The gender-neutral kids clothing you've been searching for

"If it's not pink, then it's not for a girl," Courtney Hartman says about the children's clothes she's encountered when shopping for her young children

The mother of two wanted to purchase options that didn't stay within traditional blue/pink gender cliches.

But these products didn't exist — most girl's clothing was pink with sparkles and boy's clothing often focused on sports or contained words about being aggressive, tough or a troublemaker.

 

Hartman started her first gender-neutral baby and toddler brand, Jessy & Jack, to spread the idea that kids should not have to dress in restrictive ways.

The line includes t-shirts, onesies and rompers ranging from $17.99 to $21.99.

"We are trying to be a resource for parents to find clothes that don’t fit the mold," Hartman tells Mashable. "We get inquiries saying 'I can't find a dinosaur shirt for my daughter or I can't find something pink for my son.'"

Hartman worked with an illustrator for the first set of designs, titled "Unlikely friends." It included animals and creatures together that traditionally wouldn't be paired with one another.

"We see so many designs that are super gendered, even things that shouldn't be, like animals," Hartman says. "I started that line to create cute stuff for kids that don't necessarily read girl or boy."

Jessy & Jack, was followed by Free to be Kids, a sister brand that strives to "flip the script" on gender cliches by selling t-shirts that "balance out what is in boys and girls clothing sections."

IMAGE: LIZ DONOVAN PHOTOGRAPHY / @WHATBLAKEWORE

Free to be Kids products, which include shirts for children, babies and adults, range from $14.99 to $22.

Some of these shirts include sayings like "Mr. Nice Guy" (Hartman couldn't find any products that classified boys as sweet and gentle) and "Smart Girls Club" (Hartman had seen shirts stating that girls were too cute to do homework or that emphasized appearance).

Hartman recalls one story that her friend, a designer at a popular retailer, told her about not being able to produce a specific shirt.

"She was not allowed to put 'winning' on girls' clothes because it was too aggressive and not feminine enough," she says. "I thought it was laziness...

They were deliberately maintaining cliches because certain words weren't 'for girls.'

They were deliberately maintaining cliches because certain words weren't 'for girls.'"

Hartman is a part of the #ClothesWithoutLimits campaign — a group founded by nine brands that sell products with similar goals — to break down gender stereotypes and change the message clothing retailers are sending to children. Other brands include Girls Will Be, a brand that designs girl clothing without pink, sparkles and frills, andHandsome in Pink, which makes masculine pink clothing and feminine blue pieces.

Hartman explains that critics believe the campaign, and each specific brand, is trying to take away their child's gender with unisex clothing. She argues that she's just trying to offer things that aren't already there.

After all, there's nothing wrong with pink clothes for girls or blue for boys. But the market should feature more variety beyond those gender-stereotypical offerings.

Hartman plans to make pajamas and undies in the future, as well as eventually sell in brick-and-mortar stores.

"Kids should be able to like whatever they want," Hartman says. "They should be empowered to express themselves in whatever way feels right to them."

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