When Lola was born we were drowning in a sea of pink tutus and princess sleepers. I couldn’t have been happier. Every trip through Target I would find another girl-tastic gem … those little socks that look like teeny ballet slippers? I’ll take 12!
When Penn Charles was born, I ventured into the baby boy section for the first time. I was stunned. Most of the tiny clothes were in the theme of some sort of real occupation — a firefighter with “Captain Handsome” on the name tag, a police man, an astronaut, even onesies with little bow ties.
So wait, my daughter can be a princess or a ballerina? That’s it? (Side note: I realize that ballet can, for a select few, be a real job).
The entrepreneur in me wanted to start a new clothing line. I would have created pantsuit onesies, tiny aspiring architect dresses, even an pink firefighter-themed sleeper with “Captain Brave” on the name tag.
Eventually, the sleep-deprivation took over and I only got as far as securing a domain I now can’t even remember.
Then last weekend, Lola wanted to go shopping. She had saved her allowance and she wanted a Star Wars t-shirt. The girl is obsessed with Star Wars. She has (and much purchased with her own money) figurines, posters, and pillows covering her room. We went from store, to store, to store — nothing. Sure, we found mountains of themed apparel for boys — but news flash: Eight-year-old girls think boys are gross and they won’t be seen wearing a “BOYS SHIRT” eeeewww!
We searched online retailers with a little luck. We found some princess Leia gear — but she wanted Darth Vader.
She looked at me and said, “Are girls not supposed to like Star Wars?”
You guys. We can do better. Retailers can do better. Girls want to be heroes, too.
Here’s a little video we recorded on Lola’s Star Wars merchandise issue:
Where do you find awesome clothes for your strong girls?
Let me know in the comments.
