It's been a while since I've written about the boys' clothes and since I've received a few emails lately about where I find them, I thought I'd whip up another quick post about Shopping For Your Toddler and Baby Boy.
You see, I buy a lot of boy's clothing. A lot. Probably more than someone with two children of the same sex under the age of 3 should so by now I would like to think I am kind of a professional on the matter. Shopping for your little boys is a lot like shopping for yourself. You have your go-to stores for basic items and tend to hit trendier, more upscale places for "special" items.
The same goes for shopping for your infant and toddler boy.
I think it's safe to say that regardless of whatever children's store you walk into, the girls' clothes outnumber the boys' clothes both in style and quantity nearly a gazillion to one. You may also notice that in many of the chain stores there happens to be only three pant options for boys: cargo, sweat and denim.
Now, while all in moderation the three of these pant styles are okay, I'm pretty sure my toddler doesn't need four pairs of pants with seven pockets. Not to mention, jeans and cargo pants can't be all that comfortable while climbing the jungle gym, now can they? And there's only so many pair of navy "sweat" pant that a kid can own.
Every Mom is different and today I'm sharing how we do here in the M family.
Let's start with babies. First things first, I'm not a huge fan of the cutesy dinosaur and puppy-butt craze. Of course there are always exceptions to the rule and days where I couldn't resist a sweet little cartoon character-clad butt on my infant but for the most part? I try to dress my babies in sweet, soft layette onesies and sleepers. To me there is nothing sweeter than a brand new baby boy clad in white and light blue.
Enter, Ralph Lauren layette. I shed many a tear when my youngest outgrew my absolute favorite white RL sleeper. There are some days where I wish I could keep having babies solely to bring them home from the hospital and keep them in RL layette. Although most of our RL Layette clothing has come from their online website, sometimes you can snag a great deal on them on the racks of Marshalls and TJMaxx.
RL Layette by ametzl01 on Polyvore
Absorba is also another one of my favorite layette brands. These pieces wash well and stand up to multiple babies. Most of our Absorba brand sleepers have come from department stores like Macy's and Lord & Taylor but you can also purchase select styles online through Amazon.
Absorba by ametzl01 on Polyvore
At the other end of the spectrum, I love me some bright bold primary colors on babies. Again, I'm not crazy for cartoon characters and sleepers splattered with monkeys, but I do love me some bright, bold stripes and dots. Offspring is another favorite layette sleeper maker.
Offspring by ametzl01 on Polyvore
Speaking of bright bold colors and patterns, one of my all-time favorite brands for both infant, crawler and young toddler is Zutano. Another great brand that washes well, stands up to crawlers and toddlers and has been handed down between my boys. You can purchase Zutano items from their online website as well as find great deals on them through Amazon. Zutano t-shirt and pants sets as well as short rompers are two of my favorite pieces to buy and two of the many styles I stocked up on for this coming Spring and summer.
Zutano by ametzl01 on Polyvore
Let's say you're like me and looking to dress your not-so-infant-baby but baby-baby and maybe even your crawler-baby. I absolutely adore the GAP. None of those ridiculous sayings like "Champ!" and "Lil' Slugger" that you see accompany so many of the chain store baby boy's clothes but sweet enough and "manly" enough that even my husband loves them. Some of my absolute favorite pieces come from the GAP "favorites" collection. They also have a fantastic organic and neutral layette line.
GAP baby by ametzl01 on Polyvore
Speaking of favorites, I'm often asked where my FAVORITE place to shop for the boys is. After much deliberation, I have to say that it's a tie between the following two places: Hanna Andersson and mini Boden. Although each of these stores is a bit higher in terms of price point, the quality of the clothes is superior and well worth what you pay for them. Occasionally these two stores do run promotions that make buying their clothes for your kidlets a bit easier to stomach. You can also snag Hanna Andersson jammies, a personal favorite, at some Costco stores.
Hanna by ametzl01 featuring a ribbed tee
mini Boden has always been a favorite of mine for many reasons. Their style is unique and classic, full of bright colors and bold patterns. I love how you can mix and match just about anything in the mini boden and baby boden line not to mention that I love being able to snag matching sibling outfits. Each of my boys have play clothes as well as special occasion clothes from here. My oldest also has a few of their swimsuits. I love me some boden.
