I hate how my son dresses

[Misfit13]

This might sound trivial, but it's causing problems daily.
My just turned 3yo will not wear what I want him to wear and insists on wearing the very sort of things I can't stand, ie, jeans and 'Adidas' trainers, a horrible padded coat and - worst of all - a baseball cap emblazoned with the 'Diesel' logo. Obviously, I understand he needs to be allowed to express himself, but I don't want him to look like a mini teenager or a bloke going out on the town! I really really dislike scaled down adult clothes for children - and this is exactly what insists on wearing.
I'm on my own with 2 sons and am only working 2 days a week currently, so when my sister gives me her son's clothes I'm grateful, but she and her partner are very different to me. He's in to football and they love shopping and fashion - and labels. I like 'children's clothes - hand knitted hats, jumpers etc and loose, comfy trousers and tops. I keep some of the things for nursery, playing etc, but he wants to wear them all the time. He dug out a bag of clothes I'd put in the back of his wardrobe that I planned to give to friends who actually like that sort of thing and would enjoy putting it on their DS.
Just before Xmas, I ebayed some of my beloved Doctor Marten boots and kitted him out with winter clothes - a lovely warm coat with vintage planes on, lined tartan trousers, jeans with soft ribbed waisbands, furry lined boots, tops with dinosaurs, buses and motorbikes on, tank tops etc and he just won't wear them. As soon as I get out anything but the man-jeans and cap he goes nuts - crying, kicking, throwing himself down, pulling them back off. I don't want a battle over something this daft before nursery so have been letting him go in them, but, shallow as it sounds, I have to admit to feeling embarrassed by what he looks like. If he was insisting on a sunhat, tutu and wellies, I'd be ok with that - as long as he was warm enough - but he just looks crap!
I've tried compromising - going with the 'chav-wear' for nursery days and 'dad days' and the decent stuff for out and about, but he just gets upset/furious. This has been going on for about 6 months, now.
Is it worth the grief? Am I just being vain? His long hair looks ridiculous in the caps, BTW. If I can't persuade him to stop wearing them, I think I'll have to cut it :(

hes 3 he will argue about anything, my ds was extremely arguementative at that age

its probably not about the clothes, its his hormones, I would say you are giving him mixed messages too, he doesnt understand why sometimes you will let him wear them and sometimes not.

Get rid of the clothes that cause arguements and keep one item that you know he likes that way youre mixing up his clothes. My ds wears home knits with chavy jogging bottoms ! Theyre 3 they dont really care, hes just arguing to assert himself. ( BTW they do grow out of it, it just took a while !)

ooh yeah definitely ebay brand stuff on ebay, it goes well

What others have said. He's 3, not 13. Let him choose between the clothes you'd like him to wear.

DS is 2.3 and the only thing he's adamant he wants to wear is his brown little bear onesie. He would happily wear it morning, noon and night if i let him. So i tell him it's in the wash and he can wear it later instead - for bedtime usually.

I am dreading the superhero dress up phase though, and i also hate seeing toddlers in football kits, though suspect someone will buy him one at some point.

He's 3, he can only access the clothes you make available for him

When I don't want mine to wear something it amazingly needs washing much more often than other tings, and then it is 'in the wash' for much longer than some other things too. Such a shame they can't wear it while it is 'in the wash'

He will have grown out of it all in a year. Just wait til he's a teen!!

I agree with Thearmadilo. Let him wear the clothes he likes, after all he is the one who has to wear them. Treat him like a person, not an accessory.

He's 3. If you really dont like them then get rid of the clothes. He will have to wear what you tell him to. I think he should be allowed to wear whatever he wants though. My 5 year old went out in a Christmas jumper and grey jogging bottoms this weekend. He was proud he'd chose his own outfit and got himself dressed while we fed his baby brother. Yes I cringed when he left the room but he can wear what he wants!

Thanx for an interesting cross-section of wiews.
I got him to show me what he likes (on e-bay and in his wardrobe) and what he really really doesn't want to wear. For some reason he HATES checks (my favourite) and stripies (my second favourite). He also hates tights, ponchos and shoes with t-bars and buckles (to my mind second only to bare feet in terms of cuteness). So, today, a lucky lady from a local selling site collected 7 pairs of comfy checked trews and a pair of £40 shoes for £12. And we went to soft play in man-jeans and a cute Viking top (we're sticking to socks only activities until he grows out of the offending Adidas trainers). And I've made a rule - hats off and hoods down off for milky cuddles - because I refuse to breastfeed a gangsta!