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  • July 12, 2017 3 min read 11 Comments

    My daughter is three, an age alternately filled with delights such as the combinations that result in self-dressing, and horrors such as the five o’clock broken cookie meltdown.

    Age three is also the stage of child development at which many children like to put things into categories. As she’s learning to tell male from female, she sometimes talks about whether boys (or girls) do or like various things based on her own observations. My favorite so far is, “Girls can eat corn but boys can’t.” Her brother is allergic to corn, so she’s concluded, logically enough, that corn can only be eaten by girls. Fortunately, she has two other brothers who can eat corn, so it was pretty easy to disabuse her of that particular notion.


    Goofballs, the lot of them.

    There’s nothing like having an entirely human sibling to inspire confidence in one’s own abilities. Having three older brothers has definitely helped keep her mind open to what activities she can do. She has never said that “only boys can do X” - she just assumes she can do whatever they can.


    In her dinosaur dress, she's always ferocious.

    In fact, she’s actually more daring for her age than her brothers generally were at three. She climbs up play structures designed for much older children, takes bigger risks at the pool, and gets into wrestling matches with kids twice her size.

    Unfortunately, it’s harder to dissuade her of other conclusions that she’s drawn - she’s already figured out that pink means “for girls.” This is confusing to her because she and her brothers play with dolls and tea sets and other things that come in pink boxes, so she doesn’t seem to think that the actual toys are limited to girls.


    The Batcave, aka, her dollhouse

    There are always girls and boys in the non-pink aisles. But observational data to the contrary about the pink aisle is weak. I’m struggling with all four kids to get them to see beyond pink - which brings me to the worst offender of all...

    The clothes - yikes. Of course I founded Princess Awesome because of the lack of dinosaurs on girls’ clothing, so I was aware of the problem. But I still do find myself occasionally arguing against absurdities that have resulted from her observations about what boys and girls wear. From jeans to blue to non-cute animals - she is driving me crazy telling me that she can’t wear a certain thing because girls don’t wear those things. And she is getting this information from what other girls are wearing, so it’s much harder to refute.


    This drawer is filled with blue, and I didn't even make all of these clothing items.

    Because of Princess Awesome, I can usually counter her by just pulling something out of her drawer and proving it to the contrary: “See? This dress has a dinosaur on it AND it’s blue. This one has ninja and they’re pink. This one is red! Girls can wear red.” But the rest of the world isn’t helping me out. She wants to identify as a girl - but she already feels self-conscious if no other girl is wearing what she’s wearing. Last week for the first time she wanted to wear a princess ball gown all day (and that’s fine!). But then she said it was what she was “supposed to wear because she’s a girl.” The other girls her age at the park wear them, after all.


    Both are awesome. But at the park, maybe a knee-length skirt with pockets is a little more practical.

    I honestly just want her to try everything, explore her interests, choose what she likes - all that feminist childrearing stuff I’ve written about over the last few years. But it’s so much harder in practice. The pull of wanting to fit in and identifying with others like us is so strong - even at age three. I don’t want her to make choices because she feels like she won’t be a girl if she doesn’t dress “like other girls.”

    That’s why my first “wild sighting” of one of our Rockets Dresses was so exciting (“wild sighting:” seeing a Princess Awesome dress in person worn by a child I don’t know). There are so many girls out there who want to dress in twirly dresses AND ALSO express a love of rocket ships. And I’m so grateful to all of our customers who have been part of this sea change. There are thousands - millions - of girls who deserve clothes that speak to their interests - and which also speak to those around them, including to each other.


    Telling other girls that pink and rockets are not mutually exclusive.

    11 Responses

    Emm12
    Emm12

    December 14, 2017

    My daughter (also three) has recently begun categorizing “boy” things and “girl” things. I’ve tried not to push pink or princess, but culture is strong, and I encourage self-expression and discovery.

    She has recently decided she loves pink, purple and skorts, but with winter, the skorts are not an option. Now all she’ll wear is “skeggings” (skirts with attached leggings), and there better be some pink in it! I don’t think she cares about the pattern or supporting colors, so much. The only place I have found them is Target, and there are like four varieties, that’s it. Would you consider making something like that? With animals, rocket ships, math, science, ballerinas (of a diverse mix of skin/hair color—and why is that so hard to find?), construction, tools, trucks, etc.

    And I second PJ’s, especially nightgowns, since she seems to share Donald Duck’s aversion to pants (with as smooth of seams as possible, because she’s very sensitive to those.)