Boden by ametzl01 on Polyvore
And then there are places I like to head to for staples. Places to pick up play clothes basics and some things that I don't mind the boys playing outside and getting dirty in. Jeans. plain t-shirts. Legging-type pants for the crawling baby. Undershirts.
American Apparel and Old Navy are two of the best places for these types of pieces. I recently stocked up on American Apparel ribbed onesies, T's and super soft cotton pants and leggings when Amazon was running their big kids and baby clothing sale. American Apparel even has a whole entire section of their website dedicated to the basics.
American Apparel by ametzl01 on Polyvore
Speaking of giant kids and baby clothing sales, one of the annual sales that I am sure to hit up is Old Navy's. Although I feel like the quality of their clothes isn't the greatest (the fit runs big and wide, the fabric shrinks, colors tend to run in the wash) you can't go wrong for the price. Even though they aren't the biggest culprit of goofy sayings and silly characters, Old Navy does have their fair share of these things in both the baby and kid's section so if that's not your thing, you have to dig deep. During their most recent sale I snagged nearly 20 pieces of clothing for my oldest's Spring/Summer wardrobe and spent no more than $100.
In fact, one of my most favorite baby sleepers ever comes from Old Navy. Grey and chevron? I loved it so much that I made sure to purchase it through the largest size it came in.
OLd Navy by ametzl01 on Polyvore
Last but not least, here is one of my absolute favorite places to shop for sweaters, tops and t-shirts for my oldest. I can remember waiting for the day that he could fill a 2T in this store and I'm sure I cried tears of joy when he did so just shy of his first birthday. After all, this is also one of my most favorite places to shop. Jcrew's Crewcuts. I will say that because of their full price price point, this isn't the place I turn to for every day play clothes. However, when they're running a great promotion, I'm all over this place like white on rice. Not to mention that the quality and fit of their clothes is pretty awesome.
Crewcuts by ametzl01 on Polyvore
Let's talk pajamas. If you follow me on Instagram, you know I have a downright obsession with pajamas. Granted, my youngest does have a good deal of his older brother's hand me downs but in addition to that, his pajama stash houses about thirty-five to forty pair. As I mentioned earlier, Hanna Andersson sells my favorite jammies for both baby, toddler and little kid. Occasionally you can find a small selection of their jammies at Costco wholesaler. My second favorite place to snag sleepers for my youngest is The Children's Place. Although I didn't make much mention of them earlier, you will occasionally find me shopping for the boys in there as well. I think I would have to say that it is my favorite of the "chain" type stores. I love their footie jammers also known as "stretchies."
Jammies TCP by ametzl01 on Polyvore
You'll notice I didn't mention Carter's or Gymboree in this post. I have nothing against these stores as I have found myself in them on many an occasion. To me, Carter's is like dinosaur and puffy-bear-butt central. King of goofy monikers like "champ," "all-star" and "mommy's little monster." It's just not my style. I do love their plain white onesies both short sleeve and long and I also buy many of their three and four-piece pajama sets for my toddler.
As for Gymboree, my thoughts are this: Cute clothes? Yes. Although, kind of overpriced if you ask me. I haven't been in this store since my first baby was about a year old and I somehow got suckered into buying a pair of shorts (really cute patchwork beach-y shorts) and two (really cute matchy beach-y) t-shirts for sixty-five dollars. Yes, sixty-five. Now, I'm all about dropping some dollars on the boys' clothes as is evidenced by the post- but on patchwork shorts and two itty-bitty t-shirts that thirty other Johnny and Joeys are wearing? Not my style. Not to mention that for that amount of money? I could have bought maybe one or two pieces less from one of my other favorite stores like mini boden or crewcuts. To each their own.
I also didn't mention Janie&Jack, Target or OshKosh, the last two mainly because I don't have much experience shopping with them for kids clothes. I will say that Janie&Jack has a fantastic way of taking those cartoon puppies and dinosaurs and making them absolutely prep-tastic. This store was a favorite of mine when my oldest was a baby.
So there you have it. My favorite places to shop for all things boy! Who says shopping for boy's clothes can't be fun? Happy Shopping!