They say clothes make the man, but what if you are just a child? Babies are unable to choose their own clothes and even older kids usually need parental approval for their clothing choices. As a result, what children wear is a combination of parent and child as opposed to the self-expression we associate with adult clothing. I work at Value Village sorting and hanging children's clothes. While I am no expert and not a parent myself, I see many clothing items and have noticed some interesting trends which often reflect on what the parents want just as much as what the children want.

One of the most obvious features of children's clothes is how strongly gendered they are. Walk into the girl's section, and you find yourself awash in a sea of bright pink, ruffles, sparkles, and princesses. Enter the boy's section, and you find yourself among dark or neutral colors, simple styles, sports logos, and superhero themes. These gender differences start instantly. Onesies for newborns, which the babies are obviously not choosing for themselves, are usually very clear about whether they are intended for a boy or a girl. In fact, onesies very often mention gender somehow, with phrases such as "boys rule" or "Mommy's little girl" being common designs. Even if an item itself is fairly neutral, such as a pair of jeans, you can often find some pink on the tag or inside of the clothes if it is for a girl. In short, children's clothing helps establish traditional gender roles long before the child can even comprehend the concept of gender.

This situation is particularly interesting in light of the Target controversy regarding removing gender labels for toys. Target wants to encourage children to decide the boundaries of their own gender identities rather than prescribing characteristics based on sex. And just as toys ascribe identity to children, so do clothes. This issue is particularly pressing for children who may find themselves identifying with something other than their biological sex given at birth, but is important for anyone who does not quite fit into the girly girl or boyish boy boxes assigned to us. I have always identified as a straight female, but in middle school I recall being told I wasn't girly enough. To this day, I go to the men's department to get certain clothing items, such as superhero or "Star Wars" shirts which, according to the clothing industry, couldn't possibly be of any interest to a woman. While as an adult I am free to wander to the men's department for such interests, a young girl may not be allowed to wear boy's clothes even if she detests the painfully pink clothes in the section designated for her.

Another aspect I find intriguing is how often infant clothes in particular reflect adult clothes in unnecessary ways. For example, does a six-month old baby really need a tiny little tracksuit to vomit on? Such items serve no purpose other than to please the parents by creating a tiny little mini-me. While sometimes such clothes are just plain cute, other times it can be rather disturbing. Finding a frilly bikini made for a newborn only looks sweet and innocent until you realize that, if you blew that tiny bikini to an adult size, it would be considered a sexy thing to wear. In addition, there are some weirdly adult messages on infant clothes which often reflect the gender stereotypes previously mentioned. "Lock up your daughters," "ladies man," "heartbreaker," and "I'm not allowed to date ever" are just a few examples of phrases which, firstly, treat the infant as an adult with the potential for romantic entanglements and, secondly, enforce ideas of masculinity/femininity and heteronormativity.

All this ultimately amounts to children's clothes helping ascribe children's identity from birth to shape them into the little adults society wants. Very often this shaping of identity involves gender, and studies have proven children learn early on to distinguish clearly between boys and girls. There is nothing wrong with a girl enjoying pink dresses and sparkly jeans, but you have to wonder what interests would have evolved naturally without the pressing influence of societal expectations. The industry creates the clothes available for children, and parents pick out what to bring home to their child. Since the baby cannot choose what to wear, parents have to make decisions for them, so none of this is intended to criticize parental choices regarding clothing for their children. Rather, I believe it is worth considering how clothes affect a developing child still exploring their self-hood. The sheer volume of highly gendered children's clothes is striking, and it is not surprising that clothes are one way in which children are socialized to understand their place in society. At some point, all children should be free to choose whatever level of sparkles or superheroes pleases them best.