My Top 5 for Him

Wah, wah, wah. I feel like I had to write this post because I did a top 5 for her. Boys clothes. The no-fun, non-creative, can’t-find-anything-unique gender. The way I see it, with my bow, I can be all sorts of creative. I can find the most ridiculous bows or dress her up in sparkly tutus, and it can still be fashionable and cute. With the bruises, I feel like I basically have to dress them like mini-men. To get my inspiration, I usually just think about current trends for my husband’s generation and look for replicas in mini sizes. I’m pretty traditional when it comes to the boys too. My absolute favorite colors to dress them in are navy blue, red, and grey or white (hence the reason we have themed outfits for Memorial day, Fourth of July [well the whole month of July, really], and Labor Day…no matter what). For other colors, I tend to stay plain and simple with olive greens and baby blues and sometimes the occasional masculine pink or purple. And every now and then I’ll throw in a pop of neon colors. We’re also at the age with Luca where he wants to pick his own clothes, so he almost always insists on comfy pants. Hence owning every pair of sweatpants and joggers known to mankind. Here’s my top 5 picks for him:

1. crewcuts by J.Crew. I love J.Crew for me and for Mike, so it’s logical I’d love it for the bruises. Simple, traditional pieces that can keep the boys looking cute but also comfy. One of the biggest benefits of crewcuts is J.Crew factory, because sometimes J.Crew/crewcuts can be pricey. I’ve found full wardrobes of THE SAME STUFF FROM REGULAR J.CREW on factory before and paid 1/3 of the price. The one drawback to crewcuts is it only starts at size 2T (they do sell baby clothes, but they are partnered with other brands), and in my experience, sizing tends to run larger (though there is shrinkage with washing and drying). I remember eagerly waiting for Luca to get to 2T just so I could start shopping here…and it was worth the wait!
2. Gap. Gap/Old Navy made honorable mention for my top 5 for bows, but it comes in second for my top 5 for bruises for one main reason. Quantity and affordability. Honestly, I haven’t found a ton of brands I love for boys the way I have for girls. With Gap, I know their sizing like the back of my hand (they run big!), and I can rely on them for staples in colors that I like. The bulk of my boys’ wardrobe comes from Gap – any time I need to move Luca up a size, my base purchase is a haul from Gap.
3. H&M. I love H&M for boys the way I do for girls. I like that most of their boy clothes have a European style and fit. Less baggy and a cleaner cut. Love their skinny jeans and jogger sweatpants especially. They have plenty of fun prints that still look sophisticated and stylish without looking to baby-ish or busy. My only problem with H&M is I can’t figure out their sizing for boys no matter how hard I try. Some of their stuff runs big, some of it true to size, and some of it runs small. When all else fails, err on the side of caution and buy big, so at the very least he can grow into it if it doesn’t fit right away.
4. Burt’s Bees Baby. Also made the list for girls, and it’s on here for the same reasons. Great sleepers and casual wear for boys. I especially love their sweatsuits for boys, that usually come with zip-up hoodies and joggers. Remember, with BBB, the more washes, the softer so wash and dry as much as your little heart desires!
5. Target (Cat & Jack). I almost exclusively shop Cat & Jack for the boys when I go to Target. Sometimes it feels like they throw their clothes away at the prices they list for. This is the brand I usually hit up when I’m interested in neon or a pop of color. What I also appreciate about Cat & Jack is they tend to run SMALLER. So if I have an abundance of crewcuts and Gap for the boys, I know I can offset the larger sizing with smaller sizing from Cat & Jack.

Honorable mentions for boys include L’ovedbaby, Nordstrom, Zara, Kyte Baby, and Kohl’s (bear with me on this last one before you LOL). I don’t shop L’ovedbaby as much for boys as I do for girls, but their sleepers were still mainstays in our PJ collection for baby boys. If you want to know when and why I shop Nordstrom, read “My Top 5 for Her” in the Bows section of this blog. I’ll just say ditto to that. I LOVE Zara. Like love, love, love it. But they are even more European than H&M, and so for that reason I mostly buy from them in person, where I can eyeball sizing and style better. (Side note: need this pandemic to end so I can hit up Providence Place Mall again!) I’m not as confident shopping from them online, which is why I put them as honorable mention rather than in my top 5. Kyte Baby just has the softest sleepers and onesies imaginable. Ok, and now Kohl’s. I rarely step foot in this store, but my husband loves it. I will say, they have a really good selection of Nike and Under Armour clothes for baby and toddler, and I like loading up on lots of these every summer. Highly recommend!

A note on L’ovedbaby and Kyte baby. Super gender neutral. Most of their items are either/or and it really doesn’t matter what gender you are shopping for.

**Please note, I am not employed by any of the above brands, just simply a mom on the internet sharing her opinion.