Girls' and Boys' Clothes

There was an interesting discussion in the Etsy forums last week about why clothing for girls seems to be much more prevalent than clothing for boys.  A couple of sellers said that they find that girls' clothes sell better, which I've found to be true, though parents of boys piped up and said that they buy lots of clothes for their little boys.  Other sellers that people are willing to spend money on girls' clothing.  Also true, in my experience.  Still others said that girls' clothes are more fun to make, which is definitely true!  A lot of great color combinations have a slightly (or overtly) feminine vibe to them, even if there's no pink to be found, whereas colors for boys are much more limited.  Plus the trim offerings are way better for girls clothes--buttons shaped like hearts, flowers, lady buys, cupcakes, and so on.  Sure, there are airplanes and firetrucks for boys, but really well made buttons with those more intricate designs are a lot harder to come by.  Not to mention that girls' clothing can have ruffles and bows and other pretty little flounces that just don't work for boys' clothes.  So, like a lot of people who make clothes for kids, I naturally gravitate toward sweaters for little girls. 

Of course, we can always go the unisex route.  Most bright colors--red, aqua, yellow, orange, green, and purple--look great on boys and girls.  So do most neutrals--browns, whites, and grays.  So for baby showers, unless the mom-to-be knows the sex of the baby, I usually recommend some combination of bright, bold colors.  But sometimes the mom-to-be knows she's having a boy and the sweater needs to look like it's for a boy.  So I'm making a conscious effort to make more sweaters that are more properly characterized as boys' sweaters.  Here's an example of one.