Where can I buy baby/toddler clothing that isn't so gendered and stereotypical?

There’s a shop near where I live that sells a onesy that says “lil democrat” which is pretty gender neutral but obviously not politically neutral.

@The_Compassionate_Heretic no, I know, onesies at least it’s okay…but not after that

I don’t see much of kid’s clothes except when I peruse the LL Bean catalogue. Seems as if they have some nice clothing. But I know what you mean about the colors. When I shop in the Bean catalogue for myself, I always prefer the mens colors to the womens, I am just not a fuschia, or lavender, lime green or hot pink kind of woman!!!

Juicy Couture

And award for the worst answer possible goes to…

@boots oh hush, lol

For plain, classic clothes try Lands End.

Edited to add: For more fun clothing, check out Hanna Andersson (don’t let the front page scare you off… it’s not all like that!)

I dressed my son mostly in Hanes sweats and tees and jeans when he was very young. We were pretty broke and I have never been one for designer crap, and wanted stuff he could move freely in and not freak out about getting dirty.

Little Lark or you could always try Goodwill.

These guys aren’t particularly cheap, but they are proudly gender neutral.

You can also go to Old Navy and just shop in the boys section or selectively in the girls section. I wore boys clothes when I was little, mostly hand-me-down Garanimals from the boys across the street. Garanimals are still more neutral than many clothing lines, and are carried by WalMart. You can also get the colored Hanes and Fruit of the Loom t-shirts and athletic shorts, and those work well on toddlers of either sex.

As others say, try Goodwill or other thrift stores, especially those located near the well-to-do part of town. I still get all of my daughter’s camp clothes and most of my son’s school clothes at the Goodwill that is fed by our largest nouveau riche neighborhood.

I always find things at Old Navy or Osh Kosh that I really like on my boys. Osh Kosh in particular has things from nice button-down shirts to t-shirts with various prints and designs. The clothes hold up well and seem comfortable. Children’s Place isn’t bad, especially for boys. The girls’ clothes have never really done much for me. I don’t know if the prices are comparable, but we live near an outlet mall that has all of these stores and when they have sales, I can stock up. Once the Osh Kosh store had a special sale where everything cost $5 or LESS!

My absolute favorite, which might not fit your criteria of not being super expensive, is J. Crew. The kid’s line is called Crew Cuts, and I can’t resist going in to see what they have—not that I buy anything ok, hardly ever but I do like to look!

TJ Maxx, if you have one near you, often has great kids’ clothes at a discount. Sometimes when I go, they have a lot of things I like, and sometimes it all looks crappy and covered with logos.

Wow, I just googled expecting to find lots of choices. Not so much.
I agree with @Darwin about just picking and choosing from mainstream stores… and there’s always tye-dye! :)

@augustlan hmm, it’s a little too surfy durfy for me, :)

@jonsblond heyyy, I like that

@Darwin I liked that link, thanks

@Simone_De_Beauvoir I’m wishing I had a toddler to dress in those cute t shirts. My baby is going to kindergarten.

Shoot! I can’t find the catalogue I was looking for. I know exactly what you mean, but in the meantime, here are two other interesting, not-so-mainstream sites to get you started.

Yokiddo
Redfish
Babesta

Do they even make Toughskins and Geranimals anymore? I think my clothes for the first ten years were those along with a pair of keds and wallaby suede monster shoes, worked out fine for a very gender neutral kid.

@hungryhungryhortence – Garanimals are sold through WalMart. I don’t know if Sears still sells Toughskins or not. It was one of their proprietary brands up through the 1990’s.

@Darwin: I’m pretty old but I can’t imagine such indestructible and non sexual clothes going away ;p

if only someone would open a transgender/bi-curious baby clothes shop…

if you open that store, may i suggest a name? Little Bundle of What?!

@eponymoushipster: I farking lurve you!

@hungryhungryhortence it’s a natural course of events. do those babies know if they’re male or female? of course not.~

@eponymoushipster I would open such a shop but there are so many other things to do in terms of gender neutrality

@jonsblond i’d like shirts like some of the ones on there!

As quickly as kids outgrow their clothes at that stage, who cares?

To me clothes are simply a way to prevent walking around naked.

I just checked a site for a store I bought my kids clothes at years ago thechildrensplace.com and I noticed most of the boys clothes are grey/brown/blue/green but there was some red/orange/yellow things. They are very reasonably priced and they were well made. Of course I haven’t shopped there in years but just thought I’d mention it. I’m not sure if it’s neutral enough though. I never liked “baby” type clothes, you know with teddy bears or dump trucks and circus colors. I liked more mature selections. They have nice polos and plaid shorts.
at three your son is old enough to pick some things he likes. Maybe he likes things you don’t. My daughter insisted on getting a stupid Dora the Explorer shirt and I let her even though I hated it.

I think my son dresses cute, it’s boyish but not outrageously boyish.

I get most of his clothes from H&M baby, the clothes go up to like, age 7 possibly older…I don’t usually look at the older clothes. You can find a lot of fun, gender neutral clothes. I personally have no issue with me having a girl and dressing her in a lot of my sons old clothes. Probably get different pants, since I know girls are usually thinner, but his clothes could be used for a girl…I’m sure we’d get a lot of “ohh what a cute boy” comments haha.

They don’t have clothes on a website though. I’m sure they have a store in NY if they have one where I live.

I am confused about the question.
Is this purely a “I hate the clothing out there?’ Question.

Or is it a, “I want to leave my child open to decide what gender they are comfortable with?” Question.

e-bay, or second hand charity shops, why spend loads of money on clothes they will grow out of anyway?

@ChazMaz the former

@ChazMaz – For me this question relates to not wanting my children to function as billboards advertising television shows or movies. My daughter does still wear a lot of t-shirts with sayings on them, but at least most of them are witty (except for the Spiderman shirts, but she’s 17 and dresses herself).

I totally agree.

Hannah Andersen has classic clothes but they’re not cheap. Gap has nice clothes, without stupidity on them, like Hannah Montana or stuff like that. My daughter just turned 2, and some of my favorite tee shirts for her are ones we or others get on vacation, like an embroidered lizard from Aruba, or a Cape Cod tee. Clothes for kids her age are still pretty cute but i am dreading the Dora/Hannah Montana/High School Musical stage, which is right around the corner.

@jca – I love Hannah Andersen clothes – they are pricey, but they last! They also have a great charity program, too. Another good thing, they are generously sized. I never worried about an article of clothing not lasting.

Land’s End is great for more neutral clothing.