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.

So strange to see your messages! I completely agree that the boys get a raw deal when it comes to clothes! It annoyed me so much that I have just launched an online shop selling clothes exclusively for boys.

My mission was to find stylish, colourful and practical clothes that are great quality and all in natural fabrics.

I agree that it's hard to find reasonably priced good quality clothes but I have sourced labels that give great value for money.

T-shirts start at £12.99 which I know isn't cheap but the quality and style you get for your money is worth it. You can even mix the items with cheaper brands like Primark as the quality items stand out from the crowd.

We are also talking to design houses to find out why it's so hard to get stylish clothes for boys....when I hear back from them I'll let you know!

Our boutique is called Little Bou - www.littlebou.co.uk

I hope you like it!

Bluberry.... I'd second that. Many summer pyjama sets double up as brill short/t-shirt combos and ar egreat for hot weather as they tend to be thin and no excess fabric with silly pockets and wotnot

I have a DS and 2 DDs and actually prefer some of the boys stuff that is out there. I can't stand the really pink things and there are some girls clothes with horrible logos too. DDs actually wear a lot of DSs hand me downs with things like plain Tshirts and hoodies.

For DS I have found Frugi to have nice plain things that make him look like a little boy and don't have horrible logos on the front. They are a bit more pricey but i do tend to shop in places like that when they have a sale and buy a season/age group ahead. I think someone has mentioned them before. Also companies like greenbaby and other 'green' types of sites do tend to have real basic and brightly coloured tshirts. Again, I usually get bits from there in the sale as they can be pricier, but nice quality though.

For non demimy trousers I have bought DS trousers in the boden sale before. He has some lovely cords from there that are elasticated waist, so really easy to use when potty training.

Basically, I just shop in the comparatively expensive places/websites but only really at sale times!

Have got some OK basic tops from M&S for him recently.

Agree with Fillyjonk that sludgy coloured trousers are passable if 'jazzed' up with a nice top.

Hear Hear! DS is only 7 months old and I never wish to see another pastel blue T shirt with a car motif on EVER!.

I also love Mini Mode and John Lewis stuff. Here are a couple of less well known folks for funky baby clothes:

here

here

my relative bought my 2 year old ds a tee that said "Menace to Society" (Primark)

that was a definite fashion low point

I am not sure I should be writting on here - but just wanted to say thank you to the ladies (wrong to assume it is ladies????) who have recommended www.kidsshouldbekids.co.uk or as it's also known www.ksbkids.com

I set the company up about 2 years ago as I was very frustrated with the lack of colourful tops on the UK market, - it has be hard work (I am not complaning) but reading some of your comments have made my day. Thank you, - I am soooo appreciative! Have a good bank holiday weekend.

I second TKMaxx too. I'm lucky enough to have a large store nearby and can get door to door in about 5 mins. I'm probably in there a couple of times a week and lurk (as I often do on here ) and pounce when I spot something great. Lots of bright colours and unusual clothes along with Pumpkin Patch etc. I also got a beautiful, very reasonably priced single bedlinen set for DS' big boy bed. Was so delighted as I was about to break the bank to get him one that I'd seen elsewhere at about 6 times the price.

Malene - your website looks great. Will definitley be having another look.

Sorry those kidbkids tshirts are so boring,why is everything unattractive horizonatal stripes.If you are going to cater for teens can't you be a bit more imaginative?

DS now 13 and I bought most of his clothes over the years from Vertbaudet and La Redoute. They had lovely colourful tshirts which were very good quality. I have found it is really 10+ age boys that are not catered for. DS is now in 16yr old clothes so he fits into small men, but the last few years it has been really hard to find much for him at all, that wasn't labels.

Agree with everyone that boys clothes design is generally dire. I met a children's clothes designer once who told me that "Combat" colours were "in" for boys, even toddlers. Huh?!

I guess someone must like them though.

I have a DD but can see your point completely. I prefer not to have her head-to-toe in what her gay godfather calls "gender extreme" clothing. He buys her clothing from Ponz which is lovely and bright but I doubt available outside Australia. I have a few things from Mambo, which might be available in the UK. Sticking with the Aussie theme, Bonds is also good on clear, strong colours.

Etsy also has loads of children's clothing. The people who transfer print onto t-shirts and things tend to use Hanes, which I've also found to be excellent quality.

frazzledgirl - totally agree with you. We use ZARA a lot for our DSs. The colours are bright (e.g turquoise, yellow, orange) and the styles change about twice a season

Why are boys clothes so boring? I think it is a UK/US thing. In mainland Europe we find boys clothes are very imaginative and great colours. We love our boys in nice colours. We even still manage to get DS1 into a pink pullover and a yellow fleece at age 9!

Gap is very uninspiring, although we used to use it a lot.

Sycamoretree, you're right- I've just checked out Monsoon online and they DO do boys clothing. So why does the branch of Monsoon at Merryhill (one of the largest shopping centres in the country) only stock girls stuff? The next time I pop in I am going to ask the Manager.

I manage to dress my DS well and tastefully (in my AND other opinions ) on a very limited budget, avoiding all logos, cartoon characters, military symbols, too much denim and too may synthetic fibres by:

Stocking up at end of season sales: I love Gap but too expensive (shirts £19.50! so I skulk around checking out the things I like until they go in the sale then I buy two or three sizes, obviously sometimes I miss out and don't get the lovely shirts but I do ok - Gap Pyjamas are fab they are quite neat fitting so don;t ride up so you can buy two or in fact three sizes up and they can wear then for three years (DS is currently wearing age 5). I buy all DS's coats in the sales, often at better than half price.

