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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To toss all my baby's dresses?

50 replies

NoMoreFrills · 26/09/2019 08:58

DD is a little over three months, and almost her entire wardrobe at the moment consists of thoughtful gifts we received when she was just born. She's the first baby girl in both our families (all her cousins and second cousins are boys) and people went a bit mental shopping for her. She has almost fifty dresses, mostly pink and frilly, plus tights and little cardis and so on. It's not my style, and it also to me seems such a hassle all the time. I'd much rather keep her in baby gros or simple tops and joggers. Since we don't have a lot of money, and I didn't want to waste all these gifts (or offend anyone), I've been dressing her up in them for the past months, but it is starting to really annoy me. Would I be unreasonable to just ignore them and go out to buy some simple sleepsuits and outfits that I like and think are practical?

OP posts:

WhatAGreatDay · 26/09/2019 10:51

I never put my daughter in a dress until she was walking. I hate seeing baby and toddler girls trying to roll over, crawl, stand up etc and being hindered by a dress.

Whattodoabout · 26/09/2019 10:55

Cardigans are fine but dresses and tights just aren’t practical at all for babies or for adults really.

Sell them on eBay and buy practical clothes. My DC were mostly in babygrows until they could walk or joggers/leggings and tshirts.

Courtney555 · 26/09/2019 10:56

@NoMoreFrills

If you're actually thinking of chucking them, omg please don't, we're expecting twins, and would make bloomin good use of frilly pink dresses, it's very much our style

Please PM me and we'll cover all postage/costs, please don't toss them!

Tinuviel · 26/09/2019 11:00

I found dresses so much easier when it came to nappy changing. I don't get why they are considered difficult. I remember buying DD more 'practical' clothes in size 9 - 12 months to make crawling easier and she didn't learn to crawl till she was a year. And she didn't seem to find it any harder to crawl in dresses than anything else.

As for showing her nappy, she wore a popper vest over it anyway and sometimes the dresses had matching pants!

@Whattodoabout, as an adult I find dresses and tights much more comfortable than anything else (apart from my PJs!)

Louiselouie0890 · 26/09/2019 11:04

I always buy siots and gros for gifts as I realised after my first they never wore outfits. I only put them on when I was visiting once in a blue moon family

Fundays12 · 26/09/2019 11:07

I have 3 boys but had ds3 been a girl we would have been given loads of silly, pink dresses that take me much more time than I actually have in the morning to put on. I knew this as people had made it quite clear they planned to buy lots of “girly things 🙈” if I had a girl. My babies wear sleepsuits and cardigans a lot of the time. I do put outfits on a bit but they are a pain. I would get rid of them if you find them a pain. Hubbies niece just had a baby girl I gave her money as a gift as I thought she would get loads of dresses.

Morado · 26/09/2019 11:10

I fecking hate dresses 😂 I luckily didn't get bought many... And I was VERY clear that I didn't want anyone to buy her any clothes as I'd bought them all myself. Also told everyone not to buy anything pink. My DD does wear pink occasionally and dresses now and then but I'm very fussy when it comes to her clothing!

There were quite a few outfits that she just didn't wear

burritofan · 26/09/2019 11:13

YANBU to find it irritating: dresses are useless. We got sent so much crap: slippers! For a newborn! YABU to toss them.

What Bernadette said about tights and a vest, it's the base layer DD lives in; I find it easier than faffy babygros. Romper and cardie on top if it's cold.

If eBay is too much hassle, H&M will give you a £5 voucher for bags of clothing so you can use that for more sensible items.

NotTonightJosepheen · 26/09/2019 11:13

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Dementornator · 26/09/2019 12:48

Similar issue when we had dd1. She was the first girl after 10 boys in the family. Everyone went mental with pink, frilly, dresses and they just weren’t practical for us. I regifted a lot of ours as they still had tags on. Anything without tags, I sold as a bundle on eBay or gave to charity. Most of the dresses hadn’t even been worn!

DappledThings · 26/09/2019 12:54

YANBU. We got given a lot of dresses too. Put DD in some of them for a couple of photos for the giver and that was it. She's nearly 2 now and I can't see her wearing dresses anytime soon. Even now she's just about walking they still look totally silly and impractical.

Not that I'm a fan of this babygrows only for months on end either. Dungarees or tops and joggers all the way for me. Hate the faffiness of babygrows.

KUGA · 26/09/2019 13:14

Yes agree sell on e-bay or advertise in local newsagents window.

flirtygirl · 26/09/2019 13:28

Dresses are just as practical depending on their material. My dds never had a problem crawling, rolling over etc in a dress.

