I hinted about this skirt the other day and wanted to share the finished product. I think it’s a simple, cute little number with a positive message — something that seems to be missing from the bulk of young girls clothing options. (See major rant at Jezebel.)
Seriously, why does everything have to be all hearts and flowers and butterflies when it comes to clothing for young girls? I’m not against hearts and flowers and butterflies, but I’d like to someday go into a store and see clothes that don’t put girls on the sidelines and boys on the playing field. Do girls not enjoy running or getting dirty? Do girls not enjoy jumping?
Overall, I agree w/your rant (over at Jezebel). I do have to say that in general my girls wear t-shirts from trips or events. We get hand me downs & most of the places my SIL seems to have purchased shirts is Old Navy, Khol’s, GAP, Gymboree (when they were younger) and now a few from Justice. None of them declare how “cute” either of them happen to be. Justice plays both sides of the line w/the cupcake cuties and sports related shirts. (Our shirts from there are all related to sports.) And they also carry sports logo shirts (college & pro, I think). So I think you can avoid them, but apparently it’s easier to do if you’re spending more money.
Yeah, I get it. It’s freaking difficult to find shirts that are both bad ass and cute and wearable. I think the kid has a few hearts and rainbows in her own drawer — we’re not joyless freaks over here. But I guess I’m hoping to call attention to the pervasiveness of … I don’t know. Stupidity? “Hey, it’s a girl shirt — just throw a cupcake on it and be done with it!” I’m hoping that changes and I’m hoping it people start thinking more about different options. A friend just sent this blog with some cute, cool shirts — http://blog.pigtailpals.com/ — and I’m sure there are more out there like it. Thanks for a great comment!
The ESCUELA skirt rocks! It is brilliant. I want one for my girl! I found your Jezebel piece from Mom 101′s tweet this morning. Good stuff. I bought a shirt for my daughter with a zebra thinking of a cupcake. I didn’t think much about it other than, How f’n surreal is this?? But I am positive they wouldn’t have that shirt in the boys’ dept.
Now that’s the kind of cupcake shirt I can get behind. Surreal indeed!
I do SO much shopping in the boys’ section. I’ve yet to figure out why rockets, robots, aliens, space travel are a boys-only thing. I had a mini-rant myself over at http://modernkiddo.com/?p=5542 about getting girls into science fiction and shopping in the boys’ department.
I LOVE the escuela skirt, and I might steal it. I’ve taken to making a lot of her clothes, too, just because I can stand only so much pink and purple. And sparkles. And hearts. And “Daddy loves me.”
Love the skirt! Sadly, my daughter has to wear a uniform in public Kindergarten here. Red, white or blue shirt with a collar, blue or khaki pants. And she has been okay with it, of course wearing a headband is a must now. And the days when I don’t have her skirt washed and she must wear pants? Egads! One day, a friend of hers (in pre-k) told her she couldn’t wear her Darth Vader t-shirt because it was black. Since then, that is the litmus test for her. She will occasionally say, “You can’t wear that, you’re a boy!” And I remind her how she felt when Hector told her she can’t wear Darth Vader because he’s black.
(Although, we do walk the line with her little brother wearing all her princess dress-ups. Sometimes just because he stomps and breaks her high heels.)
I’m all for removing her from the boy-crazyness she seems to be into when she’s not even in First grade! However, I recall wanting to kiss Matt Strand and Brandon what’s-his-name when I was that age, and I turned out okay.
Stuff like this is why I like my “pretend internet friends.”
Its very cool! I love that!! Yes they do! I had cousins that grew up on a farm whose mother wouldn’t let them wear jeans. So we had these girls with skirts and boots, running, playing in the dirt, playing ball in the yard, getting messier than those of us who wore the jeans. I have these very sentiments when dressing my new baby girl which is why, like you, took the problem into my own hands. I wanted to create artistic, fun, non-gender specific (minimize the princess stuff) designs with my t-shirt line for babies. http://www.dujourbaby.com