Where Have All the Boy’s Clothes Gone??

Dallin has been growing like a weed this summer. We are already on a new pair of sandals, up a diaper size, and buying all new clothes for him because everything else is stretched to the limits (he’s kind of a skinny kid, but he’s kind of long, too). The worst is pajamas. We are seriously stretching his little summer pajamas (they are a lot like rompers… one piece, short-sleeved, short-legged, with snaps at the bottom like a onesie for easy diaper changing access) as we try to snap them up. They pull at him, and it honestly doesn’t look all that comfortable. I’d let him sleep in just a diaper (it is SO hot out!!), but I’m afraid of him taking the diaper off in the middle of the night or something. So on Friday, I piled the kids in the van and we headed out to find Dallin some new pajamas (and see what other clothes might be on sale.).

My first stop was Old Navy. When Aiden was a newborn up to about 2 years old, I think he was dressed in almost exclusively Old Navy. They had such good bargains, good regular prices, the clothes didn’t wear out easily, and I could find anything I wanted and I liked everything they had.

Something has happened at Old Navy in the last few years, though. The quality of the clothing has deteriorated (I have several friends here in town that have said the same thing and won’t buy Old Navy jeans for their boys anymore). The selection of boys clothing is the worst. I walked into the store to find that they had rearranged a bit. The entire back area was girls’ clothing. The signs showed one corner that was for newborn to toddler boys, and really it was only about two small racks of clothing. The only pajamas I could find were pink (very definitely girl!!), there were no shoes, mainly the same t-shirts they have had since April, and a bunch of denim shorts. What happened??

We then went to the mall. I checked out Gap Kids and Baby Gap. Now, they were obviously renovating their store as there weren’t even a whole lot of adult clothes in the store (all the Gap stores are in one place in our mall), but there was literally NO little boys’ clothes. I went the the Children’s Place, and while they still had more girls’ clothes than boys, they still had a pretty good selection when it came to variety of styles, sales, and sizes. Because of the sales, I was able to get Dallin one pair of pajamas, a sleeveless romper, and some sandals for Aiden, and I only spent $10.17. I think I did well there. We headed over to Gymboree, and while they had a pretty good selection of boys’ clothing (although yet again, the majority of the store was for girls!!), their prices are just too expensive for me. I’m sorry, but WHY would you pay $20 for a pair of pajamas that they will only wear for a few short months before A) the weather has completely changed and they need winter pajamas, and B) the kid will outgrow the pajamas anyway?!

After we got home, I went online and searched both OldNavy.com and Gap.com, but still found it lacking in boys’ clothing. I don’t understand. Do clothing manufacturers think boys only make up less than 1% of the population or something?

I understand that it is easier to come up with a variety of styles for girls, but honestly, most of those styles are ugly anyway! These little girls are now being dressed like their older, teenage sisters. Their teenage sisters are dressing like 20-something year old college students, and these college students are dressing like they are going clubbing rather than going to class or the grocery store! Toddler girls should NOT be wearing low-rise jeans and belly-baring shirts. Most adults really shouldn’t either (I’m sorry, but your stomach isn’t as pretty as you think it is.). And what is it with thongs for 8 year olds?? Completely inappropriate. I also hate all the little t-shirt slogans. It’s bad enough to see a 21 year old with a t-shirt that says “b*tch” or “MILF in training”, but to see it on younger girls? The “spoiled rotten” and “princess” t-shirts still send out the wrong message as far as I’m concerned. Oh, and I absolutely hate the ones that say things like, “Tell your boyfriend I said thank you”. In some ways, I’m glad to have boys. I don’t want these messages on their chests, or clothes that are only made to show off the body in completely inappropriate ways and make 12 year olds think they are sexy.

Which brings me back to boys clothing (the actual point of this post). Unless you want to see my boys running around naked (which may be okay at this age, but Aiden starts kindergarten in just a year, so I really need him going to school in something decent!), I need to see more merchandise for boys!! Until they get their standards of quality and quantity back, I don’t think I’ll be shopping at Old Navy anytime soon.