If a parent finds them a faff, then that's different but to say they are a hinder, then maybe they are made in a crap material that should not be put on babies, like denim fabric and jeans imo.

But to outlaw dresses seems weird to me. But each to their own.

Dresses were far easier for a nappy change than a babygro but I liked them all. I only chose soft fabrics for everything and I hate to see any sex baby in stiff fabrics.

Buyitinbamboo · 26/09/2019 13:28

Tinuviel same here I found changing a nappy with a dress on much easier! Fair enough to big frilly polyester dresses but a soft cotton dress and tights where easier for me, than say jogger etc

I don't really understand the whole running around and getting muddy argument either, my daughter does that in a dress quite easily. Fair enough if you just don't like them.

flirtygirl · 26/09/2019 13:29

But at the end of the day, its your baby so please sell or give them away.

dollydaydream114 · 26/09/2019 14:12

It’s a dress, what is the issue with dresses? What is this current trend for hating girls in dresses

As a lot of other posters have said, I think a lot of parents find them a bit fiddly and impractical on a wriggly baby. They get rucked up when the baby moves around and kicks her legs, and require a separate pair of tights and potentially a cardigan as well, and frill details around sleeves/necklines can be itchy and annoying for small babies. Whereas a babygro is one item, comfy, easy to move in, doesn't get all scrunched up and is super soft and cosy.

Fine if you like dresses, but there is no reason why the OP should have to like them too. We're all different. It's not a 'trend', it's just that different people have different tastes, that's all. Most of my friends would put a dress on their baby for a special occasion, but not for crawling about at home or snoozing in their pram.

CatsOnCatnip · 26/09/2019 14:12

Ugh. We had this. Lovely, very thoughtful. But not practical AT ALL. Plus mine had terrible reflux so I had to change her outfits about 20 times a day. Agree other posters sell them and buy items you will use.

From having this experience I will never again buy adorable little outfits for people’s babies, only sleep suits and giant muslins!

Roozy123 · 26/09/2019 14:14

Dress your baby in what you find best.

Also, if you're going to get rid please don't throw them away either sell them or look up local hostels or womens refuges as they take donations all the time and closer to Xmas wrap them and give them out to the parents and kids as a gift.

Stephminx · 26/09/2019 14:25

Not the point but does anyone have any luck selling baby clothes ?

I have so many immaculate girls clothes, mostly from USA (and good makes) that no one seems to want. I’ve tried Facebook groups, market place etc... I’ve bundled for £15 -£20 each (about a bin liner full), but no one seems interested although all my toys, sterilisers etc have gone really quickly.

Original poster

NoMoreFrills · 26/09/2019 14:58

Thanks for all the advice! I said "toss" just to be dramatic - obviously I would donate. I had not thought about trying to sell them... Honestly, I'm not sure how I'd feel about that considering they were all gifts! I'm pretty sure my family would be offended!

I did not intend to hate on dresses, by the way. To each their own: I actually wear dresses and tights myself all the time because I find that way more comfortable than jeans, and I know I have jeans-and-t-shirt friends who feel differently. For DD, I personally think sleepsuits are less faff than tights - it's so convenient for a quick nappy change - and I do admit to (again, personally) disliking the pink and frilly look for babies. To me plain and simple clothes just look cosier and cuter. And a lot of the dresses we got require ironing as well... Whenever I got one of those, I smiled politely but inside felt the giver must secretly hate me.

OP posts:

Iwantacookie · 26/09/2019 15:02

Charity shop or as a bundle on fb.
I must be odd I loved dressing my dd in little dresses and frilly tights.

formerbabe · 26/09/2019 15:13

It’s a dress, what is the issue with dresses? What is this current trend for hating girls in dresses

It wasn't dresses in particular that bothered me when mine were babies...I disliked any "proper" outfits on my babies...so jeans and shirts on a baby boy are just as much as a faff to me as dresses on girls.

I loved mine in babygros...so comfortable and practical.

Original poster

NoMoreFrills · 26/09/2019 15:24

Same, @formerbabe! I wouldn't have been any happier with little suits and jeans.

OP posts:

Bear2014 · 26/09/2019 15:31

@Stephminx I know some people get on with it, but we do well on ebay. There are so many more potential buyers on there than locally. Posting is a faff but if you list a load of stuff at the same time and then do a mass post-out it's fine.

Melamine · 26/09/2019 15:46

I find dresses on my baby SO annoying. In the summer when she didn’t have a vest underneath they ride up and you end up holding their bare skin so you get all clammy. and all year round they just end up all rucked up around their ears and you’re pulling them down constantly. If you want to go frilly (& I sometimes do), rompers are so much better.

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