Brands for Bebe

Having a baby, a son in particular, opened me up to many a brand that I previously never shopped for myself. There are a certain set of Influencers™ who crap on typical boys clothes as being too loud, featuring cartoon characters, etc. i.e. being clothes designed to appeal to little boys. (Paw Patrol, anyone?) Granted this is also my preference, but I never thought to point this out to others who follow my platform. I try to manage a balance between gender-neutral classics that we can pass down to boys or girls, what my little boy wants to wear, and hand-me-downs from his older cousins.

My oldest is four years old and is already opinionated about what he wears. Our nightly routine includes selection of two outfit options for school the next day. One outfit goes to our room should he wake up in the middle of the night and move to the middle of our bed and one outfit stays in his room. But first we check the weather. With every outfit, I ask him whether he wants to start with a top or a bottom appropriate to the anticipated temperature. From there we put together coordinating pieces, down to accessories. It has become a bit of a production, but also a crucial part of our bedtime routine that sets us up for successful mornings.

After the jump, flashing back to these items on the blog.

vans

My oldest has worn Vans sneakers since he was so young that he did not even need shoes. Since then, I can offhand count at least three more pairs of Vans that he has cycled through. It is clear that Vans velcro and slip on shoes are going to be staples for him into adulthood. Now, we just need to get him a skateboard and lessons.

hill house home, petite plume, lake

I do not love Hill House Home for myself but my son is the biggest fan of their pajamas. Even if the prints skew feminine, he loves them in blue or green colorways. He consequently insists on me wearing my matching Hill House Home pink printed pajamas, which have since copiously shrank in length. I pass on the pajamas and the brand, in general, for myself but I still treat the Pamper Pirate to the sleepwear and when the sales hit, some summer wear. As it is yet to be worn, standby for whether he is as wild for the shorts.

Speaking of matching pajamas, Petite Plume has the best pajamas for the entire family. My husband even has a few sets, and not even only for holiday! I love this brand for myself; much of my most recent postpartum wardrobe was Petite Plume and I even packed two hospital gowns from the brand to go with me when I delivered my second. As I am typing this, I am still wearing one of my nursing nightgowns that I spent last night in and yes, it matched my oldest son’s pajama set from the night too.

Last in the sleepwear lineup is Lake. Even though they are available in tall, I am less excited about Lake for myself, with the exception of the Schumacher collaboration. The older one loved his set, so much so that he had a bit of an existential crisis (read: threw a tantrum) when he learned that we had to pass on his Schumacher print Lake pajamas on to his little brother.

I since added another set of Schumacher print for the baby and a (non-Schumacher print) set for the oldest from the big Lake sale to the sleepwear lineup.

lacoste

While I love a polo shirt on my oldest, there is nothing cuter than a little baby in Lacoste. The beloved Godsquad group chat has an ongoing joke about how a little crocodile logo can make any baby look like the villain in a 1980s teen movie. The white polo onesie that my oldest wore has since been passed down to his little cousin and eventually returned for his little brother to wear. Hand-me-downs, we are big fans of this approach to sustainability, and love to see it!

The Lacoste baby sets are where it is at! I bought one for my oldest and ~~two~~ make that three for my youngest. My oldest co-opted the little bags that they came with for his own accessory storage. I love the sets so much that three years ago I bought a pink set (and a pink polo onesie) in hopes of having a girl some day. Pipe dream, but for the better.

lilly pulitzer

The father/son matching looks from Lilly Pulitzer are another one of my oldest’s favorites. In addition to the patterned swim trunks, my son also has the cutest bow tie that I bought four years ago for this exact moment in time. He most recently wanted to wear it to his birthday party and layered it over his Rowing Blazers x Target party shirt.

vineyard vines

I like to hit Vineyard Vines any time there is an extra percentage off markdown price-type promotion. Vineyard Vines is another brand that I have had great luck shopping for matching preppy printed items for father and son, particularly swim trunks. In fact, the first Father’s Day gift I gave to my husband was matching swim trunks in the most fabulous print of green palm leaves on a pink background. So cute in the baby size!

brooks brothers

I stocked up on Brooks Brothers pieces during their fire sale in the weeks after the emergence of the pandemic. Yes, our massive order was for big boys sizes even though I had only just given birth. Your point?

The beauty of Brooks Brothers is that the clothes are so damn classic that it doesn’t matter what I order from the brand, as I know it will not look dated by the time my son grows into any given item.

gap + j.crew

While I avoid buying clothing featuring Bluey and the Paw Patrol gang, I do indulge in clothing featuring Snoopy, Charlie Brown, or Keith Haring art. There is something so nostalgic about these characters and this aesthetic. It just so happens that Gap and J.Crew licensed Peanuts, and the former licensed Keith Haring. In this case, my oldest started watching the Apple+ series The Snoopy Show after wearing the characters. I look forward to introducing him to the art of Keith Haring, particularly We the Youth at 21st and Ellsworth Street in our very own Philadelphia!

patagonia

While the aforementioned preppy items are not the favorite of my husband, he never complains when I stock our oldest son’s closet with Patagonia staples. My husband wears Baggies and our son wears Baggies. The shorter the better because #skysoutthighsout.

They are both in a pair of Baggies right now, as I type.

Other favorite items is the hat that was worn during Kazakhstan winters and the vest worn any morning that there is a nip in the air.

parchie

After beating an African drum in the Animal Kingdom a bit too exuberantly, my older shattered the glass on the face of the watch that Santa gave him. And only an entire four weeks after opening his stocking! I consulted Brynn Waller at Dimepiece for a suggestion for his next watch. She pointed me toward Parchie, which offers the most vivid of hues, sure to please the pickiest of watch purveyors.

He has not broken his new Parchie yet.

xtratuf

No multiple pairs and colors of toddler Hunter boots here! My husband, being a native Alaskan and total outdoorsman, ordered our oldest a pair of Xtratuf boots for a series of apple picking excursions we took last autumn. Our oldest took an instant liking to his rubber rain boots and will take any opportunity to wear them. They were even his show and tell item for ‘X’ day!

You heard it here first: The same Influencers™ dressing themselves and their offspring in Carhartt, a workwear (hello construction site) and outdoors brand, now will be onto Xtratufs next.