Bonnets and boys: Am I old fashioned?

Nukke

My brother and I both wore bonnets when we were babies in the early 80s.  I guess it was still normal back then?  Well I inherited lots of these little bonnets from my mum who kept them all, and intend to use them for our (team green) LO when he/she arrives.

I didn't think anything of it until I was out shopping last week.  I went to a local store and saw lots of cotton summer bonnets and fall corduroy bonnets, all with very flowery patterns.  Not a single one for a boy.  I thought, "omg, are bonnets only for girls now?"

I went home and checked Etsy to see who is making bonnets.  Once again, it's all geared towards girls.  Even the ones that LOOK gender neutral, mention your "baby girl" this and your "little girl" that. 


I'm being stubborn and putting some darn bonnets on my boy OR girl!  Take that world!  But out of curiosity, what do YOU think? 

Shanmarie1083

I think the pictures of those babies are too cute for words! I also think that they are pretty girly and I wouldn't put one on my little guy. Then again, honestly I probably wouldn't put one on my daughter either, they are a little too "old timey" for my taste.

VitaLuna

I think bonnets are all girl, sorry!

llybeck

If bonnets are for girls, I thought about what the alternative would be for a boy and what I came up with are those bucket hats (also worn by girls). They look almost the same but bonnets are a lot cuter, I say rock the bonnets for either! You may have to correct people but who cares, any "gender neutral" clothing means people assume boy or girl anyways. That's never made sense to me, wait for the parents to tell you what they are!

ravenclaw1

Those pictures are precious, and I agree- bonnets are for girls. But who really cares if you want to put your boy in one? Go nuts!

amief

Shanmarie1083 said:

I think the pictures of those babies are too cute for words! I also think that they are pretty girly and I wouldn't put one on my little guy. Then again, honestly I probably wouldn't put one on my daughter either, they are a little too "old timey" for my taste.

This is me too

kje120

I think they look very cute, but I personally wouldn't put one on my son.

Nukke

Haha, so I guess I am old fashioned!  That's OK. It might confuse a few people on the streets, but I bet it will give the grandparents and great grandparents a nice walk down memory lane. 

Habs2Hart

I think they are adorable and I think they used to be more gender neutral because boys clothing was tougher to find, so babies lived in a lot of hand knit and hand sewed stuff.  Now boy stuff is clearly boy for the most part.

Maybe you can find one that's slightly more masculine?  Although I prefer the look of caps and what not on little boys these days.

erink7211

I'm sure some little boys could definitely pull it off but I personally wouldn't put one on my little guy. But then again I am just waiting for when I can get him in a Rangers ballcap.

NYHeel

I love bonnets and have been wondering the same thing! We're team green, so if we have a little boy I'd definitely like to put him in bonnets, but I just don't know where to find them. I'm glad you posted this! Do you know where I can buy some? 

Nukke

NYHeel said:

I love bonnets and have been wondering the same thing! We're team green, so if we have a little boy I'd definitely like to put him in bonnets, but I just don't know where to find them. I'm glad you posted this! Do you know where I can buy some? 

I found some on etsy!  there are handmade ones and vintage ones.  The vintage ones tend to be quite frilly though. 

missmuffin87

They're a little too girly for my taste, but if it's a family heirloom type thing I could understand putting them on a boy for family gatherings.

Luckymomma4

I think those pictures are adorable but I couldn't bring myself to put one on my child (boy or girl). 

MamaInMN

I think they are too cute to care what sex they're for!  I think if you paired a bonnet with a very "boy-looking" sweater or something, it would be fine. 

ammiddleton3

They are very cute! Just not my style, for girl or boy. I say go for it!

starinyte

Personally, I think bonnets are adorable. Sure, they do read a little "girly" to me, but I can't stand the trend to assign obvious gender stereotypes on infants, anyhow. ("Tough guy" stuff on infant boys, for example. You know what? My little girls are pretty tough, too!)

I say go for it!

EMLYNNLERETTE

We are a bonnet loving family and all of my neices and nephews on my side have worn them. Yea, it is a little old fashioned, but I don't mind because I like it. I agree that a lot of the vintage ones are quite girly for my taste on a boy, so I would probably reserve those for family gatherings not out and about use. Ones I would use on a boy regularly would be similar to the first pic. No lace or flowers. I'm not a big fan of genderizing kids either so that's my two cents.

EMLYNNLERETTE

Since I cant seem to edit my posts anymore (??) I wanted to add that I haven't had a boy yet to put one on and haven't had to hear comments on it. Team green though so maybe I will!

cherrys

I fully plan on wearing bonnets on my DD.

