8.04.2011

jon j. hypocrite

i hate a jon jon.

you know, the one piece uni-suits for little boys? they usually have some sweet embroidery of a full train scene (or something way crazier like these designs?!?!) across the chest or even, god forbid, smocking (i think i just threw up in my mouth). i have seen poor, sweet 5 year old boys wearing these things and i go back and forth between being afraid they are going to get beat up for wearing them, and actually wanting to beat them up myself (note: joking. i do not want to beat up anyone under the age of 21).

let me say that i have friends that i adore who dress their children in these and it in no way makes me think less of them. i would say approximately 100% of these moms have better taste and style than me in general. i think i can understand the sweet, classic appeal of these little man-rompers, but give me old navy cargos and a tiny tee shirt any day.

yesterday i picked judah up from my parents. during the summer he stays with them 1 or 2 nights a week. all parties involved LOVE this setup. but it's always fun to see what he comes home wearing. 90% of the time it's his own clothes, but every now and then judah is in some little gem that my mom has kept from my little brother's old wardrobe. maybe the reason i needed to pummel tripp so much growing up was because he was bedecked in a crotch-snapping uni-suit. hmmmm...

1987. (the perm: why, mom, why?) tripp is wearing a rocking purple dinosaur appliqued jon jon from none other than chocolate soup. i remember seing this store at lenox mall and being so excited to go inside. i mean, if they made soup using chocolate, what other crazy fun things were going on in there?!?! this was my first brush with false advertising and the moment i became a jaded consumer.

so imagine my feelings when i saw judah wearing this very item yesterday (sans purple short sleeve dress-undershirt). my first instinct was to grab a bag to catch the forthcoming vomit in. then i realized that my gag reflex wasn't engaging. that's strange. i looked closer. he didn't look disgusting. one more closer look. hey, he actually looked cute!

my mom swears judah pitched a fit to wear this all weekend, "i wun die-sewers!" and that he really loved the crotch-snaps for all his potty training needs (my parents house is a bastion for potty-learning). whether it was her or him, i dont really care, because i am either losing my mind or my little guy really ROCKED the jon-jon. and yes, 50% of the cuteness is that he looks like a total nerdy-bomb...i havent lost myself completely, now.

just a stegosaurus and a brachiosaurus foraging on my son's abdomen. no big deal.

"dad, are you sure this is okay, fashion-wise?"


his purple dinosaurs match his purple (formerly barbie jammin jeep) powerwheel. yay for breaking down gender color stereotypes!

AG! freaking so 1923, but i dont even care. i love it! it's vintage, yall.

struttin'


ok, he's doing underwear model poses. shut it down. but seriously, the kid loves himself, and you kind of can't blame him.

i think this only works for me because it's a rarity and because it's so hot. the boy deserves as much airflow as possible up in there; especially since we make him keep his blonde heat helmet on at all times. we will NOT be rocking this with a turtleneck come cooler weather.

am i a total hypocrite? do you so judge me or the jon jons? are you a die-hard jon jon lover? (if so, please extol their virtues here!) is there any other kids fashion movement that you despise?

romp on, my little man. romp on.

21 comments:

  1. I'm with you. My son doesn't wear them either. Especially the smocked ones...gross. But Judah does look adorable and that overrules any previous opinions. Just don't send him to Kindergarten in it.

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  2. Oh my word that's so freaking cute!! Ok, I'll confess my son wears stuff exactly like this. My mom buys them, I make fun of her and tell her I'm not putting my son in them, she puts him in them anyway...and then the same thing happens--he looks adorable! My mom's argument is the same every single time. "He has his whole life to wear jeans and tshirts. Just let him stay little." She's convinced they look cute in this crap because it let's them stay little boys. Maybe she's right. And if not, she babysits him 5 days a week so my say is long gone anyways!! :)

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  3. Eew. Definitely not my thing. We, too, are a polo and cargo shorts type of fashionistas here. I'll give you a break in that the dinosaur one isn't that bad. He's got the long hair to give it some cool factor.
    I don't even do smocked stuff on my girls. Not much for mongrammed stuff either. I think it is all really cute on other kids, just not really my thing, ya know?

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  4. ha. haha. HAHA. your posts always crack me up. & i'm with you: smocked Jon-Jon's = NO! but your kid is rocking my socks off in that. he knows how to work it. ;)

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  5. Interesting timing, as I was just pondering the fashion choices of our parents' generation when Abby Dockery posted a pic of her and her brother John from when they were little. I think they are cute until the kid is 2, but after that point, I'm not a fan. However, Judah looks simply adorable! And since when does it matter what they wear when they are just playing at home? :)

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  6. @wardfam: yeah, dont argue with the 5 days a week babysitter! especially if you get a family discount!

    @jamie i saw their pic right after i published this and thought "thats funny!" i gotta admit that i would take him in public in this outfit without hesitation though. judge?

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  7. I HATE THESE THINGS TOO. I encountered them en masse when we lived in Mississippi--it is all Southern women dress their children in, and the more monogramming, the better. Thankfully Illinois seems to have better sense, as long as you're willing to ignore the John Deere and the tiny Bears jerseys.

