Attention, manufacturers of toddler boys' clothes!

[frazzledgirl]

(Inspired by yesterday's trip round H&M, but frankly applies to an awful lot of shops)

I do not wish to dress my lovely son in any kind of garment which labels him 'loud', 'noisy' or 'spoiled'. He isn't. And even if he is, I'd like a chance to fool other people that he isn't

I would like a choice of more than two kinds of shoes.

Ditto hats.

Bright colours are not taboo.

Sludge colours get VERY boring after the first few months.

Sticking a cr*ppy cartoon transfer on a t-shirt (Ben 10/Cars/etc for a two-year-old FFS?) is not the be-all and end-all. And what's wrong with plain t-shirts anyway?

And having had this exact same moan to EVERY mother of a small boy that I know, I might be PFB but I am not alone!

I swear, when I find a retailer that consistently sells decent, colourful, child's clothes without any sh*te transfers or slogans at a reasonable price (i.e not Boden) I will shower money on them... so sick of hunting around for the odd couple of decent bits in each shop.

Ahem. As you were.

Totally with you on this one. DS is 2.10 and I struggle to find anything other than sludge for him. If you have a GAP outlet locally you can get discounts on plain striped and different coloured t-shirts - even without the logo emblazoned on them!

Pixel you iron combat trousers!?

Thanks Flibbertyjibbet for the Primark tip. I will have a look. Also agree with amyjr that it's well worth looking in the French supermarkets if you're over there.

I have also found exactly the same problem with children's bedlinen. I wanted to buy DS (10) a replacement duvet cover for the one with diggers on that he had from Next but can find nothing. He will just have to put up with something plain from John Lewis!

Hi, i have a six year old dd who I have adored buying clothes for(although now she shuns tasteful stuff in favour of hannah montana stuff.
Now have a gorgeous 8 mth old ds to buy for but totally agree on the vile selection out there.
I like some of the Duffer St George stuff in Debenhams(but v pricey)and "Antoni and Alison in the dept store" at debenhams boys stuff was v cute but think they may have stopped doing it now
Recently saw some lovely hand embellished stuff by a lady on ebay- haven't bought any yet but she gets fabulous reviews. Her seller name is 3157nicola and she will custom make stuff you like. She does have much more girls stuff though...

Pixel - easy solution, just don't iron! Works for me

Am feeling your pain, mums of boys (in theory - as we have a DD). Even avoiding the ubiquitous pink and sparkly nature of a lot of girl stuff is easy in comparison. I think Gap has a lot of nice things, but it is pricey.

Totally agree - I hate sludge!! Why aren't there nice colourful clothes for little boys. Whenever I see anything red/orange/bright colours in the high street shops I buy it instantly, in bigger sizes if ds doesn't need the clothes right then.

MrsTittleMouse - I suspect you are right!!

I come to agree with the sentiment here and to add that American Apparel has a good unisex kids/babies range and while it's not the cheapest - not that dear either - it does have guarantees about sourcing (no sweatshops).

My problem is that most of my baby's clothes were and are bought by other people - I had to veto something my mum held up the other day but I can't do that to my in-laws without offence.

That's why I so object to those frigging pockets - if it weren't for their flaps and gussets sticking out in all directions in their unironed state, you could get away without ironing the trousers full stop.

I do admit to being a bit of an ironing weirdo though, I almost enjoy ironing DD's tiny easy clothes . But those pockets all take the JOY out of it.

I went into the kiddies Monsoon the other day to get a sun hat for my little boy - there was a WALL full of hats for girls and one silly beach-hat type thing for boys stuck on a rack in the corner. Do they not think that boys have heads?

MAKES ME SOOOO ANGRYYY!

Jeffvader, lovely boys' bedlinen in Laura Ashley (dependent on age of course) DS has their trains set and I'm going to get him the soldiers as well.

I got the nicest set in Wilkinsons a couple of months ago with tractors, cars, fire engines, lorries etc on it - only a fiver! I wish I had bought a job lot. All gone now of course.

Agree with all that's been said.
Much more choice for girls, I have both btw.
Boys limited to yet another pair of blue combats.
Do agree about all the High School Musical/Hannah Montanna/ Bratz crap too.
Think the same applies to men's clothing as I cannot abide to see men wearing stupid slogan t-shirts along with worn out jeans and scruffy trainers.

