Boys clothes vs Girls clothes - what are the main differences you have noticed in the shops?

[Flowertailbird]

I wonder if you can help me out.

My daughter is doing a project on children's clothes and in particular how the clothes labelled as for boys and or for girls differ. She wants to focus on whether or not there is obvious sexism in the clothes and at what the different clothes feature as prints and patterns for example she has seen boys toddler clothes full of words like 'adventure' or 'brave' etc. and girls clothes full of princesses and 'be kind' designs.

I honestly did not notice this when my children were younger, I was oblivious to it but now when she has pointed this out to me I am really quite shocked as to some of the differences that passed me by.

As parents of young children, please could I have your comments as to what you have noticed, if anything, with regards to this so I can pass them on to her.

Thank you and if I have put this in the wrong board or I could get more responses elsewhere I would really appreciate this being moved or put where is most suitable.

I have boy/girl twins so it's the first time I've really noticed things

Boys - dinosaurs, elephants, dogs, whales, bears, Peter Rabbit, boats, stripes

Girls - rabbits, cats, mice, , Lilly Bob Tail rainbows, flowers

@MrsMoastyToasty

Supermarkets tend to carry a greater range of girls clothes (sometimes 50% more).

I second this. I have a son and always think there is way more choice for girls than boys, really pisses me off. But find it interesting that a lot of posters are saying that bots clothes are stronger and looser fitting. Doesn't surprise me at all.

If you want boys' swimming trunks with animals on, you can only ever find sharks. 'Tis the law apparently.

As other have said, get her to check the sizes from the same companies. I bought my DD clothes in the same size from the boys and girls section of H&M and was astonished at how much tighter and shorter the 'girls' clothes were.

Tell her to check out 'let clothes be clothes' on social media.

I just asked DS 14 if he'd noticed this growing up and he shouted "Yes!" It's always annoyed him because he just wants to wear a mixture.

I buy a lot of boys clothes for DD (almost two) mostly joggers and leggings. They are a more generous cut so fit her better usually. Also there are very limited girls joggers on the market - it's all leggings that are so thin!
Boys clothes are thicker I think, leggings are thicker, more generous cut etc. the colours are darker (fine for nursery when everything gets covered in paint) or brighter (I have some great tiger joggers!) girls are very pretty, lots of frills and paler colours (she is a wild child and I would never keep them stain free!)

Agree with other posters. As a mum of two boys who like boys clothes and not pink, unicorn etc I find boys clothes very limiting. I've noticed there is far more space dedicated to 'girls' clothing. One day I counted I think 2 options for swimwear compared to 9 options for girls. There is always more shoes, socks, underwear etc out on display for girls. However I agree, boys clothing is made thicker, more hard wearing etc.

Girls clothes are skimpier. Particularly obvious with board shorts. Girl's are basically hot pants while boy's are actual board shirts which protect them from both sunburn and board rash. It's very obvious that the girls are there to look decorative while the boys actually surf.

Also 'wearing' girls and boys. If there is a group of superheroes or children's characters, the girls can wear the whole group but the boys often lose Leia, Gamora, Everest and any other female characters. It's got a very nasty implication if you think about it.

I think all of the above are true of the high street but there are many good brands where clothes are just clothes. For example; little green radicals, maxomorra, Duns, frugi to an extent. However, they are also brands with high ethical standards and come with the associated price tag which many people aren't prepared/can't afford to pay.

I remember looking at a catalogue when the Dc are younger and being struck by how in the descriptions all the colours on the girls clothes were named for (sweet) foods and the boys for outdoorsy things.
(Eg orange t shirt for girls was called "cantaloupe", for boys "bonfire".
Brown joggers for girls the colour description was "cocoa"; boys was "bracken".
And so on - it was like being at a pick 'n mix counter reading the colour names for the girls clothes - milkshake, lollipop, sherbet, candy floss, marshmallow, lemon etc.

T shirts. I get a lot of stuff from Sainsbury’s and the ‘girl’ t-shirts nearly always have a little puffy bit on the sleeve. And leggings quite often have a button or bow on. Really no need. Plain but colourful t shirts are what I’m after.
‘Boy’ stuff is nearly always sludge coloured too. There’s a real lack of yellows, greens and orange and most stuff is neutrals or pinks.

Girls' clothes are smaller fitting normally.

Boys' zips and buttons are the other way round.

It goes back to days of the maid dressing women if I remember correctly, so women's are essentially back to front for the average person.

@SleepingStandingUp

Take her for a trip to Primark. She can see for herself, it's perfectly clear who has the most racks, the variety of colours, the pictures on it, the words used. She can even hold them up and compare cut.

RTher than doing her homework by her Mom asking other people the answer

I will be doing this as well. My daughter asked me if I would ask on Mumsnet on on her behalf as she is not a member. What she does with the comments received is her own business and her own work and will only form part of the project input. If I was to write up her project for her then I would be doing her homework but I am not. I am using a forum of which I am a member to help her with one aspect of the research.

It would have been really nice to print all the replies for her out without having one like this.

Point your DD in the direction of this campaign:
www.letclothesbeclothes.co.uk/
They share examples on their social media too.

I'm probably repeating a lot of what's already been said, but in my experience....

