Why are boys clothes so rubbish ?!?

[Runnersknee]

My little boy has just outgrown 18-24 month clothes and omg I knew there was a lot less
choice for boys compared to girls but I’m disappointed by the selection.

Choices seem to be tracksuits, clothes covered in characters / graphics or baggy checked trousers and everything in grungy colours. I’m not ready to stop with the ‘cute’ cloth s for my baby, he’s only 2!! And it’s one tiny rails of clothes for boys compared to a massive section of girls things !!

Most boy mums I know feel the same. I can’t understand why shops continue to make the boys option an after thought ?!?

Also if anyone can recommend places that actually do nice things for boys then please let me know !! Up till now I’ve been dressing my boy mainly in the supermarket clothes but really not keen on their boys offering.

I’ve always enjoyed hunting for little boys clothes more than girls clothes. It’s more rewarding when you find something you love. Zara is generally my favourite, then Gap, sometimes Boden, Next, H&M, Uniqlo. Polarno Pyret is brightly coloured if you find a lot of brands dingy and unisex (and lasts and lasts if you have multiple children to hand down to)

Because I’d like to dress my little boy as a little boy!

@Runnersknee Depends on the kind of style you like to be honest ☺️ Everyone’s style is so different! Can you post a couple of outfits or items you think are nice and maybe people can give suggestions of similar ☺️

Honestly their are some lovely very affordable clothes for boys, just not many in UK chain stores and supermarkets . The French supermarkets sell great clothes with similar prices to Sainsbury's and Tesco.

What does that mean if you don’t actually like the clothes in the boys section though?

High street stores do it on purpose IMO, so that parents with both boy & girl aren't able to do hand-me-downs. Overall, that increases clothes sales. If you look at girls' clothes you find that even the ones that look like they could be unisex will have a small heart or flower motif somewhere. And it's also why boys' clothes so frequently have motifs involving skulls or sharp-toothed creatures, etc

Definitely H&M, I had some lovely t shirt and shorts sets from M&S in jolly colours, and Verbaudet.
Then suddenly they're 14 and will only wear black everything 🙄 🤣

Next often have some nice t-shirts and sweatshirts if you trawl through online. Kite in the sale or secondhand. We've had some nice bits from Morrisons and Sainsbury's as well, but that's been quite hit or miss.

YANBU, I found this too!

My favourite brands for boys clothes are Boden, Little Green Radicals, Frugi, Trotters and Little Prince London. They all do really lovely, good quality clothes with sweet prints and designs for boys. They can be expensive but they're also on Vinted all the time for a fraction of the price.

I also like H&M as a high street option.

If you’re on TikTok or Instagram there’s an account called Lucie Toddler Boy Fashion and she shares so many great pieces, and mostly high street. I also like brands like Organic Zoo, Bobo Choses, Mini Rodini and brands like that but only on Vinted! I have a search saved with dozen or so brands I love and don’t buy new because of cost. I love dressing my little boy and his clothes genuinely delight me. I’m (im)patiently waiting for him to grow into his 12-18 month clothes which are waiting for him in his wardrobe. We’ve had about six months in 9-12 months.

There are some unisex gems in the girls section. I have these, these, and these for my son and he’s still dressed as a little boy.

It’s shit isn’t it? It doesn’t get much better either… well, it gets significantly worse actually 😂 at least some places still do lovely little boys clothes at preschool age. My son is 4 but in clothes 8-9 years (sometimes bigger!), and the selection is fucking dire. Grey joggers, black joggers, Minecraft or PlayStation hoodies, ugly drab T-shirts… it’s a nightmare. I’ve actually ‘made’ a few tops for him myself recently with iron on transfers because it’s just so shit that he doesn’t get to wear proper little boy clothes anymore. Out here looking like a teenage roadman if I’m not careful 😂

They’re not missing a trick. They have more girls clothes more they sell more of them vs. the boys clothes. Maybe there’s a wider debate there but it is what it is and the shops are only reacting to demand.

Personally I like Zara, Uniqlo for basics and Next for slim fit trousers with the odd thing from Jacadi for special occasions. You definitely find more online for boys. Avoid the supermarkets unless it’s for basic basics like pants that no one sees or it’s from the school uniform section which usually has nice plain polo shirts.

Vinted for Little Green Radicals, Kite, Frugi, Maxomorra etc. I have managed to get DS to age 10 in bright fun clothes with these brands.

My 13 year old doesn't want to wear black everything, but good luck finding anything else in that size! In fact, I struggle to find any clothes that fit him as a lot of places only go up to 12 in kids sizes, but men's (even in xs) swamp him. He can't wait to grow into adult sizes as apparently men are allowed colours in their clothing.

I used to feel the same when looking at the endless tracksuits and cartoon characters but H&M and Next do very nice boys clothes in my opinion.

Oh, I was quite unhelpful there! Good ones are, I think, Boden, Joules sometimes, Kite, Zara (altho they can be a bit beige happy at times!), H&M and sometimes Tu. Vinted is great for the dearer brands, and for some you may not have thought of already, plus vintage stuff can be lovely!

Yep, Minecraft (which ds5 doesn’t have the first clue about) Spider-Man and lightning McQueen in shades of black, navy and grey. It is so miserable for little boys.

I do have a few items from Boden and JoJo (although he’s outgrowing that) but even they are stereotyped and assume dinosaurs, space and vehicles are the only interests a boy can have!

Sometimes all bloody three on one top, a space dinosaur in a truck, like dude, chill 😂

Making a list of all these brands and will be getting onto Vinted - thanks everyone

@Bitzee that’s really interesting re lack of demand as so many mums I know feel the same re boys clothes and seems like mums here feel the same too. I wonder if the lack of demand is because mums aren’t seeing what they like so not buying.

Next go up to age 16 but not in our store, only online. Mine is just in small mens clothes, but I found women's size small, things like hoodies ( as long as they weren't cropped) were a good fit and come in bright colours. Nobody knows which sex the clothes are meant for.

I felt the same way about girl clothes when my daughter was younger. (She in 3-4 now) it’s still not great.

Most of her clothes have always come from Zara and H&M. I used to buy more “boys” clothes as the colours were better.

Boden and Frugi do cute kids clothes

I really do not like and would not dress my little boy in clothes with any kind of character, Marvel, Minecraft, cartoon faces. I also don't like the baby turd brown that Primark is fond of using, or the horrendous "Little Prince / Little Man".

I like Asda for brightly coloured plain t shirts and stripey t shirts.

DC hates jumpers so I look for hoodies on Vinted from a mix of brands - we have some nice plain but brightly coloured ones from TU and Vertboudet. We also have some lovely little checked shirts from Next that I bought on Vinted.

It’s because they are building up to the teenage years of either jeans and a polo or joggers and a T mandatory uniforms. No coats unless it’s a big old goose one.

I hate that girls clothes very rarely have pockets. Hate that. Also that it’s all pink or sparkly. I have one daughter who loves that and one who shops in the boys section. So I think really shops get it wrong on both sexes often.