How to Dress a Baby Boy

When I was pregnant with Honeybun, I amassed quite of collection of gender neutral baby clothes since we choose not to find out our baby’s genders before they are born.  But a few weeks before her arrival, I decided to go buy one special boy outfit and one special girl outfit for the baby to have when s/he met his/her family those first few days.  I hadn’t done much clothes shopping myself before that (I had very generous friends and family) and I remember walking through the store, browsing the baby section and thinking “It has to be a girl, it has to!  Boy clothes are the worst!”

And I was lucky, I got my girl.  And then another and I loved every second of dressing them in their little dresses and tunics and leggings and skirts and sweaters.

And then I got my boy.  And the clothes still sucked.  Everything in the baby boy section is so boring!  The colors are dull and don’t vary much and everything looks like a cross between an old-man with elastic waists and a college kid with screen printed t-shirts.

I was very lucky, again, for the generosity of friends and family and had to do very little shopping for my little dude in the beginning.  But over time I managed to find my baby-boy-dressing-groove and began getting complements on how cute/nicely he was always dressed and now that I know what I like him in, I’ve been able to build his wardrobe into a respectable collection I actually love.

So, here’s my tips for how to dress a baby boy as cute as a little girl:

Newborns:

Let’s be honest, all newborns are pretty much the same.  Doodle spent his early days wearing the same onesies his sisters did (though I did keep him out of the pink and purple socks) as well as a few all-in-ones.  When we did go out, he had a few cute striped onesies that I had matching pants for.

Older Infant:

As he got bigger, I discovered how awesomely adorable he was in rompers.  Either the overall kind with straps or the all-in-one shortie types with collars were my favorite.  They were easy to put on but looked more put together than a simple onesie and cotton pants.

Young Toddler:

Once proportions change and his body shape became more that of a toddler and less of a baby, I started putting him in proper pants as often as possible.  Jeans, khakis, anything NOT made of stretchy knit fabric made a huge difference in his overall appearance.  Paired with a nice patterned or striped shirt and he was the cutest kid on the block!

Older Toddler:

Lately I’ve gotten really hooked on plaid shorts and collared shirts.  I think he is just too cute walking around in his patterned shorts and coordinating “big boy” shirts!

Bonus:

You can always put boys in your favorite fan gear and they’re super cute!

Related posts:

Baby Names from Ballets Boy Business “Finally,” a boy! My Birthday Boy