Comments on: An Interesting Observation

By: Mary

Mary — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 03:46:49 +0000

I owned a children's consignment shop for nearly 5 years. Girls items outnumbered boys about 4 to 1. Up to size 12m, girls items were mainly pink. Purple ran a close second, and the yellow, red, and blues were much more rare. Boys items were blue. Brown and a brown/navy (thanks to Carter's) combo were big, and grey, yellow/gold, green or red followed.

My cousin worked with me at the store and had a daughter during the time we were open. She's a smart gal - she kept tags on every gift she got. She made no bones about taking back anything that was off-season for her daughter. She got gift cards in return - lots and lots of Target gift cards, with which she bought diapers and wipes for months.

The items that she kept were practical items. Sleepers, one-piece outfits, hats, coats. Everything else that she needed she got used. Garage sales, mom sales, etc. I would say she probably hasn't spent more than a few hundred dollars on her daughter's wardrobe, and Emily is now nearly 4. She resells the items in mom sales when Em outgrowns them and pretty much recoups her investment. She also started buying only white socks, blanket sleepers that were either boy or girl, plain jeans, etc. Her second child is a boy and he has all the hand-me-down socks and sleepers he needs.

I don't have kids (yet...) but I sure learned a lot from my smart cousin. I have some items tucked away in hopes I do meet Mr. Right, but I know I won't spend a ton of money on stuff my baby won't really need. People certainly tend to go overboard on baby stuff!

By: One Frugal Girl

One Frugal Girl — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 03:04:13 +0000

@spaghetti0625 - Perhaps it is the sparkle and fantasy of girl's clothes that women are drawn to. An interesting thought. As for my son.. I've actually been dying to post a photo of him. I'm torn because I know if I do people will be able to trace this blog to me, but he's so adorable I'm not sure how much longer I can resist!

@Clare - I agree that girls receive more clothing than boys do. I see the difference with my own niece and nephew.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 01:28:16 +0000

As a mother of boys but as an aunt of many nieces, I will say that many more people give gifts of clothing to girls. My sisters (all of whom have girls) report receiving tons of clothing–new and hand-me-down–from others. As a result, little girls have more clothes than they can wear, so a ton of stuff (much of it unworn or barely worn) ends up at thrift and consignment stores.
Clare

By: spaghetti0625

spaghetti0625 — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 15:02:58 +0000

I think for women, we tend to go towards the girly side. When I walk around a store, I find myself looking at the tiny girl dresses and outfits, not the boys. I can spend hours just looking at the cute shoes, stockings and skirts for little girls. I never just wander to the boys section. But I bet when I do decide to have a litte one, God will give me a boy to make up for all that time I spent in the little girls sections lol.

I think since women predominately buy clothes for their children, and gifts for other children, we get to almost fantasize more. If you look, I'm sure you will find the princess dresses, the tu-tus etc for little girls. All the sparkly things and all that jazz. With boys it's jeans and sports shirts almost. Most women don't see 'fun' in that. at least with little girls, we can dress them up and get really creative.

Just my opinion though :) How about some pics of your son? I'd love to see some! Or you can private email me if you'd prefer. I just LOVE LOVE LOVE pics of little babies...and it always makes me go to DH and say 'I want one!' :)