to be offended at the lack of floorspace and style for boys clothing

[KissingAFool]

I get upset about this every time I go shopping for my loving boys. Wall to wall girls stuff, you can really pick a style and run with it, the variety is amazing. Across all shops. Across all budgets.

However the boys offerings beyond the toddler stages are so dull, limited, stylish. I love shopping, love clothes and am trying to raise my kids with a healthy interest in their appearance but its so hard when there's nothing I even want to see on my boys and they moan that it's all boring.

Its just feels short sighted and discriminatory to have eg one aisle of stuff for boys vs three if girls which is what I'm faced with.

Are ANY shops geared towards equal floorspace? Because beyond h&m and zara it feels extremely one sided and I actually feel quite hurt!

Hate boys clothes - I refuse to buy tops with skulls on or army themes in sludge colours. Mini boden do some cute things but are expensive.

M&S and Sainsbury's sometimes do some nice bright things.

I used to find lots of stuff in Next, GAP and H&M. Boden have loads of nice boy stuff - try ebay. It's not worth being offended or upset by it. Presumably there's more demand for girl's clothing.

Also try Uniqlo. Loads of stuff on there and cheaper than Boden.

Really?. I find that boys have much mire choice. Girls clothes are just pink/purple/frilly lameness.

I have a dd and a ds. I've never found nice boys stuff an issue.

Dd however used to chose jumpers, joggers, t-shirts, shoes and coats from the 'bits' section as she hated all the glitzy, frilly, pink glittery stuff.

I handed everything down to ds! Result.

'Boys' not bits.

Ted baker for babies/kids is the only high st brand I've found where the boys' stuff is as nice or nicer than the girls' stuff. You can get it at Debenhams or next.

Designer brandwise I think RL is nice for boys - depending on the age of your DC it can be silly money, but TK Maxx often have it.

I have a girl but I've always agreed with you - when i want to buy things for DN or friends' kids, it's hard!

It's not just the diabolical lack of choice and floor space, it's also that the boys stuff is always at the back/furthest away.

Once you notice it it really gets stuck in your teeth.

As a parent of three boys, I find it very frustrating.

I complained to Matalan last year (and got nowhere) as our local shop stocked boys clothes up to age 12, yet the girls clothes went up to 15. They just told me I could buy that size online, which is no good for me when I want them to try clothes on before I buy.

I don't find it offends me but it is annoying.

DS12 complains about this every time we go clothes shopping, there's so much more choice for his DStepSisters.
He said he will write a letter of complaint! not sure how far that will get him though

Totally grates me too & DS is 2.

He gets a lot from jojo Mamen Bebe, Toby tiger & blue zoo (Debenhams). Sometimes Benetton.
Not cheap but I try to buy in sales.
DC2 is due & is blue too so at least I'll get to reuse!

I have 2 boys and it's so depressing. Up to about 5/6 you can get some fun/ bright colours - once they hit 6 it's sludge colours/mine craft/Star wars. Ds1,who is 10 is frequently monochrome. Ds2 is 6 and still would happily wear bright/fun clothes if they made him in his size. Occasionally h+m and the outdoor brands such as Peter storm/mountain warehouse do something bright/fun. I wan him to look 6 not 16,! Grr I hate clothes shopping.

I was coming on to suggest Zara and H&M. My baby and 4 year old I can find nice bits for. My 6 year old on the other hand I find it really hard to find nice clothes for.

This is why I love Mothercare/Jools Oliver's Little Bird range. A lot of it is unisex and most of it is really bright rainbow colours. DS is only 2, but I hate the blah beige, grey, khaki or blue options I have for him nearly everywhere else.

I can't say I've ever noticed that girls clothes have more space but as others have said the selection for girls is shocking. Pink, frilly, uncomfortable etc. We never buy from the girls section, we look and it's just useless, I wouldn't be seen dead in any of the items and nor would DD. So we get from the "boys" section. There should be way more gender neutral clothing.

I have noticed this already and DS is only 6 weeks. It makes me sad.

I agree too. The manufacturer's are missing a trick here. I am a DGM and I have to scour the shops to find clothes which do not have skulls, dinosaurs or camouflage prints on them in colours of sludgy mustard, olive green or beige. :(

I agree it's pretty rubbish. I tend to go for Boden, joules or Gap. Polarn O Pyret are good too but a bit pricey. Shoes are the worst though I asked for a pair of shoes without a logo or picture of crap on them and the assistant looked at me like I was deranged! Mind you finding my daughter shoes is equally as difficult.

Completely agree. Had a look at M&S's boys' section recently: drab-o-rama, horrible colours, patterns and styles. Tend to buy Scandinavian brands, SO much more colourful, although expensive. But they do tend to last long. Tried Little Bird, I found it quite shocking in quality, DS didn't have time to outgrow the clothes because they fell apart (transfers peeling after only a few washes, etc.).

Now that DS is 4.5 DH thinks he will be bullied at school (due to start in August) if he wears "colourful clothes".

I let my ds and dd pick clothes they like off the Boden website. Not often though due to the ££. However I do find it better to have a small amount of quality clothing for the kids so overall it works out ok esp as I buy big to last.

The manufacturer's are missing a trick here.

Actuallly, I suspect they do it on purpose because for a boy/girl family they will sell double the number of clothes they would otherwise, because there is next to nothing that can be handed down to a sibling of the other sex. They will have calculated that there is more profit in this than in the extra boys clothes they might sell if those clothes were more appealing. People buy the skeletons-and-sludge boys' clothes because there is no other option, and boys have to wear something!
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Could any body point me towards some decent scandi brand pls? Am feeling better hearing that you can find stuff outside UK.

Also in Europe children aren't colour coded....

Loveitloveitloveit and Funky Little People give you a good start. I like Tootsa MacGinty (UK brand) but although they are lovely the quality is not all that great (lots of things I bought fell apart sooner than I thought they would, given the price).