Before we found out that Henry was a indeed a Henry I had been harboring secret dreams of having a little girl. In my mind I envisioned dressing our daughter in adorable dresses, tights and glittery shoes, one day passing down my dress collection, and sharing makeup and hair products as she got older. When the ultrasound technician informed us that my "she" was really a "he," I'll admit that even though I was beyond excited (I mean, hello, a baby is a baby!), a small part of me was sad that I'd most likely never have any of those experiences with my son. After that appointment my family and I went to Target and I'm not proud to admit that there was a moment involving the tiniest, cutest watermelon print bathing suit and an abundance of tears. True story. But hours later as I sat alone in our house, dreaming of what our little man would be like, I realized that being the mama of a boy was what I was meant to do; that this was exactly the life I wanted, and what was meant to be.
And now I couldn't imagine life any other way. I love my sweet Henry with everything I've got, and if all of our future kiddos are boys I am positive I'll be happy and feel incredibly fulfilled. It's funny how things change- once upon a time I was dreaming of dance classes and frilly dresses and now I find myself picking up Henry's trucks and dinosaurs off of the floor. And that's not to say that one day Henry won't want to engage in activities our society deems to be more of a female gender role (whatever makes him happy), but all I know is that I couldn't be more over the moon about my boy...and one day I'm sure we will laugh over my ridiculous watermelon-bathing-suit-moment.
With that said, at first it was a little challenging to find cute clothes for Henry amidst a sea of dresses and leggings, but with time it's become so much easier. And now, I actually prefer boys clothes over girls!
I thought I'd share a few of my favorite places to find great boys clothing with all of you! All but one of these are pretty obvious places, so if you have another site you'd like to add to the list, feel free to add it in the comments- I'd love to check it out.
1. Target
This is probably my most favorite, affordable place to shop for Henry, and pretty much the only decent shopping in our little town. Whenever we make a Target run I always check out their graphic tees- they're usually $5 and they typically have a few non-cheesy, cute ones. More recently Target has also come out with THE BEST dark wash skinny jeans for baby boys (for just $14) and I actually like them much better than Gap or even Levis. And at half the price of those brand names you can't go wrong. Target is also a good spot to find cute sweaters for little guys (as shown up above), and some of my most favorite polo shirts of Henry's are from there as well.
2. H&M
H&M is in close running for my favorite place to buy Henry clothing, and their cardigan selection alone almost pushes them into the number one spot. H&M is a little pricier than Target, but you can find great deals on random things, like the aforementioned basic cardigan, which runs about $8. Right now they have a ton of cute sweaters with elbow patches and great striped long sleeves. And speaking of stripes, that's probably my favorite thing to dress Henry in, and H&M is all about the stripes. They also have a good selection of shoes and almost always have a new, fun hat every time we pop in. Too bad Henry hates hats. One day, maybe.
3. Baby Gap
A couple of my friends live and die by Baby Gap for their little boys, but I often have a hard time throwing down the money for things I know Henry will only wear for a short while. I'll usually shop here for more special items, like his shark wetsuit or a great sweater, but for the basics I'll usually stick to Target. However, when they run their amazing sales all bets are off and I don't feel too guilty buying that $40 sweater for him at 40% off. Baby Gap is chock full of amazing items, from heavy winter coats to button ups, to cute skinny jeans and tennies. Really great, quailty stuff. A little pricier, but even if it's out of your price range it's always fun to pop in and get ideas.
4. Old Navy
This is a great place for basics, and I've had good luck finding fun things here, like the vintage looking Phoenix Suns tee shirt we can't wait for Henry to fit into. They always have great sales online, and Old Navy is a good place to find good quality items for less than you pay at normal stores. For newborns they also usually have adorable onesies and fun little outfits, and most recently I've loved their striped crew neck long sleeves and really great gray wash skinny jeans for Henry.
5. 3 Ring Circus
If you're looking for amazing vintage items for kids, this is the place! I love their selection of unusual vintage boys clothing, and I love that it's moderately priced. Three Ring Circus has everything from clip on ties to adorable jumpers. And don't even get me started on all of the amazing dresses for little girls. I'll save that for another post, maybe one day down the line.
How about you? Do you have any great places for finding little boys items? Do tell!
xoxo