Calling All Kids with Boy, Oh Boy, Oh Boy!

Today's Calling All Kids post is by the uber-talented Stacey of Boy, Oh Boy, Oh Boy!  This lady has some serious sewing chops, and with 3 boys in the house I don't know how she gets anything done.  Take it away Stacey!

Hi, I'm Stacey and I blog over at Boy, Oh Boy, Oh Boy!  I have three boys and  I love sewing their clothes especially because I find the color and style choices in stores pretty limiting. As an expat wife, I've spent the last 6 years living and traveling in Europe so that may have influenced my own designing just a wee bit. My three sons have grown up over seas and let me tell you, if I didn't enjoy sewing their clothing, and had the enormous amount of money needed to buy European children's clothing, that's where it'd be at.  When it comes to gender stereotypes, you just don't see it quite as much.  Especially here in Scandinavia, where we're currently living.  If you're shopping on-line for kids clothing here, you'll rarely see a boys or girls section.  Kid's clothes in Scandinavia (for the most part) are just kid's clothes.

That said, I think the boy fashion trends in the U.S. over the last few seasons are starting to head in the right direction.  The brightly colored skinny jeans, aqua and yellow plaids, and my favorite . . . gingham are front and center this spring and summer.

So why not pink?  It's out there.  Boys can (and in my opinion should) wear pink.

It doesn't mean we have to start putting our boys in frilly pants or dresses.  I draw the line there.  The world is they way the world is for now and let's face it, a boy in a dress is in for a world of hurt.  I do think the world has evolved enough to allow us to extend what color or fabric patterns we choose regardless of gender.

In my mind, this Ottobre boy pattern doesn't make my little guy look like a girl just because it's sewn up in pink and magenta gingham.

Maybe if the world were a bit more open-minded about these things we could start to move past gender stereotypes and bias.

For now, I think that starts with mom and a well rounded wardrobe.  In my mind, the guys wouldn't rag on each other so much later in life if they saw each other in different colors and patterns while they're young.  Maybe that's just me.

Alida, thanks so much for having us.  It's always fun to push those fashion boundaries just a tad.  If you'd like to see more fun boy sewing projects and crafts, we'd love to have you stop on over to Boy, Oh Boy, Oh Boy!

Thanks so much for stopping by Stacey!  I love your boyish pink shirt!