December 10, 2008

Super Stylish Boys' Blessing Outfits


One of the advantages of having a boy baby is that you actually get a choice when it comes to his blessing/christening outfit. Girls are pretty much stuck with some variation of the long white dress, but with a boy, you get to choose between two different but equally flattering looks: the turn-of-the-century sailor or the 1980s bridegroom.

Our decision to bless Cameron at church last Sunday was kind of last minute, so I didn't have enough time to order a little Lord Fauntleroy outfit off the Internet. When I tried to hunt one down at the mall, I encountered unexpected difficulties. I learned from a perky sales clerk at Macy's that most department stores in my area only stock christening outfits during the farm animal birthing season. Human freaks of nature who are born in the Fall and Winter months are
punished accordingly for their rebellion.

I was counting on the mall to produce at least one handsome all-white tuxedo with tails or, at the bare minimum, an attractive pair of puffy white pantaloons. Eventually I did find the tuxedo, but it wasn't made of polyester, so I put it back on the rack.

My disappointment over not being able to spend at least $75 for a pair of newborn capris and matching silk-feel vest was palpable. Everyone felt awful for me, including my usually unsympathetic husband.

"If you really want to buy Cameron a pair of white Daisy Dukes with suspenders," he said, "I'm not going to stand in your way."

It's too late for the blessing, but I'm definitely going to order the outfit. Cameron will want to bless his own son in it someday.

20 comments

jana said...

That is SUCH a good point! Someone out there who could find the happy medium between 'baby, innocent, blessed, with 'stylish' would make millions. (And my name really is Jana too)

Lisa said...

I prefer the christening gown option, especially for little boys. We fondly refer to our son's photos in his gown as his first drag show.

Rachel said...

Mr. Farty wore white pajamas to his baptism. No frills here!
I say spend the $75 on something more 'practical' like a pair of Nikes he can wear for 3 days before he outgrows them.

Sant Family said...

My husband says dressing babies in white to be blessed is a held over pagan practice from christening. haha Not that we really believe that christening is pagan, because we don't. It's just that I was having a nervous breakdown about not finding something suitable in white for my tiny son. (This was back in the day BEFORE the internet so I did not have the access to the beauties you pictured.) We ended up blessing him in a pair of Gap khakis, white turtle, and a navy blue v-neck tennis sweater. Does that proclaim the year 1993 or what?

Liz said...

HA... I don't which I laughed hardest at...
Human freaks of nature who are born in the Fall and Winter months are
punished accordingly for their rebellion.
Or the fact that you're husband called the outfit white daisy dukes with suspenders!!! LMAO!

SimpleGems said...

Is it terrible that we blessed our little guy in white sweats? They were Gap? Does that make them ok?? Hmmm, I am starting to feel guilty...

I hope one day he forgives me...

Unknown said...

We just had Spencer blessed this past Sunday and I found a little white tux with tails and bow tie. It is true though, all we found were outfits with tiny crosses on them...or plain with a tiny tie that had a huge cross in the center.

Brossettelewis said...

You mean you didn't find something right after his 20w ultrasound? Then ya get what ya get and don't throw a fit.

PS: His Daisy's look hott!

me said...

I didn't go for white with my boys. Looked for something ctue and ended it there. Babies can be blessed in blue, right?

Leslie said...

You want to hear about no frills? I had both boys baptized sort of spur of the moment while I was visiting my parents in Colorado. Their neighbor is a Baptist minister - we're Catholic. I roped my brother into being my youngest son's God Father. He was visiting from Arizona and of didn't pack a suit for the occasion because he didn't know it was going to take place. Anyway, we were all in shorts, tank tops, and flip flops and my brother was wearing a Harley Davidson t-shirt. Luckily it was just the family and the minister but still -PWT to the core!!

Lindsey said...

You could have gone with the super classy blessing outfit that someone thought was ok for our church. A super stained onesie- that's all!! No socks, no blanket, no fake puffy paint bow tie....

Lydia said...

Next time you are going to have to plan your gestation a little more accordingly. Ha! That will teach you!

Anonymous said...

So, this is completely unrelated to the blessing outfits, so bear with me. Last night I had a dream, of all things, about Jana. I've never met Jana but have been a diligent reader of her blog. In my dream Jana came out to visit me in WA, even though in my dream we didn't know each other either. The kicker is that in the dream I couldn't remember her name, so I just introduced her to all my friends as "The Meanest Mom".

Becca said...

Honest to goodness, this made me laugh until I could hardly breathe. Now, what I really want to know, how much did those Little Lord Fauntleroy outfits cost?? (And my son was blessed in a gorgeous off-white GAP sweater that I found at a consignment store for $3.99. Yeeeeehaw.) But I do believe it did have polyester in it...

Nancy B said...

Aieeeeee. I can't think of a word stronger than "abomination" to define those outfits...but one should exist. Nevertheless, had you ordered the 80s bridegroom version and added a wee gold chain and blue ruffled shirt, it could have doubled as his Halloween outfit next year.

HW said...

Pictures of Cameron's blessing day? Please?

Ilana said...

I'm not sure what the Macy's strategy is...do farm animals usually have christenings, which they attend dressed in white outfits made for humans?(I am imagining baby goats and chickens wandering around the farm in Cameron's Daisy Dukes...)

Donna said...

I never ended up finding a blessing outfit for my son three years ago. Maybe they have an easier time out in Utah? I ended up having to buy an all-white button-up footed sleeper and wrapped him in a fancy white blanket I bought (which I found out later had a giant cross on it. Oops!).

Natalie said...

We have 2 boys, both born in the winter. My mother-in-law knitted a blessing outfit for the first one. A white sweater with matching pants. For the second one just over a year ago I found an almost matching outfit to the first at Babies-r-us. It was great. To bad I am 6 months pregnant and we will bless this boy in June...I can't find anything I like!

Tisha Taylor said...

Hi Jana, Recently seen your blog about the "blessing outfits" Did you ever find anywhere to get any fauntleroy outfitts? Or wharer did u find the type like in the pic u had for the blog?
Thanks Tisha :)
P.S. email ur response to
babygirl8302006@myspace.com