Mothers of little girls constantly hear about how cute and appealing baby girls are. They are adorable, get a lot of attention in public and can be dressed up in frilly and cute clothing. As a mom of a little boy, however, that can often leave you feeling a bit frustrated.

Of course boys are different, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t equally as joyous. In fact, dressing little boys can be just as fun, in a different way. Dressing your little boy provides a mom with more options than you might expect. Baby jeans are the cornerstone of a boy’s wardrobe, providing durable and stylish clothing for your little man. There are many choices and options to look at when shopping for baby boy clothes.

Features Matter

While maintaining the same general style that jeans have always had, baby jeans have features that make them specifically adapted to little guys. These features will largely depend on the age of your little boy. For example, when shopping for an infant, expect to see baby jeans with snaps that allow the inseam to be opened for easy changing. This can be a handy feature. However, many moms find it just as easy to pull down the baby jeans. For this reason, almost all toddler and baby jeans feature an elastic waist. While the authentic look of a snap and zipper fly may be appealing, full-functioning baby jeans such as this can be cumbersome. You can have the best of both worlds by selecting baby jeans with elastic waists and the appearance of a zipper fly.

Durability Factors

Whenever you are dealing with baby jeans, you will be looking for different things depending on the age and ability of your little man. Newborn boys will not need materials that can withstand use and abuse. In fact, it doesn’t make sense to spend extra on these features when your baby boy will grow out of the baby jeans so quickly. However, babies that can crawl greatly benefit from knee reinforcing on their baby jeans. Toddlers are also extremely hard on their clothing and spending more makes sense.

Styles and Trends

This is probably the area where there are the most misconceptions about dressing a little boy. Frankly, despite what moms of the sugar and spice variety claim, there is actually more options and flexibility in dressing a baby boy. When you look at a basic wardrobe item like baby jeans, for example, there are dozens of styles to choose from. Baby jeans are available in classic styles, cargo looks and even follow modern trends, featuring grunge or distressed components. Embellishments like studs and snaps are available, as well as additional features, such as screen printing. Frankly, with girls, parents tend to steer away from these features, as it is too gender neutral and can cause girls to be mistaken for little boys.

What About Brand?

Of course, any parent is aware of brand. With your baby, they are completely oblivious to what label in on their baby jeans. Most parents, however, favor certain brands for the quality factor. Brands such as Baby Gap, Old Navy and The Children’s Place are popular lines of baby jeans. These feature some of the latest trends. However, department store brands can also be a good choice. These options generally have more basic options, are less expensive and feature lower quality materials and construction. Most parents purchase baby jeans in a variety of brands. This is a great approach. It’s also possible to favor name brands, shopping sales to find discounts and clearance items. Applying this strategy can make these higher-quality baby jeans more affordable than even department store brands.

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When my wee little one was young, I was always on the look out for unique baby boy clothing to suit his crazy and outgoing style. There were some fun rockstar tees and silly bibs, but nothing came close to these uber unique pirate pants hand knitted by one wicked cool mama over at Crankypants! When I saw these I just had to take a closer look, and it looks like many people have as well since the demand for her knitted pants have exceed her knitting hands!

Crankypants specializes in hand made clothes and accessories for wee beasties, argh mateys, and the likes! They offer lounge wear, tees, and of course are most well known for their ‘classic crankypants longies’ which features either the pirate skull shown here, a monsters mouth, a sock puppet monkey face, or other cute designs all on the tushy of these unique hand knitted pants. Custom designs can be created as well.

Because the demand is so high they have forged a partnership with a Fair Trade Federation certified knitting cooperative in Peru to have the Classic styles made in greater quantities while keeping them hand knit and ethically produced. The cooperative is made up of head of household women who use knitting to support their families. The crankypant longies are hand knit using 100% wool from the Peruvian Highlands that has been locally small batch died especially for Crankypants. Hooray for fair trade clothing!!

Each size and style features extra rows knit into the bum to make room for a cloth diaper and a drawstring waist for growing room. They are available up to size 24 months.

If you’re sick of the usual array of blue baby gear for boys, with the same ‘ole graphics, you’ll love Huge Wonder’s unique line of cool black screen tees. The graphics feature parodies of rock & metal bands, movie titles, art masterpieces, and TV show logos. Favorites include “Give Peas a Chance”, “The Godchild”, “Strollerhead”, “M*A*S*H*E*D”, and “The Breastfed Club”, but there are many more.

There are also fun street signs, science symbols, and classic alternative images like the yin yang or skull & crossbones. Sizes range from 3 months to 6 years, with long and short sleeve T-shirts and one-pieces in black cotton, and some in neutral organic cotton. Matching Gnome hats and Karate pants are available to complete your little one’s hip outfit. Huge Wonder is Austin-based and family-run.

The idea for the business came about when the designers, a mom and dad of one toddler daughter, realized that the market for children’s clothes is saturated with stale designs and pale colors. They wanted a new baby wardrobe with interesting graphic designs and lots of hip choices that came in the color black. Something that made people smile even more at their baby, and which reflected the whimsical aspect of childhood while being rooted in popular culture. The parodies elicit lots of laughter and hey, you gotta come see this! Your kid is sure to be the hit of the playground with one of these fun baby boy tees.

Review by Huge Wonder.