The girls' clothes may fill 2-3 aisles to 1 of the boys' stuff but it is full of pink princess sh*te so there's really no more choice.

Quite agree with all that's been said - great links too (am shopping right now...)

Anymore links anybody?

WTF!!!

Look at this!

I think the designers are an ickle bit mad.

Er, actually, I don't agree. My DS is always dressed beautifully, often in bright colours as this suits his olive skin and dark hair. The other day I bought him a bright green t shirt from Mothercare and a summery surfer style t shirt and matching hat from H&M along with a linen yellow shirt from Next. When he was a baby, I mostly dressed him in bright red, orange or green. I've never had a problem finding brightly coloured clothes.

I do agree, however, that there is more choice for girls but ALOT of it seems to be pink. I am also slighlty miffed that Monsoon only do girls clothing.

Another vote for Polarn O. Pyret here. I've got two girls, but I hate dressing them in pink frilly rubbish, so the different colours are great. Also the clothes wash really well, and will easily outlast both kids to be sold at the nearly new sale when finished with.

But I'm lucky and live in Edinburgh so have access to the Jenners concession - although they have a store in Derby they also sell at various House of Fraser stores.

Monsoon don't only do girls, they do great boys stuff too supercherry! You're in the wrong Monsoon!

And of course you can find bright stuff, but really unusual and stylish stuff is definitely harder to come by for boys. But it extends into adulthood too doesn't it - far more for us out there than the men.

Has anyone mentioned vertbaudet? i kept ds1 in orange dungarees from there! h & m are usually quite good - ds1 has turquoise and red stuff from there. just gotta get it when you see it...Sainsbury's used to be good as far as the supermarkets go, not too much blue and pink.

I have had this for years, not only do I have a tall thin ds, but he LOVES clothes and is very grumpy at the lack of choice in shops.

I do tend to buy a few Boden t shirts in the sales, I don't mind sludge coloured trousers so much if there is a nice t shirt on top. Actually, a lot of his t shirts come from the girls section-I think, for example, a picture of an apple is fairly unisex.

Also larger sainsburys are often brilliant for just bright colours and tasteful dinosaurs and trucks and so forth in slightly bigger sizes.

just to say that george at asda have plain t shirts and shorts in matching dark blues, greens (bright and dark) also their pyjama t shirts and shorts double as day wear (in my house) seem to remember john lewis are good as well.

totally agree with op, my ds refuses to wear most stuff, and he is only just 2. he hates cartoon logos and trucks .... and i hate the stuff that says he is trouble etc. or the army combat gear.

Oooh! let's start a clothing range of our own! We could design it all between us and then sell it to a major store like M & S. They would know they would sell it like hot cakes to all us mums who are sick of having no choice for our wee boys...

I share your frustration and pain everyone - having two DS, aged 5 and 2.
However - and halleluhah - the plain t-shirt request at least has been answered by Gap and they're on offer at the mo - 2 for £6. My last moan ... and not that I'm into slogan Ts a whole load anyway, but why on earth are girls pincesses/angels etc. when boys are trouble/monsters etc.
Apologies if I'm reiterating the points made above, but why!!!

I am a big fan of KidsShouldBeKids. We have lots of their stripy tshirts (and the tshirt dresses for DD) and they are great. They wash well, retain their shape and look fab. I often get asked where I buy them.

They do free shipping offers occasionally, so watch the website or get your name on the mailing list.

Thanks fro the mini mode link - jsut spend about £50 online and got ds a few pairs of lovely ( non sludge coloured trs) and tops and that rare commodity, a pair of swim trunks for my almost teen. ( yes they do swim wear up to 12 yrs).

antoher vote for polarn y pert from me. Ds sleepsuit is still going strong and colours still absolutely gorgeious and he is 3.5 now. Been wearing it for over a year

Never posted here before but American Apparel do lovely t-shirts (not cheap, but they wash brilliantly and last for ages...... Gosh, I am turning into my mother).

And Green Rabbit also do lovely bright tops. I've only bought from them in the sale as they are a bit too pricey (but 1/3 off in the sale), but they are beautiful, colourful and - again - wash like a dream.

I didn't know there was anyone else out there who didn't like sludge and slogans. How comforting.