What my two year old son likes to wear

Jude is two years old + three months, and this is my favorite age that he's ever been. His personality has really become apparent (he's a sweet little ham), and he has lots of opinions that he is not shy about making known. He definitely has favorites: a favorite book, a favorite song, and favorite things to wear.

I always told myself that once my kids were old enough to pick out their clothes to wear for the day, they can. Kids get to make so few decisions in life and let's face it: clothes are just clothes. If Chris and I have already approved of the clothes that our kids own, I don't see a reason why they can't choose what they want to pair together, so long as it's weather and situation appropriate. There's a part in the book If I Could Keep You Little that really resonated with me:

My grandparents used to let me dress myself, and I think it's what contributed to me dressing the way I do now.

I love what Jude picks out for himself. He really likes accessorizing, and his trademark is striped socks. This is what he wore yesterday and is typical for what he chooses to wear on weekdays:

 1. hat // 2. tee from Shirts that Go // 3. sunglasses // 4. striped socks // 5. gray cardigan // 6. Levi's // 7. velcro Chucks

1. Jude does not like the wind. How do I know this? Well, every time we step outside he says, "I don't like the wind." I think it's because he has so little hair and his head gets cold. That's just a theory, though. That's why he prefers to wear a hat when we leave the house. This shark hat was a gift from my aunt, and since he loves sharks, this hat quickly became a favorite. He also really likes newsboy caps and fedoras.

2. I do not like shirts with characters on them or t-shirts printed with that sticky, thick, shiny Plastisol ink. That makes t-shirt shopping for my little guy hard. A while back we got a garbage truck, airplane, and fire truck t-shirt from Shirts that Go, and they are perfect. Jude loves them. He wears each of them every week, and cheers when he sees them clean in his shirt drawer.

3. My friend Giselle gave me a pair of sunglasses for Jude when he was teeny tiny, and I thought there was no way he'd ever keep them on his face. I was wrong. He loves wearing sunglasses in the car, and whenever he puts them on he says, "Hey, cool baby." It cracks me up every time.

 4. Striped socks are Jude's thing. I think it's because that's the only pattern he knows. He really likes stripes, and all of his socks have stripes.

 5. I keep buying Jude gray cardigans and hoodies. I guess because gray goes with everything, and it's so easy to just grab a light sweater to throw over a t-shirt in cooler weather (or in extreme air conditioning). Both Jude and Caroline have a few cardigans from American Apparel. They're cute and fairly inexpensive if bought at the outlet with a Groupon.

 6. I've tried a lot of jeans on my lanky kid. Levi's 514 (slim straight fit) are the only ones that look good on him and can make it through lots of washing and wearing. Macy's often has them on sale for 40% off, which is great because I would never pay $40 for a pair of jeans for a kid. Jude calls jeans "pirate pants", which we've never corrected.

 7. I wish TOMS would stay on Jude's feet because I think tiny TOMS are so cute, but alas, they always slip off way too easily. We have a couple pairs of Converse All-Stars for Jude, but the velcro ones are much easier to get on and off, and he prefers them over his lace up pair.

I really, really like shopping for a little boy. I love little blazers and hats and bow ties. It's more of a challenge than shopping for a girl, but it's so much more fun.

What about y'all? Do you prefer shopping for a girl or a boy?