How do you dress a GIRL?

[bisous]

Well, after two inconclusive ultrasounds my Doc THINKS that I'm having a girl and I have absolutely NO idea how to dress her! It just seems so much more complicated to dress a girl than a boy. Particularly, how do you decide which pieces and outfits to buy? How do you know how to balance skirts and dresses with pants and shorts? How many outfits do you buy for each size? Any words of wisdom?

I'd love to hear all of your imput!

TIA,

Jen

[writermama]

With 2 girls, I've found 2 ways to approach this:

1. Buy a few things you like in each size/season. Try to keep it to a minimum and balance between comfy, practical outfits that are cute and 1 or 2 special occasion or holiday outfits. Avoid fabrics that need to be ironed or feel scratchy and uncomfortable. Wait until after you've gotten gifts before you do serious shopping (people love to give girl clothes and will likely load you up with lots of frilly, impractical outfits that need ironing). Buy colors you like, though pink is everywhere (and is handy when you're out at helping strangers figure out that your baby is a girl so fewer of them will come up to you and say, "oh what a cute boy!").

2. Open wallet. Take out credit card(s). Sign over your life savings to Gymboree and Hanna Andersson.

[CiderLogan]

Ha-ha - Karen, so true!

I second the suggestion to wait to buy more than just a few things until after she's born. You will get SO MANY clothes as gifts. If anyone asks for your opinion, emphasize that comfy/easy/practical clothes are much preferred.

For the first year of life, I say only a few dresses/skirts are practical for each season. Onesies, pants, and those one-piece onesie things that look like dresses (like Carter's) are more practical. Tights are a huge PITA until they are a good bit older, so personally I like dresses only when it's warm. Pink will be a neutral in her wardrobe - you might as well go ahead and succumb to that!

Enjoy the early shopping and planning. Congrats! Girls are SO fun to dress!

Jenny
Julia, 8/03
Clara, 5/06

[lenad]

I obsessed over everything while pregnant and when dd arrived things suddenly became very clear.

The problem is, of course, that with a small baby shopping is not on top of your list. So here is my experience: up to ~6mo old my dd wore one-piece clothes that buttoned or zipped on the front all the way down (she was a winter baby). Practical was really important. I still can't fathom that someone goes through enormous effort to put a tiny baby into a complicated piece of clothing (and will have to take it off and back on when the baby needs changing). Summer seemed to require much more clothing than winter -- dd would get dirty outside in no time and require several changes daily. Dresses vs. pants seems really individual. (I personally don't like skirts: they fall down my dd's tummy and look simply bad. Dresses look much nicer.)

This board helped tremendously. (Also made me a Hanna devotee, but that's a common story.)

eBay is great! I realized the point is not just to save money but also to have a much bigger selection than is available in stores at any one time, and out of season. I think it's esp. good for small babies (lots of gifts, they outgrow everything quickly).

And it's fun dressing a girl, enjoy it!

[Mommy Of A Little Angel]

We got so many outfits as gifts it was ridiculous! Be prepared for that - people love to buy girly outfits!

DD was a summer baby so she lived in one-piece rompers and onsies her first summer. I say lots of onesies are a must! I love the HA zippers and wish I had found them sooner, but they look cute and are easy to put on. We LOVE dresses here. Most of her closet is dresses actually. Often, I pair them with pants if it's chilly (we never have done tights). We don't really do skirts because even though they look so cute at the store, I think they look odd around her tummy. Something just doesn't fit well! She has a few pairs of jeans that she wears with t-shirts. Also, I LOVE sweater/fleece sets (pants and a zip-up top). She wore a LOT over the winter. They are very warm and comfy.

As far as sizes, DD started out big so we got little use out of 0-3 months. She lived in 6-12 months for the longest and is now lingering in 12-18. But, that all depends on the size of your little one, but I would say get the least of 0-3 months.

You are going to have SO much fun dressing your little girl. Really, there are so many options and styles out there it is hard to go wrong! Congratulations, btw!

[bisous]

Okay, I think I can wait for a little to buy clothes. I guess I have the rest of my life for that, right? I just wanted to buy clothes. I think that I'll concentrate on onesies and comfortable, easy to put on one piece outfits that are soft. This makes sense for the first few months anyway. I'm planning on camping out on this board to learn all of your tricks!

Thanks for taking the time to respond!

Jen

[ajmom]

when she's little, shop resale and consignment!!! DD is almost 6 months and I've found a ton of great outfits and such stores. In the smaller sizes, there is a TON of stuff that looks new b/c peopleend up with so much girl stuff and babies rarely wear anything out.

Personally, for the summer, I like rompers and one-pieces. I'm also a sucker for dresses, so we end up with too many. Be careful!

I don't have any advice for the winter months b/c we did all that at the newborn phase. DD wore lots of long-sleeve one-piece outfits. Save jeans for the older (walking) months.

[Eloise36]

I second what others said about waiting till you get baby gifts, because most people gave DD cute outfits. Also, you will find that you get a lot of "hand me downs" from other moms of girls. That said, I now have a serious Hanna addiction and have spent entirely too much on Hanna clothes :)

[MommyAllison]

I don't love shorts and skirts, love dresses and rompers. We do pants out of necessity because our summer is pretty short, and unfortunately she can't wear dresses every day year round. Love capris now that she's older, especially at the playground. Hanna and Naartjie are our favorites. Have fun shopping! :)

Allison
Mama to DD 11/05

[cellogirl]

One thing I want to mention, too, is wait to see what your little girl is like before you buy too much. Even at a pretty young age, kids have a definite personality. My daughter Kate is pretty physical - loves to run, jump, climb, etc. She's not a tomboy at all, but still somehow putting her in things that are too over the top frilly would not be in sync with who she is. I also select dresses carefully so she can still move in them. I actually never even put her in a dress until she was about 1 yr old and walking proficiently - it was just so much easier for her to crawl around in pants.

Girls are sooo much fun to dress. I think you'll find it a lot easier once she gets here and you get to know her. Some things will just jump out at you as "her", others will not. You'll figure it out.

Congrats!

[sesame]

I totally agree about your kids personality. :) It'll dictate what you buy them. :)

[jacksmomtobe]

Dressing a girl is much more expensive than a boy but if this is your first child you're lucky because you will get lots of gifts of clothing though as some posters said with girls sometimes you get the totally frilly and unpractical. One thing I've loved with DD are leggings and tops once she got into the 6-12 month sizing. I'm not sure when your baby is due or where you live but once dd hit this size it was nice for keeping her warm and cozy but not too bundled. I found that I could buy some pieces from the same co (gymboree) and then mix and match them getting more wear out of the items. Most gifts you get tend to be in the 0-3 mo and 3-6 mo age ranges. In the beginning you want to have clothes that are easy to get on & off. If you are expecting a baby shower I would see what you get there before splurging. It is so easy to spend $$$ on a girl. I'm also another hanna & gymboree addict. Plus loving mini boden now that my DD is getting older. There is always another cute piece out there. So far I've pretty much purchased a dress here or there but stuck to pants/shirt outfits because I've found them more practical. For some reason with #2 I didn't really use onesies.

Good Luck & Happy Shopping.