the secret to dressing little boys!

before i had holden, i naturally found myself in the little girl's department at stores instead of the little boys! i didn't do it on purpose and there truly wasn't any part of me that wished i was having a daughter instead of a son, but the frills, lace, leopard print and bows just made my heart melt so much quicker than polo shirts and khaki cargo shorts! i know i'm not alone in this!!!

a friend of mine (who is prego w her 3rd babe, but first boy) recently posted something on facebook about how much harder it is to find cute baby boy stuff and it seems more expensive, too. i feel like that is a completely accurate statement... but once you find out where to shop, what to stay away from, it's easy as pie! i may pay a little more per item with holden, but i don't buy near as many things as my friends who have girls, so it probably balances out!!

my goal w dressing holden is to mainly buy pieces that i absolutely love. for now, we aren't big into the 'traditional' little boy attire: baseballs, fire trucks & monkeys. since those are the typical type of boy clothes, it can be tricky to find cute clothes! i try to focus on buying pieces that i can dress up or down, mix & match and he can wear many, many times. so, this means, that i will pay $15ish dollars for his skinny jeans at h&m. but, those $15 jeans will literally be worn for months. h&m jeans have adjustable waists, so he wears them on the tightest setting until he doesn't need them tightened at all. when they are on the tightest setting, we have had to roll them at times (which is totally in style & not lame, fyi!!). i literally cannot rave about the pants from h&m enough! holden is 21 mos and we just put away his yellow pair of pants that are size 6-9mos (h&m does run big, but not that big!).

since people comment on h's clothes all. the. time... i though it'd be fun to do a post some pics & tell you where i snagged the pieces from! i do buy some stuff second hand, but the pieces i always prefer to dress him in are things i've bought recently cause they are trendy!!

it prob goes without saying, but my number one store for little boy clothes is h&m. hands down. no competition. and, if you aren't lucky enough to have an h&m in your mall, they just opened their online store! after h&m, target & old navy are probably tied. and then i occasionally pick up pieces at kohl's, children's place & gymboree. we also have a store here called crazy 8 (a sister company of gymboree) that i've gotten a few things from. 

here's some examples of little boy outfits that are still totally boy without being lame (in my opinion!)!!

shirt: old navy, jeans (relaxed style): h&m

hat: crazy 8, shirt: old navy, pants: h&m, flip flops: babies r us 

shirt: carter's (got at kohl's), cardigan & skinny jeans: h&m, shoes: converse 

shirt: old navy, pants: h&m, soft shoes: ministar brand (target)

onesie: old navy, shorts (they have fishbones on them): children's place, dino shoes: target

shirt: children's place, bow tie: target (was $2.50!!), jeans: h&m, flip flops: babies r us

shirt, cardigan & jeans: h&m, dino shoes: target

bow ties are HUGE right now for little boys of all ages. my fav company to buy them from is on etsy: little gentlemen. they are spendy, so i don't get them often. however, i fully plan on him wearing them for years to come & on any future sons we may have!

moral of the story: little boy clothes may not initially be as cute or fun to buy, but i promise that everyone loves a well-dressed little boy! people comment on holden's clothes almost everywhere we go and i assume it's because i put a little bit of thought into dressing him! have fun with dressing your boys, mamas!! and splurge on a few key pieces that you love! it'll make all the difference!! :)