Scouring charity shops - I've regularly bought Gap, Pumpkin patch and next items - ditto with sizes - anything DS current size or above I will buy and keep

Online sales like jojjomaman bebe are great - once you are on their mailing list they send you reminders and discounts - I got DS three pairs of lovely cords for £5 each at the last sale.

Good quality items do sell well at nearly new sales - I sell on most of DS's clothes at the Polwarth Nearly new sale in Edinburgh. At the last sale all the stuff I put in went, some of it was brand new stuff that we'd been given such as black fleece ben 10 sweat shirts (for a three year old?) but most of the stuff was worn and sold well.

Most of the stuff in NExt, sainsburys, tesco etc is pretty hideous but if you look hard you can usually find some ok stuff. I got DS a lovely navy and white striped cotton jumper with red buttons the other day in sainsburys- is lovely.

In my dreams I would dress DS out of monsoon and boden but my budget does not allow. I stick to cords with stripy tops, checked shirts with tank tops and in summer plain shorts with T shirts - he does have a few "tatesful" Thomas T shirts I confess as he loves them.

I get some great t-shirts here -
www.bohemiadesign.co.uk/list.asp?CategoryID=17&SubCategoryID=89&URLString=smafolk&showall=yes
Fab danish designs & totally free of nasty slogans & tired old pastels!

Just thought of one area where boys have more choice than girls...camping shops and outdoor/trekking gear and hiking boots...I have nightmares trying to kit DD out for our mountainous holidays...in all other ways I agree most boy's clothes on offer are dire.

I tried to buy a friend's son a nice outfit last birthday but retired defeated so he got lego.

It's never politic to buy your best friend's son a t-shirt that says "I'm a little monster" , is it?

Miggsie - does she need 'different' gear from the outdoor gear that is suitable for boys - all outdoorsy type things tends to be in muted colours/brown/black just in term of the practicalities - I thought it was mainly unisex - don't really see any pink hiking boots for women... (?)

someone was asking about canvas shoes not in combat colours - depending on age, I got some lovely navy canvas shoes from jojomamanbebe at a very reasonable price. DS loves them.

I love this thread and all the suggestions, thanks! Find it totally demoralising shopping for 6mo DS for all the reason listed above. Went to H&M with high hopes the other day and was so disappointed. Managed a unisex very colourful top (every colour imaginable) with animals on it and bought him some yellow striped leggings in Gap sale section.

I was very pleased he was not in pale blue for a change, but someone thought he was a girl... quite a hefty masculine girl I thought! ah well. I'm sick of blue. I love the Scandie stuff but cannot afford it unless it's from TK Max and I can't get there as often as I'd like... got friends in Sweden though so am hinting strongly!

I dread buying cloth for ALL my Dcs (ranging from 10yo to 2 1/2yo, 2 boys, 2 girls). I agree with all you said about boys clothes + I will add that I really struggle to buy clothe for DD1 who actually are appropriate for a girl her age as it all looks far too grown up or also has stupid printing/moto on it!

I second the "Verbaudet" suggestion though , they usually have got nice reasonably priced items.

I totally agree with you all,boys get very overlooked by shops.

I went looking over Christmas for a suitable outfit for my ds who is 2 & 1/2 & could find nothing suitable,yet there were party dresses galore for the girls.

Do they think that we want to dress our boys in jeans ALL the time?

I buy a lot of his clothes now from Ebay & in the Boden sale. Next have rubbish t shirts this Summer yet they do have a nice pair of vivid red shorts,although they are £10.

Come on designers,listen to us Mums with sons,we have exactly the same cash to spend as Mums with daughters you know.

I find Next website actually has a far better range than their shops. Lots of different colours and styles, same for the girls clothes. Also the shops tend to stop at 10 or 12 whereas the website goes up to 16.

I do find I have to order everything for DS online,I doubt if I have bought 10% of his clothes in shops over the years.

oh PM73, you have just brought back to me the nightmare of last summer - trying to find some nice shorts and a shirt for DS to wear to a wedding we were going to (he was 9mo at the time) All I could find were combats, denim, or jersey/t-shirt material - nothing smart at all. And then I went to jojomamanbebe and LO! They not only had 2 pairs, one in pale blue cotton and the other a golfer's tartan (that makes them sound so much worse than they are! ) BUT they were the right size AND they were both in the sale.

I quite love jmb, even though they are on the pricey side. I can't easily get sticky socks anywhere else apart from there, either.

I have this gripe too, especially about the endless bloody "off to borstal in a few years"-style slogans which i have ranted about on here many times. But you can get colourful, non-slogan stuff for boys - Tesco and Sainsbury's can actually have really nice things. Also Zara, John Lewis and we love this site for great t-shirts - it's in the US but quite cheap and ships to Europe. I love Polarno y pyret (sp?) too but it's pricey so only get sale stuff, or splurge on DS when supposedly buying baby pressies for friends

And I can't stand that thing with the hard, scratchy multi-pocketed trousers. Girls get soft, lightweight trousers; boys get combat gear But if you look in the supermarkets, they often do a basic version which is the cheapest - basically the tesco value (or whatever) option - and these don't have all the pockets, silly integral belts etc. Also boots own brand are good for basic trousers and shorts with a soft sweatshirt-material waistband (my holy grail for DS as he has sensitive skin).