I don’t get as many questions regarding how to dress little boys for photos as I do little girls, but I still thought I’d share some of my favorite tricks and tips and places to shop for my son. For the record I have just as much fun and enjoyment shopping for my son as I do for my daughter, boys are fun to dress too! It can take a little more work to plan a little boy’s outfit for portraits, especially as they become more and more attached to tee shirts the older they get. My son would happily live in super hero and sports shirts forever but for photos I can usually talk him into a Mommy approved outfit.
The key to dressing boys for portraits is layers, patterns, and colors. Layering is pretty easy for boys, just have him wear a collared shirt with a non collared one or sweater and you’re good to go. For even more layers consider adding a vest or jacket. I love dressing my son in stripes and since boy clothing manufacturers make striped boys clothes by the truck loads it’s pretty easy to find a shirt or sweater that will work. Plaids are also a great option, and baby boys have the added bonus of all the adorable baby patterns at their disposal. I love to mix and match colors with my son, bold colors seem to photograph really well. Try mixing and matching bold colors and patterns. Don’t forget about shoes and accessories…girls don’t have a monopoly on cute shoes and accessories you know! Check out Etsy for some fabulous handmade ties and bow ties or suspenders. Hats of all varieties are also a nice touch, I have a fondness for newsboy caps myself. I love Converse and especially appreciate the pop of color they can add to my little guy’s outfit to help make it a little more special. Jeans go with absolutely everything and every little boy should have at least one pair. Stay away from screen printed tees (unless the tee happens to fit with the theme) and plain white sneakers.
Baby boys have a few extra considerations. Baby boys that aren’t sitting yet should avoid overalls and shirts with a collar as they tend to ride up and don’t look as good. Onesies and regular shirts are a much more flattering look for a wee ones. Don’t forget about the adorable rompers that are out there, they are a really classic look and only work for a short time!
My favorite stores to shop for boys clothes are Baby Gap, Mini Boden, Janie & Jack, Old Navy, Target, and Gymboree. If you come across an awesome boys clothing brand please share it with me since I’m always on the look out for my little guy!
This little guy is wearing a striped shirt (score for the stripes!) and classic overalls which work well for a baby who is old enough to be sitting.
My son is wearing a puffer vest over a striped thermal shirt in this photo. The spider man shoes aren’t my favorite for photos, but I was in a hurry not to lose the light and didn’t want to fight him on the shoes. The puffer vest is from
Gymboree and the shirt and jeans are
Baby Gap.
My son actually picked this outfit out for his preschool photos all by himself. The argyle vest and gray polo are both scored from the clearance bins at
Gymboree.
Shirts with numbers on them work really well for birthday portraits, I found this “four” shirt for under $4 at Target a year before he turned four!
This little guy is wearing layers really well, there’s a lot of patterns and textures which work really well together.
This little guy is showing off that babies can pull off red plaid flannel just as well as full grown men!
This is an Easter photo of my son wearing a plaid shirt and coordinating newsboy hat that I picked up at Target.
For this fun themed rock n roll photo shoot with my little guy I put a green plaid dress shirt under his Rock Band tee shirt with jeans and bright green converse. We also gelled his hair into spikes which completed his “rock star” look. Themed photo sessions can be sooooo much fun!
This is my son wearing his Christmas outfit from two years ago. We found the vest and white collared shirt at a consignment store, the gray pants and newsboy hat at Gymboree, the tie from Petite Peanut, and the bright green Converse make the outfit!
