To think boys clothing in high street shops sucks?

[Squareroot]

Two boys, 10 & 7. Am a firm believer in using our high street shops - use it or lose it and all that. But on a trip to Exeter this week (John Lewis, H&M, Next, Debenhams) I couldn't find anything COLOURFUL for my boys. Everything is drab - black, grey, brown, grey... there is NO colour. Contrast that with the girls sections and it just seems wrong. Girls get pink, red, yellow, blue, green, multi colours! I want to support our high street retailers but really struggled to find anything fun and just ended up coming home & going online. A friend recommended Five Boys & St Berts. Anyone got any other suggestions - apart from Boden, which I love but can't justify...

Totally agree and what's with all the skinny fit trousers, totally impractical for little boys

Yes I hate it, I find some nice bits in H&M or Zara but I usually have to get scandi clothes online!

Buy the multi coloured girls clothes then

Walked past the age 1-2 room at nursery this morning and noticed what a sea of grey it was, such boring boys clothing!

You're right, it's awful. And the girls section is always at least twice the size of the boys. It's so frustrating!

I agree but a lot of the stuff for girls can seem pretty drab too.

Not as much as the girls clothes which are all festooned with glitter and tasteless embellishments.

I can’t say I have ever had a problem finding bright clothes for ds.

Now he is very much limited by his sensory issues but loves polo shirts from Debenhams which always come in a variety of colours. He was wearing a lovely red one today.

Agree! Everything for boys age 5+ seems to be in shades of sludge.

Have a look in the clearance section on the Alex and Alexa website - lots of smaller brands and unusual stuff. I HATE the boys sludge colours. I also buy from No Pink Please. And Boden (sometimes the stuff classed as girls). I’ve always bought from the girls’ section for my DS. I’ve found as he’s got older it’s got worse for boy sludge. Independent shops with some of theScandi brands are your best bet, you’ll find some of them on the two sites I’ve mentioned.

Sainsbury's! Seriously. We've had some lovely bright tops from there in recent years. And it's 25% off this week.

Or JojoMamanBebe if budget is less of a factor.

No real advice but, I feel your pain with this...! My boys are both under 5 but I constantly struggle to find 'nice' clothes.

There's so many isles of lovely colourful girls clothes then one tiny little isle shoved right at the back full of drab, grey, black and dark boys clothes. Its really depressing! I do occasionly manage to find something in next and h and m but normally I just walk out feeling deflated!

I second Sainsbury’s.

Also have discovered kite clothing, which is a lovely and colourful and not too expensive compared to a lot of organic cotton type clothing.

Absolutely agree, and the clothing is full of stupid slogans about being messy, a monster or attitude. Unoriginal and very stereotypical.

We got some amazing bright t-shirts in H&M in the summer for my 9yo, £2.99 each! We bought yellow, purple, light blue, turquoise, pink and orange. Coupled with his bright Boden trainers or yellow crocs, he looks pretty colourful. Keep looking!

Agreed. Next, for example, does lovely toddler boys stuff bit over age 3 or so it's largely wannabe teenagers.

We liked Lands End stuff when they were younger. Also Baby GAP. Those were £££ though. John Lewis sale stuff was also good.

H&M do great bright coloured joggers, online if not in your local store -£7.99 and often on 3 for 2. Then I buy Frugi, Boden and similar tops either in the sale or 2nd hand. DS is only 2 and I am not putting him in a depressing wash of grey and navy until he gets old enough to decide what he wants himself.

Sainsburys, Tesco, Primark, TK Maxx, Matalan, Vertbaudet, JoJo, all online, we have Debenhams, Next here and I agree so dreary and depressing, grey or brown yuk..

I love Vertbaudet undersweater multi packs, for the little ones.

www.vertbaudet.co.uk/boys/tops.htm?intnavid=h_new_boys_tops

Sainsbury's up to 5 are great. As are Asda.

Then it's all sludgy trackies and dark tops. I have to hunt around more for things my colour loving older son likes

Argh thank you for starting this thread OP! I'm always complaining about boy sludge clothes whenever I go shopping for my DS. I now have a little niece and whenever I look for things for her, I'm always marvelling at how many nice girls' things there are. Boys' stuff is so unimaginative and dull in comparison.

I second H&M though - we've just got some Halloween t-shirts in there that are nice and bright - and a bargainous price. The summer tees were good too.

I think one problem is a lot of shops stop the younger boys' clothes ranges (which tend to be brighter) at age 5, and everything bigger than that is sludge central. Sort it out, high street shops!!

Agree! Girls isn’t much better though, pink and frilly and completely impactical

I find quite a lot in Primark to be honest. I don't buy grey, brown, navy or black for my 2 year old DS. I'm not sure about the older boys selection mind. But I've got a bunch of lovely bright greens, reds, yellow and orange long sleeved tops from there

I mainly buy Frugi for my boys (both have eczema and react badly to polyester which rules supermarket and high street mostly out anyway)