    Aurora
    Aurora

    October 25, 2017

    Love your dresses. My daughter and I prefer to wear dresses/skirts pretty much all the time. We just wear bike shorts or leggings underneath, and she’s free to run, jump, and climb as much as she wants!

    I was wondering if you had any plans to offer short sleeves? The long sleeve are obviously too hot for summer, but the sleeveless leaves their poor shoulders prone to sunburn!

    Karrie Rukamp
    Karrie Rukamp

    September 12, 2017

    I second and third the pants/shorts request- but also- PJS!!! Especially in science and math prints- its hard to find ones that fit my girls (and science ones? they don’t even exist. Boo!)

    Erin
    Erin

    September 08, 2017

    The rocket and train dresses from Princess Awesome are two of my daughters favorites! The are well made, comfortable, and match two of her many interests. Any chance you will expand into jeans? I imagine she would love a pair of jeans with Saturn embroidered on it!

    Kitty
    Kitty

    August 19, 2017

    I am not throwing rocks. I promise. My child is gender-non-conforming and 25 years old. Why is it not OK for her to love to wear pink? Perhaps what she needs to learn is that not-all-girls and not-all-boys and then let her decides what makes her happy. Isn’t making her wear blue dinosaurs as much about your choice as someone else requiring pink tiaras?

    Maria
    Maria

    August 16, 2017

    My daughter is almost seven. Her favorite colors are orange and red. She loves rainbows and unicorns and superheroes and science. I have NEVER told her that there are “girl” things and “boy” things, or that she can’t do something or wear something just because she’s a girl. But shopping for clothes for her gets harder every year as society tries to stuff her into a glittery, lace-covered pink box. Thank you for standing against that.

    Nikki
    Nikki

    August 08, 2017

    I third Leigh’s request. :) We love rocket ships, too, (and fire trucks and puppies, kitties, pigs, cows, chickens, etc.), but playgrounds and getting dirty definitely require shorts and pants instead of just “functional skirts”.

    Kati
    Kati

    August 06, 2017

    My granddaughter loves dresses and is very active when playing at the park. The solution is to wear shorts, pants, or leggings under the dress.

    Jen
    Jen

    August 01, 2017

    I’m pregnant and working on our baby registry… and we are not finding out the sex of the baby before birth. I knew I was going to be up against sexism when it came to clothes but it’s so much worse than I expected. Most of the gender neutral stuff is gray – which doesn’t fit my personality or the values I want to instill AT ALL. Then there’s so much that’s labeled “boy” That could be neutral (how are ducks for boys??). The colors are so much better for the “baby boy” clothing – orange, blue, red, green… but steer way clear of purple and pink. And the “baby girl” stuff is almost entirely pink and always has bows or frills or something making it definitely not neurtral even if you ignore color. I just want a vibrant rainbow of onesies that includes purple and pink but isn’t dominated by them. I see that I’m in for an uphill battle whether I have a boy or a girl and it’s so sad and disappointing. I so appreciate what you’re doing and hope that more and more options continue to emerge.

    Laura
    Laura

    July 13, 2017

    I second Leigh’s request! I love the prints and dresses, and would be ecstatic to also be buying shorts and baggy pants/joggers for my two girls and the other young ladies in our life. They have SO many dresses in general, it’s often hard to justify buying more.

    Leigh
    Leigh

    July 13, 2017

    I truly appreciate your passion for this topic. I struggle in many the same conversations with our 3 year-old son and 5 year-old daughter. My husband and I are trying so hard to instill your shared acceptance of all things, regardless of gender. I am the primary income in our home while my husband is the primary housekeeper, and we refuse for either of us to be relegated to the “primary parent” role. We will share that one as the top priority…always.
    I would like to ask if you have any plans to expand your girls clothing line to non-dress alternatives? Our daughter loves the dresses, but they do not get worn as often as any of us would like due to simple functionality. At 3 years old, she began to choose her clothes each day (weather appropriate were the only restrictions) and she started even then struggling with wanting to wear the prints and colors that made her happy, but knowing from her experience that pants and shorts allowed her the freedom she loves when playing, exploring, and (in her words) “science-ing.”
    Our whole family would love to see your awesome prints and bold, non-gender biased colors available in pants and shorts as well.
    Until then, rock on, you awesome princesses! Thank you for giving us a tangible way to open (and keep open) our children’s minds and hearts!

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