I think my next article in The Greenville-Times will focus on this very subject: boys clothing. Why is shopping for boys so difficult? It seems that everytime I enter a store looking for toddler clothing, there are a gazillion racks of girl stuff and two small racks of boy stuff hidden in a corner somewhere. There always seems to be a much better selection for girls than boys. For instance, I recently went shoe shopping for Cohen. I wanted to find him another pair of sandals for the summer and then maybe a deck style shoe as well. I particularly like the Skecher Firebug sandal and the Carter's brand sandal. I was excited to see them both at the first store I went into. They were pink, but I knew I would find the perfect color in the boys section. Wrong! According to the salesperson, neither company sent the sandal in for boys. So, right then I seriously considered buying Cohen girls shoes. I went through every pair in his size, but every freaking pair was pink. Let's be honest: for a second, I even considered buying him pink shoes. Then, I imagined Dave trashing the pink shoes and I decided not to even waste the money. I searched every shoe store in town and never found either of the shoes for a boy. I did find some boys sandals and found them in boy colors, but I couldn't find them in Cohen's size. Go figure!
What really peeves me is that the Skechers were on sale for $15 and the Carter's for $10. Since I couldn't get either, I paid $16.50 for a pair of black Nike sandals. There's no selection for boys yet higher prices. Little boys need shoes and clothes, too. Why should I have to pay more for so much less?
Clothing is just as bad. There are always fewer items to chose from for little boys. And a lot of the selections for boys are covered in ugly trucks and sporting themes. Bugs can be cute and I can even dig Dinosaurs, but let's stop pasting traffic signs and basketballs on every toddler shirt and bottom. Dogs are cute and alligators are irresistable too, but enough, please, enough of the little slugger baseball outfits and steam roller onesies. How much vehicle and athletic attire can one boy wear?
I know one day Cohen will be begging me for a monster truck shirt, a baseball jacket and even worse--a SpongeBob outfit. But, while I still have control, I'm going to dress him my way, even if I do have to work a little harder. It's worth it!