Girls and boys clothing

[awfullyproper]

Something I've been meaning to start a thread on is the gender difference in the construction of children's clothes.
Girls shoes that are slippery and more difficult to run and climb in, which presumably can inhibit physical development. lacy cardigans with sequins on them. I know. Don't buy them, but why do I have to go to the boys' section to get a decent hoodie or unslippery shoes, or, as in Next, plimsolls for PE? "sorry we only sell plimsolls for boys" WTF?!?!?

I've definitely found over the years that nice plainclothes for younger girls are far easier to find than for young boys if you don't automatically want cartoon characters or silly slogans about being naughty..
It's easier now that DS is a teen and likes either jeans or trackies!
Clothes have never been an issue for the girls, there are loads of non pink, non sparkly age appropriate things out there if they want them. DD1 is currently in an old hoodie of her brothers and leggings and looks comfy & stylish!
we'll gloss over the fact that DD2 looks like a refugee from every single Disney princess film ever made, she picked her own clothes this morning

School shoes are a PITA for DD1 - every time we've tried to find her some non Mary Jane style shoes like brogues they've been flimsy things with no grip. She's got really skinny feet and any shoes in the boys section she's found have been far too wide.

My DC aren't school age yet but I find all boys clothes are blue, brown and grey. It's so dull!

Can someone tell me where they sell Jurassic World t-shirts/long sleeved tops for boys please? DS1 is a bit obsessed.

Only prob I've had with DD (7) and Clarks girls school shoes is that the soles were thin and having a scooter and using her foot to stop meant the sole wore out very quickly. She is currently in boys Clarks shoes with a thicker/flexible trainer type sole, so far holding up ok. She's a bit of a tom boy so happy in boys shoes and looks fine with them & trousers.

Wait until you have a tall for his age 10 year old boy, then you will really know how difficult it is to buy clothes. All there was available when ds was that age was joggers. It was a relief in the end when he was adult size at 13. There is far less space devoted to boys clothes in all the shops compared to girls clothes.
jibberjabberjooo
Verbaudet/la redoute have lots of colourful clothes and they are not those dreadful clashy stripes that some shops seem to go for. Next also have a good selection, but that tends to be on their website.

Having recently had a dd after a decade of being mother-to-boys, I am new to the world of girls' clothes.
I was browsing the M&S site for babywear and came upon these 'nautical themed' bodysuits.

www.marksandspencer.com/5-pack-pure-cotton-assorted-bodysuits/p/p22422363?prevPage=plp

Since when were strawberries (!) nautical? And fancy edging and bows on every one.

The 'boys'' version has simple stripes, boats and anchors. But we couldn't possibly put those on girls' clothing, oh no.
Suffice to say I ordered the boys'. But FFS!

Asda and matalan are great for joggers and hoodies. Sports direct for trainers.

Vans are excellent quality trainers and I've got some great bargains - if you don't mind the colour - from Amazon.

Dd usually has a Regatta/Trespass type coat for general crappy weather wear and a more 'girly' jacket for the nicer days.

M&S school shoes are harder wearing than Clarks.

H&M's clothes are pretty gender-neutral - my daughter has bold teal and purple hoodies, trousers (I won't buy her skinny jeans, they're so restrictive on her knees) and, for outdoor play, we go for the sturdy closed shoes typically found in the boys departments (although M&S have a great pair of grey/pink sturdy boots at the moment.)

The thing irritating me at the moment is trying to find vests for DD.
She's just turned two and so we moved from baby vests onto normal vests and the frilly bits around the collar and arms have made her eczema flare up.
No problem, thinks I, I'll buy some without frilly bits
Except I'm yet to find a "girls" vest without frilly bits and for some reason I'm struggling to even find "boys" vests full stop!
Boys do wear vests, don't they?

CantWait I saw some just this week in Asda.

I was buying some clothes for DD (6) as nothing fits her anymore. I picked up some nice t-shirts and jumpers in the girls sections but she didn't like them. I asked why, so I could get an idea of what to swap them for, she wanted "maybe something more boyish". So I bought her some boys jumpers which she doesn't like as the colours are so dull.

So, any tips for interesting bright jumpers / tshirts please?

boys vests

Jurassic World t-shirt in the sale! but very grey

I get boys vests from Tesco. All supermarkets sell them.

I've tried the two supermarkets here, Sainsbury's and Asda, and they did not have boys vests, I swear!

Ds wears his shoes out on about 4 months consistently. He rarely has much grip left after 6 weeks. Dd1 otoh had slow growing feet and a pair of shoes at the same,age lasted 2 years and still had plenty of wear left.

DS has the Autograph vests from M+S, they are a bit more expensive but the fabric is very soft (eczema and doesn't like scratchy stuff)

I got a Jurrasic World t-shirt form Sainsburys

I agree but you can find alternatives. The sports shops are better (as others have suggested). Eg decathalon. I have also found brands like geoxx have more options than clarks. But yes it is annoying. I want a pair of decent school shoes with some sparkle but which arent Alice shoes (silly things).

Maurice I bought plain girls vests from M&S. No frills. Described as cami style vests iirc. My DD us 8 though so they might only be in the older girls section.

You should be able to get boys vests easily though.

The difference between a women's XS and a boys L black turtleneck is $ 6.50. Boys things are better made, and often cheaper than women's and girls'.
As for wearing boys' shoes, I had to have brown tie shoes with low heels and flexible soles for my private school. Boys Docksiders or blutchers were the only thing available.

YouSaffBridge you are not missing anything. There are hardly any Clarks girls school shoes that cover the top of the foot; they are all Mary Janes.

What is worse, if that the ones that cover the top of the foot have such ridged clumpy soles that my tall/strong/heavy 5 year old walks flat-footed in them because they won't bend.

We have Mary Jane school shoes. It drives me nuts on a daily basis that DD has inadequate shoes while her twin brother has great ones

I get plain vests from john lewis.
I used to think that mary jane shoes were impractical but now my daughter has had them for a couple of years they have been fine. If it's very wet we just get the wellies out.

Girls dholes partu larks around the later primary stages and beyond are not solid enough and for those children who walk longer distances home not ideal compared to boys shoes - so much so that many girls wear boys shoes