Please note: while comments on this post continue to be welcome, the giveaway is now over.
I got all happy when designer Kris Garst contacted me last week about the new Real Boys Wear Pink clothing & accessory line from her company, Squishylicious. Kris created the line of clothing and other cool stuff in response to the color stereotypes she encountered after her twin sons were born. “My boys love pink and purple, so I hate to see them stuck with traditional ‘boy’ colors,” she told me. Kris found a broader color palate for boys in Germany, where she lives with her family, than she did in the US, and wanted to make more color and design options available for kids and grownups all over the world.
Courtesy of Kris, the lucky giveaway winner will receive an item of their choice from the Real Boys Wear Pink line. (To enter to win something Squishylicious, you’ll need to leave a comment at the end of this post. The winner will be randomly selected and notified by email—so please either friend me on facebook or include your email address in your comment so I will be able to find you if you win.) If you don’t need a t-shirt, you can choose a onesie or a sweatshirt (there are grown-up sizes too…don’t miss the the pink hoodie and the Squishylicious boxers). And if clothes aren’t your thing, check out the water bottles, tote bags, BBQ aprons, mugs, and more. My favorite is the black cap.
I also like her Tees for Tutus line, which would work oh-so-well on the little pink boys you know.
And if you don’t win this giveaway (or you do, but you HAVE to have more), visit Squishylicious. You can support a mama-owned business, take care of your holiday shopping, and subvert gender stereotypes all in one swoop.
The contest ends this Sunday at midnight. Post your comments and spread the word!
Hey those are awesome! my son saw them and was like “wow those are cool!”
Love that you are blogging about your pink boy. I have 3-yr-old g/b twins, and my son often wears girl clothes (including skorts) to school. I’ve told him to tell people not to tease him, and that he can change his clothes if he wants to. No problems yet, and he looks lovely and carries it off with panache!
Love it! Three is when my son started asking to wear a dress (he never was a skirt guy–we all have our preferences). It’s helpful to give kids some really specific actions that they can do to deal with teasing, including (especially at that age) going to get a teacher. It’s also a good idea to give the teacher some resources for talking to the kids about gender. See the letter from Diana, below–inspiring!
My boys look great in pink!
Sarah, this is so wonderful. The website is great too. I know there is a few places one can buy clothes for kids that aren’t stereotypical but this is wonderful to see. I love that it says right on the items. I had to cringe yesterday when a mother wouldn’t buy her son a pink toy because her husband would get made. I had to step in and say pink isn’t just for girls; pink is for everyone! I made sure the little boy KNEW it was ok to like pink. I know this is an uphill battle but I am willing to do my part! Thanks for all you wonderful posts!
Way to be a guerilla fighter for the pink boys!
I’ve got more cool clothes giveaways coming…there is so much great stuff that’s starting to come on the market.
My boy’s favorite color is pink, we could really use one of these!
My four year old boy absolutely loves pink! He would totally rock that shirt! 🙂
I think my son would love these.
My “real boys” wear pink!
I never enter drawings, never. But this one spoke to me. I have a pink boy (understatement) and his actual pink shirt has been worn so long that his tummy shows at the bottom. Time to move on! Actually, I have an email from his teacher that tells a pretty amazing story about this particular pink shirt…my son, and his beyond AMAZING teacher!
“Dear Diana,
I just want to let you know about something that happened before the
field trip today, during our morning circle. Stefan came to me and
said people were making fun of him because of his pink shirt. I asked
who, and he said lots of people were. After our morning song, I told
the class that Stefan had said people were making fun of his shirt. I
didn’t want to embarrass him, but I also didn’t want to skirt around
things. I told the class that there are no boy colors and no girl
colors — that there are just a wide range of colors, and that there
are some really cool clothes for boys and for men that are pink. Lots
of hands shot up, and I have to say I felt really, really proud of my
group of kids. Of course Aiden and Ben both spoke up for pink, but
many others did, as well. One child said that his older brother’s
favorite colors included pink. One child said her dad had an outfit
that was all pink. Another child said her dad liked to wear pink. It
seems like there was at least one other child, as well, who said
something supportive of pink. One child raised his hand and said he
might have been one of the ones who was making fun, but he wasn’t
really making fun, because actually he was laughing because he had not
before seen the particular shade of pink in Stefan’s shirt. I’m not
sure I bought that, but I’m glad, anyway, that he felt the urge to
clarify. At the end, Stefan raised his hand and said that his very
favorite and only favorite color is pink. I think the whole thing was
quite positive, and it makes me feel hopeful about this group’s
capacity for acceptance. I wonder if Stefan said anything about this
morning, and I wonder if I embarrassed him by being point blank about
the whole thing or if he was glad I was.”
How glad am I that we chose this wonderful little Montessori charter school?!!!
Thanks for all you do, Sarah
Diana,
What an awesome teacher!!!!! Please pass on that I am a BIG fan of their teaching style. Rather than chastising the kids who were making fun of your son, this teacher taught the kids that there are really no “boy” or “girl” colors, and gave them all a chance to talk. Even the kid who admitted he was making fun of your son had a chance to save face–and it sounds like he might have learned something.
Thanks for sharing.
This is a GREAT idea! I don’t have any kids, but I’m always annoyed at the selection of gender-neutral clothing (or lack there-of) for kids when searching for baby presents. It’s only our stupid society that determined that boys shouldn’t wear pink.
Right on! And the more we support companies that are offering alternatives, the more we will change our society’s culture.
We love pink AND tutus in this house!!
My three year old loves pink and purple, and always has. His father and his side of the family don’t support that, and I find myself having to cringe whenever one of them says to him that something is “for girls.”
I just found this blog today and am happy to have found you! Yay for pink boys! 🙂
Welcome, Karin! Glad to have you reading the blog.
I think this is something that’s needed to be said for a long time. Being the mama of a little boy that wore a cheerleading outfit that was intended for my 1.5 year old daughter to Thanksgiving dinner, (so it was flouncy and a little trashy–haha) I applaud you. It’s been a double standard for way too long, and it’s high time that a boy that dares to clomp around in his mama’s high heels is not judged any more than a little girl that decides to wear her daddy’s shoes around the house. One is seen as sissy and the other is seen as precious. Thank you for this, and I have sent out an all points bulletin to every mama I know to read your blog.
Love it! Three is when my son started asking to wear a dress (he never was a skirt guy–we all have our preferences). It’s helpful to give kids some really specific actions that they can do to deal with teasing, including (especially at that age) going to get a teacher. It’s also a good idea to give the teacher some resources for talking to the kids about gender. See the letter from Diana, below–inspiring!