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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think sports shop websites shouldn't have 'Boys' and 'Girls' sections?

85 replies

feudebois · 15/03/2016 10:08

Looking for some trackpants for my 10 year old dd. I'm finding it increasingly depressing that every sports shop website I have looked at so far divide the junior clothing by gender. Click on the Junior Clothing section on JD Sports and you get the profoundly depressing message:
Boys (753) (items of clothing)
Girls (21)

My dd does not need polka dots and florals on her sportswear, she needs good, practical, technical clothing as she trains 5 x a week.

I would say she would wear 99% of the stuff in the boys section. It's plain, navy, black, blue, green, grey, yellow.

Sports Direct and Nike have roughly the same amount of stuff, but I fail to see why the two genders can't be combined? Why can't girls wear plain navy sportswear? Why can't boys wear pink?

OP posts:
PaulAnkaTheDog · 15/03/2016 10:12
Hmm
WorraLiberty · 15/03/2016 10:12

It's generally more about the cut of the clothing than the colours/patterns.

If your DD can wear clothing designed for a male body (and many girls/women can) then just buy from the male section.

I like my sports tops to be more 'tailored' in the way they're cut, so I think it makes sense to separate the two sections.

WorraLiberty · 15/03/2016 10:14

And if you think boys can't wear pink, you really need to check the boy's sections properly.

Fluorescent pink has been very much the 'in colour' for a couple of years now in the boys wear sections - particularly in t.shirts and football boots.

slebmum1 · 15/03/2016 10:15

Clothes are cut differ rely though and your daughter is going to wear a swimming costume as opposed to a pair of swimming trunks.

YABU.

curren · 15/03/2016 10:17

I don't find men's sports wear comfortable. Neither does dd.

And what does it matter, if your dd likes some out of the boys section....buy her them.

My dd loved a woolly hat in river island that was in the boys section. She still wears it to school everyday.

Sparklingbrook · 15/03/2016 10:17

Just buy what you want from whichever section you want.

blackheartsgirl · 15/03/2016 10:17

My youngest daughter likes all the pink sportswear, my eldest likes the boys stuff. It's cut differently which is why it's seperated I would have thought.
As for me I just wear the men's stuff, I have a very long waist and weird legs so women's tops are just too short, mens is perfect

ctjoy103 · 15/03/2016 10:18

Yabu, nice try though. You do realize it'a about more than just colours?
So you think girls and boys are built the same Hmm

MissBattleaxe · 15/03/2016 10:18

I would normally agree about gender inequality in children's clothing, but in this case it is about the cut. Sportswear has to be more comfortable and fit better.

For non sporty clothing it's usually 99 rails of girls clothes and one rail of boys clothes. Usually covered in skulls. As a mother of boys I get sick of that.

curren · 15/03/2016 10:18

Actually I have loads of girls sportswear from sports direct and Nike that don't have polka dots and patterns on them.

I never get these threads because I can always find the clothes for both Kids (a girl and a boy) that the OP can't find.

Original poster
feudebois · 15/03/2016 10:19

She is 10 and skinny - she doesn't need clothes cut any differently than boys clothes. We do buy from the boys section and of course they fit her fine. I can't believe Adidas bother to cut their clothes differently unless we are also buying into the stereotype that girls need more 'fashionable' cuts - cropped sweats, skinny trackpants. That's a fashion thing, not a necessity.

OP posts:
DorothyPerkins · 15/03/2016 10:20

It's not so much the shapes as the colours that piss me off in gender divided clothes sections.

Was trying to buy DD some wellies the other day in Sainsburys, it was either frozen or some kind of superhero.

StatisticallyChallenged · 15/03/2016 10:20

I can understand the separation for adult or even teen clothing (where body shape is a factor), and of course swimwear is different - but do we really need to differentiate between boys and girls joggers?

Original poster
feudebois · 15/03/2016 10:20

It is absolutely NOT cut differently! Its crazy to suggest that boys trackpants wouldn't fit her Confused of course they do and we buy them.

I don't think they should be described as 'boys' or 'girls' clothes.

OP posts:
ctjoy103 · 15/03/2016 10:21

She is 10 and skinny - she doesn't need clothes cut any differently than boys clothes.

But that's just your child only.

curren · 15/03/2016 10:21

Sports wear is very fashionable. It's. A huge fashion at the moment. For both girls and boys.

All the big brands do sports wear that is also fashionable.

It's nothing to do with gender.

Original poster
feudebois · 15/03/2016 10:21

yes adult or teens maybe need different cuts of clothing and certainly my teen dds like cropped running tights and crop tops

But for children it really shouldn't make any difference at all

OP posts:
WorraLiberty · 15/03/2016 10:21

So because your DD is 10 and skinny, you think shops shouldn't make life more simple for parents whose 10 year olds are built differently?

The cut isn't about fashion, it's about body shape.

I can't understand your problem, especially since you're talking about online shopping.

Just click the button that says 'boys'.

ctjoy103 · 15/03/2016 10:22

Exactly as worra says. It's a big issue for you because you make it so.

curren · 15/03/2016 10:22

but do we really need to differentiate between boys and girls joggers?

yes they are different. I tried a few men's pairs. Don't like them.

OP of the boys for her fine then buy them. They don't for me or my dd right. But I still manage to get non pink, non patterned sports wear for her.

AnnaMarlowe · 15/03/2016 10:24

I have 8 year old twins.

Both tall and slim. They are the same height and weight.

My DD can't wear her brother's trousers - can't get them past her hips.

My DS can't wear her tshirts, the shoulda are too narrow.

These are the same size clothes by the way. There are physiological reasons that boys and girls clothes aren't cut the same way - their bodies aren't the same shape.

If your DD can wear boys trousers that's fine- buy those ones. But don't assume that everyone can.

WorraLiberty · 15/03/2016 10:26

yes adult or teens maybe need different cuts of clothing and certainly my teen dds like cropped running tights and crop tops

It's not about cropped tops.

Many 10 year old girls have developed breasts by that age, therefore they'll often need a different cut to their clothing.

Waitingfordolly · 15/03/2016 10:32

YANBU - I went into the JD Sports in my local city looking for running shorts for DD to be told they did NO clothes for girls at all, only boys in their junior section! I have never bought from them again and I buy quite a lot of sports clothes. I think one issue is the mismatch between the volume of clothes for boys and girls, but perhaps that does reflect a sad reality that boys are actually more active than girls, I don't know. I guess a lot of girls do dancing or gymnastics and you wouldn't get clothes for those generally from a generic sports shop.

Sparklingbrook · 15/03/2016 10:34

Is JD Sports a proper sports shop? I thought it was all fashion sports stuff, not for genuine athletes.

Original poster
feudebois · 15/03/2016 10:34

Many 10 year old girls have developed breasts by that age, therefore they'll often need a different cut to their clothing.

Sports t shirts arent cut to accommodate breasts Confused

I have DD breasts and could wear a mans running top without it crushing my chest flat (and sometimes do)

as long as you have sports bra you don't need special clothes!

OP posts:
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