EOB584

The pictures you posted are cute. However, I personally will not be putting a bonnet or any hat other than a baseball cap or winter hat on my little boy. My SIL puts her boys in all sorts of hats and it's really just not my style (and not DH's either because he always makes comments about how girly the hats his nephews are wearing look). But in the end, it's your kid and if you want him or her to wear the bonnets that were passed down to you then I say go for it!

msronzio

I am personally not a bonnett fan for either gender, but I am picky about hats on girls. I wouldn't judge a mom for dressing her LO that way, and now I recall seeing family photos of relatives in their youth sporting them. Pair it with overalls and you've got vintage.

redfallon

None of this may be an issue, anyway. SIL's baby refused to wear anything on her head. As soon as she got old enough to where she could do it, she'd just pull it off. I guess with a bonnet, it's tied, so they have a hard time taking it off if they don't like it.

As far as it being a boy/girl thing, traditionally, women and little girls wore bonnets, but so did all babies, whether boy or girl. You could get one like this:



j/k

redfallon

@Nukke My mom brought me some of my baby clothes and look what I found...

Nukke

@redfallon awwwwww!

Burrberrymum

If you won't mind correcting people when they say "she's adorable" then I'd say put that bonnet on your little boy (if it is a boy) but I stay away from the white ones, those to me are real girly, that blue corduroy one though I find more masculine yet so adorable! I'm not sure if I myself would do it because they make so many hats for boys now but like you said it's a nice trip down memory lane for the grandparents!

MrsClaus8

I cannot get over how freaking cute that first picture is!

Also, they're pretty girly in my opinion but I don't judge how people dress their kids. I save my judgement for ladies wearing slippers to their OB appointments.

Skalbrecht

I would tend to agree it feels more feminine to me.

magdalina.h

I would never put a bonnet on my son

4Angel5

I would try to find one with a little train on it or blue and white edging without ruffles. Our Baptismal outfit for our sons came with a bonnet, but it definitely had more if a masculine shape to it, with almost a ball cap bill to it, but not quite as rounded. I would also look for one that doesn't tie with a big bow. I'll see if I can upload a pic!

4Angel5

Here it is... The white garment from the church - overlaying the vest in the photo - obviously has a little femininity to it though! I honestly didn't remember that!

A37licia

My grandfather wore a bonnet as a baby, but I don't know that his sons did. So I think it's a couple generations ago, going along with baby boys wearing gowns.  My mom did of course, and put them on me as well, but not my brothers. It's more feminine now. There are some old fashioned clothes I like to put on my babies that have been handed down to me, but I didn't get any boy bonnets.

mawarren

Please don't put a bonnet on your baby boy! 

Nukke

mawarren said:

Please don't put a bonnet on your baby boy! 

Umm are you OK? It's not that big of a deal. PLEASE don't make your little boy wear truck themed jammies! Oh god please! Won't somebody think of the children?!

mawarren

Nukke said:

Please don't put a bonnet on your baby boy! 

Umm are you OK? It's not that big of a deal. PLEASE don't make your little boy wear truck themed jammies! Oh god please! Won't somebody think of the children?!

Ummm you asked the question and I gave my opinion. Too bad you already have your own answer to the question you asked since it's not a big deal. There's no way my husband would let me put a bonnet on my baby boy even though I'm not having a boy and I wouldn't try it either. Poor thing. 

HBirdie

Meh, they look girly to me. But they're cute and I'm sure a little boy would look cute in one! I wouldn't judge a mom who did put one on their son.

A little off topic, but I get really annoyed when people say they don't like to "genderize" their children. Guess what? Your baby is a boy or a girl. Do I care if they wear clothes that aren't typically seen on their gender? No. If I have a girl, I will certainly be putting her in lots more colors than pink and purple. And if it's a boy, he won't be wearing sports and trucks and "tough little man stuff" all the time. But the holier than thou attitude about it rubs me the wrong way.

Nukke

mawarren said:

Nukke said:

Please don't put a bonnet on your baby boy! 

Umm are you OK? It's not that big of a deal. PLEASE don't make your little boy wear truck themed jammies! Oh god please! Won't somebody think of the children?!

Ummm you asked the question and I gave my opinion. Too bad you already have your own answer to the question you asked since it's not a big deal. There's no way my husband would let me put a bonnet on my baby boy even though I'm not having a boy and I wouldn't try it either. Poor thing. 

Poor thing indeed.  God how could I do that to my child?!

msronzio

Nukke said:

mawarren said:

Nukke said:

Please don't put a bonnet on your baby boy! 

Umm are you OK? It's not that big of a deal. PLEASE don't make your little boy wear truck themed jammies! Oh god please! Won't somebody think of the children?!

Ummm you asked the question and I gave my opinion. Too bad you already have your own answer to the question you asked since it's not a big deal. There's no way my husband would let me put a bonnet on my baby boy even though I'm not having a boy and I wouldn't try it either. Poor thing. 

Poor thing indeed.  God how could I do that to my child?!

LMAO@ poor thing. I hope the fashion police come for @Nukke because she is such a terrible mom.  :-@