Clothes that are designed and marketed "for girls" are:

• cut smaller, more fitted and skimpier than the equivalent clothes "for boys"
• detailed with something to make them "girly" such as bows, frills or puffy sleeves - or scalloped collars on polo shirts for school uniform (I had naively thought all polo shirts were unisex, apparently not!)
• pink, purple, pastel or pale in colour (all the p's!) As a general rule clothes "for girls" are more colourful than for boys but they have to be PRETTY colours 🙄
• must have rainbows, unicorns, flowers, hearts, cute animals, etc

And clothes that are designed and marketed "for boys" are:

• cut more generously
• blue, navy, brown, black or khaki / sludge green. Red is occasionally acceptable. NO OTHER COLOURS ALLOWED OR THEIR PENIS WILL DROP OFF.
• stripy. Nothing says boy like a stripy t shirt or jumper.
• must have dinosaurs, cars, diggers, superheroes or astronauts. The occasional "masculine" (predatory) animal. But mostly dinosaurs.

My DS decided his favourite colours are pink and purple. Trying to find anything in a strong, bright purple (not lilac or wine-colour) without any "girly" signifiers is virtually impossible. The world seems to have decided that purple is a "girl's" colour.

Oh I forgot grey for boys. Grey = penis, apparently.

The characters on outfits e.g. Paw Patrol. If you’ve got a girl whose favourite is Marshall, tough, the girls’ clothes only feature Everest and Skye, who are mysteriously absent from the boys’ clothes despite featuring the rest of the pups.
Girls get Peppa, boys get George. I’ve seen Avengers t-shirts for boys that feature all the Avengers except Black Widow.

What would happen if a girl wore an outfit with a male character or vice versa?!

@noblegiraffe

The characters on outfits e.g. Paw Patrol. If you’ve got a girl whose favourite is Marshall, tough, the girls’ clothes only feature Everest and Skye, who are mysteriously absent from the boys’ clothes despite featuring the rest of the pups. Girls get Peppa, boys get George. I’ve seen Avengers t-shirts for boys that feature all the Avengers except Black Widow.

What would happen if a girl wore an outfit with a male character or vice versa?!

Strangers can't immediately tell what genitals the child has, and the world will overturn in fire and water.

Asda have Alesha Dixon is it? That does comfy clothing that's generous fit. Not sure if it's their choice of "neutral" but it's often featured heavily in the sales rack (which is great cos I have twins). But as a supermarket, it does make it seem like people don't really want neutral and comfier fit

Agree with all of the above especially the needless segmenting of clothes. M&S had some good sunhat last summer so I went in to look at them. I couldn't find the section so asked an employee who then checked whether I was looking for hats for boys or girls. I told her to take me to both and found surprise surprise that all the girls were dainty and pink and the boys were sturdy and fun....I got the boys selection despite having a DD.

Sorry @flowertailbird for the second part of the comment. Tooth ache and exhaustion do a pissy Sleeping make. But the first half was genuine. Walk into Primark and its 3/4 girls in pale colours. Then a little wedge of dark clothes for the boys. It's obv in any store but Primark seems markedly skewed on the volume of girls.

I have two sons and it has always really bothered me the way that a lot of retailers label boys clothes with less affectionate wording if that makes sense... like "brave" "adventure" "little man" "the boss"... the reason why it's always bothered me is because it's as if boys can't be babies/toddlers. They don't really have the cutesy designs or colours. I had 2 big babies who didn't last in the baby ages long and it upset me that there just wasn't much to offer young boys who want to be dressed liek young boys. Often I would by girls clothes which looked unisex.
I hope that makes sense.

@JammyRedRooo

I also think from my experience from shopping for my DD, even if only 50% of the clothes are 'girls', I'm happy to buy from the boys section for my daughter but wouldnt be happy doing the same in reverse for my nephew. So girls end up with an even bigger percentage. And it probably isn't 50/50 to begin with.

I agree, there's not much I wouldn't buy for my girls from the boys' section other than certain colours which don't suit them/I don't like (the sludgy wishy washy ones) and if you want bold bright colours you generally have to head to the boys' anyway. But it's rare to see stuff in the girls' section that would be suitable for boys, maybe t shirts sometimes. I think leggings would be ideal for boys in the spring/autumn for the same reason that they are for girls, much easier to put under puddlesuits without boiling them alive, but you don't often see them.

I don't know how relevant this is but it has interested me. I have boy/girl twins. I have often listed outgrown items on Ebay at the same time e.g. boys and girls shoes or coats and usually the same brand and size. The girl version always sells quicker and for more money.
I have no idea why! I wonder if some parents spend more on things for their daughters because they like dressing them up or something??
My main complaint at the moment is that now ds needs age 5 clothes they all seem aggressive. E.g. the dinosaurs on toddler clothes were cute, on 5 year old clothes they are fierce-looking with loads of teeth and big claws.
There is far more choice for girls too. I feel like they are starting to put dinos and things on girls clothes but you never see e.g. butterflies or unicorns on boys clothes. Both my dds like dinos but I do feel like the overall message is that it is ok for girls to like "boy" stuff but not the other way round.

Boys can wear a range of nice rainbow colours until the age of 2-5 (depending on shop). After that they must wear sludge colours, gaming, action, army print and dark clothing.

Girl clothing seems to have pointless frills or ruffled edges or be made of ribbed fabric so a plain white unisex top is now subtly, or not so subtly, gendered for no reason.

the overall message is that it is ok for girls to like "boy" stuff but not the other way round.

Because boy is a promotion and girl is a demotion.