I love dressing my DD up. I was most disappointed when dresses proved to be impractical for crawling in. Now that she is almost walking, the dresses will be coming out again. Well maybe after winter the dresses will come out. I put clips in her hair. She pulls them out . Mostly, she wears t-shirts with leggings/shorts/nappy covers. I would just go t-shirt & nappy but DD likes to take her nappy off. But I love, love, love dressing her up.

DS used to be dressed in matching outfits. Now that he has decided to have an opinion for himself, I don't get a say. I'm lucky if I can convince him to actually get dressed in something I've bought him. Usually he insists on wearing whatever grandma bought him Although I had a win today.

Everyday stuff is practical but still nice - as in no holes, awful stains, or wrong sizes. For going out & parties, I dress DD up. I try to dress DS up but he won't always co-operate.

I don't see anything wrong with headbands or clips. I didn't put headbands on DD when she was a newbie but that was only because she screamed if I tried. I don't think there's anything wrong with encouraging little girls (or boys for that matter) to care for their appearance. People do judge on looks, particularly for first impressions. I will admit it, I have rejected potential dates because of what they wore (holey t-shirts didn't win me over!). If you can't make an effort to look nice for a date, what else will you not make an effort in? IYKWIM. I think the same goes for job interviews. Who would employ someone who didn't make an effort to look presentable? Keep in mind that I work in an office environment so appearance may not be important in some industries but when you deal with clients, it can be. If you can't make an effort for an interview, what kind of effort will you put into your work? JMO.

ETA: My DS loved pink! Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) there are no pink boys clothes otherwise he would wear it everyday. I think because it is a strong bright colour, it appeals to kids. So no matter what we do, they will love it. I do try to avoid pink for DD, but there's just no escaping it.