I love tights. I have always loved tights. As a little girl, I preferred to wear dresses over pants, so I wore a lot of tights in the winter. In junior high, I had a unique style all my own that involved wearing thin tights under spandex shorts. Now as an adult, I still love wearing skirts with funky and comfy tights underneath. (And, by tights, I mean footed tights, not footless “tights,” which I consider leggings rather than tights.)
When my daughter was a tiny baby, some of her first outfits included tights. As she got older and bigger, I continued dressing her in fun tights in bright colors and funky patterns. Tights worked especially well on her as a toddler because she like to take her socks off. I can say that I absolutely hate baby socks. Either the baby takes the socks off or the socks simply fall off. Plus I hate the gap between the top of the socks and the bottom of pants. In the dead of winter, little ankles get cold! I also find putting tights on a baby easier than putting on pants followed by socks.
After the birth of my son in October two years ago, I immediately started searching for tights for boys. I had one pair of Cubs tights that my daughter had worn that my son could wear too, but I wanted to find him some fun tights as well. Unfortunately, the only tights for boys that I could find online sold for well above my price range. And the few tights that I found in stores that would work on a boy were plain black, gray, or white. Disappointed with the selection, I ultimately bought my son a pair of plain black and a pair of plain dark gray tights, both of which matched many of his long-sleeve onesies.
Despite the lack of selection of tights for boys, I still love tights on babies of both sexes. Tights are simply easier for me on younger babies. I do not have to worry about losing a tiny baby sock, and I have to wrestle only one piece of clothing onto chubby little legs. I just wish that I could find some fun “masculine” tights for my little guy that are priced similarly to girl tights. Where are the cars, trains, airplanes, skulls, and non-pink stripes?
In addition to being able to more easily dress my little babies in tights compared to socks and pants, I also found another benefit of tights for boys while dressing my son last winter. I have bought my daughter mostly stretch pants and leggings. She owns a few pieces of denim, but her wardrobe is mostly stretchy. When I started shopping for my son, I quickly discovered that boy pants are more often than not made from less flexible material. I want my son to be able to move around as easily as my daughter. I want him to put his toes behind his ears without his pants hindering his movement. And tights give him the flexibility that he needs!
With cool weather here and another winter approaching, I will continue to look for fun tights for both my kids. My daughter already has quite the collection of brightly colored tights in fun patterns. Now if I could just find some reasonably priced funky (and boyish) tights for my son!
Did you dress your baby in tights? How do you feel about tights for boys?
Image Credits
Not All Frills and Pink: Why I Love Tights on Boys: © 2015 Heather Johnson and https://www.flickr.com/photos/remcat/4999431301/ (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
Baby Boy in Black Tights © 2015 Heather Johnson
Baby Tights: https://www.flickr.com/photos/remcat/4999431301/ (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
