - as do I! So off to the 'boys' section we go... also, it's not as fitted as the girls' stuff - DD as yet doesn't have a waist, so boys' jeans that are a bit wider fit her around the middle far better than the horrible skinny jeans which is all they seem to sell for girls these days. And "boy" tshirts have better fabric and more of it.

If you just look at clothes as stuff to wear without the gender labels (Let Clothes Be Clothes!!), there's a lot out there. You will get the odd eejit (or child with eejit parents) trying to tell them they "can't wear that, it's for boys" but ime DD just stares at them like they're mad and gets on with her life.

It is pretty insidious, though - I was looking at some pictures of my 21 yr old niece when she was a baby and all her clothes are blue, red, green, turquoise, orange - hardly any pink. When DD was born 12 years after, I was hard-pressed to buy girls' clothes that weren't pink or some pattern with pink in it. And it's quite astonishing the amount of people who buy into this shite.

To answer your question, OP, if you have money to chuck at the problem, Monsoon Kids is good stuff in lots of colours, as is Boden. Even M&S has the odd decent thing in their Indigo children's range. DD gets most of her t-shirts these days from Tu in Sainsbos and George in Asda, with the odd trip to Primark or Uniqlo, but I have to say they are all generally from the boys' section.

Sarkymare · 01/12/2014 00:32

I went into my local tesco last week. In the 0-2 section there was 4 isles of girls clothes and a measley half isle of boys. I had a choice of two different pairs of trousers and a few t shirts. Usually there is a full isle but they have halved it to display the girls festive section.

As a mother of a DS i find it very difficult to shop for boys clothes. In every shop I have been in there has been more girls clothes than boys.

Also I find leggings are actually a lot warmer than jeans. I practically live in mine during the winter and team them with jumpers/tunics and boots.

ClawHandsIfYouBelieveInFreaks · 01/12/2014 00:32

If you're not buying into girls equal less then please don't use terms like "Girly" in a disparaging fashion about anything.

It's similar to "runs like a girl" or "hit me like a girl" Usually it's said with a little grimace. "It's a bit girly" and I KNOW it's often used to describe something which is overly sweet or overly pink but the use of our sex to describe something being unattractive is not acceptable.

ErrolTheDragon · 01/12/2014 00:35

Honestly, leggings are OK but you can dress a DD in anything you'd dress a boy in.

Original poster
Sockstealer · 01/12/2014 00:38

What has their shape got to do with it?

I didn't say that I can't buy from the boys/girls section. I said that I think most children wouldn't want to shop in the other section.

I know on mumsnet there are 100's of little boys going to school dressed in princess dresses, but my real life experience is that most kids feel the stereotype pressure.

And the point I'm making is that, to me, the so called girls stuff is, on the whole, shit, not practical for playing or keeping warm, and covered in hearts and glitter. I'm not even saying that there's anything wrong with hearts, cat designs and glitter. But you look at boys tshirts and you will see funny designs, dinosaurs playing the drums, chimps wearing headphones, the girls stuff was pretty and cutesy.

Of course I could buy my nieces clothes from the boys section, but they wouldn't want it because it's drummed in that's it's for boys.

OP posts: