I Miss Zoom

 

I'm a child of the 70s, got around to childbearing late, and I looked forward to dressing my daughter in darling unisex onesies and rompers in bold colors, mostly primary. Eventually she'd get overalls and jeans to wear with her happy crayony tops. Then I'd pass all those clothes on to my hypothetical son. There would also be a few practical Marimekko-type dresses that could survive the playground. My son could wear those too if he really wanted to, just like the little kid with the doll in Free to Be You and Me.

Meanwhile the clothing industry had moved on to its current state of compulsory gender-coding. Girls' clothes were mostly pale pink or yellow and rick-racky; some of them even had leopard trim on the cuffs, and far from being mix-n-match, the outfits in the stores were all designed to be Outfits, some of them even with a little matching purse. My daughter was a hulk of a baby whose neck couldn't be found under the wealth of chins. She looked like a crown roast in those beruffled dresses, and she looked even huger and sillier when we dressed her in boys' clothes, by then available in a brilliant array of gray, navy, army green, and the occasional red or orange. Everything in a bright color also had shoulder appliques or bulky trim around the hips, designed to make small boys look like small lumberjacks or fireMEN or football players. And a square cut several inches wider than the child inside. Just in case someone might accidentally emasculate an 8-month-old using mind rays. You have to be careful.

We muddled through without much inspiration, relying largely on rompers, stretch pants, and hoodies, until the Crown Roast of Child started walking and began looking like a girl with a neck and ponytails. Toddler clothes were better and we started to be able to find more plain t-shirts and jeans. Fashions changed and ubiquitous pale pink was replaced with ubiquitous dark pinks and browns that look adorable on both my brown-eyed, brown-haired daughters. Even boys' clothes are a little less manly these days. Stripes are back! And Andrea sent us a dress last year, dark purple with pink stars, that scratched every one of my Marimekko itches.

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