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  8. UGH - BOTH my sisters put their kids in NOTHING but Jon Jons. ALL year round. HOWEVER - I put Parker in a cotton (T-shirt material) alligator print jon jon last week bc it was SO stinking hot outside and I wanted him to be as cool as possible. Well - wouldn't you know I thought he looked absolutely adorable in it! Ha ha. I don't think I can bring myself to borrow all my sister's jon jon's (they are ALL applique and/or smocked and/or monogrammed) - but when you have cuties as PRECIOUS as Judah and Parker... it's hard to make them look bad! Parker wore them when around my family when he was under the age of 1 simply because my family kept buying them for him - but it all stopped when he turned 2 when they still bought him stuff - and I kindly refused it. But - you are right - J looks absolutely presh in the dinosaurs! :)

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  9. He is adorable! I love his "blonde heat helmet"!

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  10. i am laughing out loud right now. noah (my son) wears these one piece rompers (a.k.a jon jons?) because it is HOT and they are easy. but they are simple and not smocked. i have tried that before but my husband completely vetoes it before we walk out the door.

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  11. This probably isn't a surprise but I love them for the first few years. After that it gets a little silly. Judah can pull off anything though so watch out if your parents have one large enough for an eight year old!

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  12. Yesss! I am so glad you shared this glory with us all. Love the purple dinosaur from an age before we all had a bad association with "the purple dinosaur" (i.e. Barney (i.e. what I try to keep Annabel away from at all costs)). Awesomeness.
    Also, I FINALLY get my "after" pictures of the Barbie Powerwheels makeover! It looks awesome!

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  13. @ debra joy i said he same thing! i hate jon jons AND "the" purple dinosaur so the fact that i liked this was double amazement

    @milam fam i knew you were an offender! MB rocks the smocked frocks too. but i sill have nothing but love for you and your little traditional babes!

    @elliotts they are great for hot weather, i will give you that. and hooray for your hubby injecting his fashion sense! ;)

    @hillary, you were actually the first person i heard use the term "jon jon" so i have you to thank for that! and i have seen your nieces and nephews rock the smockage. mmmm...passs.

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  14. We rock the jon jons at my house and I love them... I especially love them since Graham is crawling and I can't stand his shirt coming up and his belly scraping the dirty floor. I do draw the line after the first year or two and NO NO NO "Long-alls." And keight, I have been the recipient of some of Tripps hand me downs - and even though I am usually a fan, your mom made some interesting color choices back in the day. Turquoise and orange? Really?

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  15. PS I can still picture myself sitting on that couch at Mano's and playing on the giant organ. Seems like just yesterday

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  16. I think my jon-jon line is when they reach 2... sweet before then, but just something not quite right after. I think that it is the length of the shorts.... that is what holds me back! I'm not judging.. my mom has sent my son home in way worse! Judah is cute no matter what length his shorts are!

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  17. Yeah, I'm not so sure that would have been allowed to leave the house. It is adorable though, and who doesn't have hilariously embarrassing picture of themselves from childhood? Isn't it part of the job description of parents to provide (in)appropriate rehearsal dinner slideshow fodder?

    And Debra, I couldn't agree more. Barney came on the other day, and is somehow MORE CREEPY THAN EVER. I didn't that was possible.

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  18. seriously...it always scares me how our worlds seem to collide right about the same time, every time...i just had a friend ask me if i could make jon jons last weekend. she said she always thought they were awful and never put her first son in them, but her sister always put her boys in them. now that she (my friend) has another little boy, she is reconsidering...i think they can be cute in the right print, with the right styling, as michael kors and heidi would say. judah rocks it, though, especially with the hair. the purple dinosaurs kill me...so unexpectedly cute mostly due to the vintage factor...although from a (wannabe) sewer's perspective, they kinda look like they were glued on with elmer's glue. still, he's adorable! can't wait to see what your mom digs out for layla-boo!

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  19. I think he looks PRESH! I mean super manly and cool. HA. I think taking the nasty shirt from underneath away somehow makes it 75% better. PLEASE no smocked neck.

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  20. i love this look! maybe you liked it on judah because it is vintage-y and nerdy with the giant purple dinos. not exactly what you would find at chocolate soup now a days.
    i am on the opposite end of the spectrum when it comes to childrens clothes. i thought i would love the more modern dresses for sibyl with geometric designs, bold colors etc. however, i have turned into my mother and she wears almost nothing but smocked dresses, monogrammed diaper covers or applique. if/when i have a boy that poor soul will have a bowl cut and wear jon-jon's as long as i can find them in his size. on holidays, they might even have a lace collar. don't forget the knee socks and white shoes! i especially love the boys outfits where the peter pan collared shirt button into the pants. i figure they have their whole lives to wear clothes that mimic adult clothes. not to offend, but the fashion movement that makes me want to gag is just that....kids clothes that could be engogio-ed into adult clothes. they are kiddos dangit!
    i have no idea how long this compulsion will last but i have a photo of me at age 12, at a dance (with boys, mind you), wearing a victorian style dress with lace, silk ties, etc and pantaloons.....yes. pantaloons! i do not hate my mother for doing this to me. she just insured i wasnt asked on a date until i was 16. i am probably the better for it now!

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  21. Oh I always love the old-fashioned stuff... smocking, jon-jon's, and bubble outfits. Yes!! I think they're so retro and presh :-)

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