(Picture: Kells Natural Photography)

A mother has created the most beautiful photo series of her five-year-old son wearing dresses in the hope of inspiring other parents to accept their children just as they are.

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Crystal Kells’ son, Cian, chooses what he wants to wear every day, and he absolutely loves dresses.

Crystal told Metro.co.uk: ‘99% of the time, he will choose wearing a dress over a shirt and pants/shorts. His favourite thing about them is the twirl.

‘He always has a choice of what to wear. I of course support his choices with love and respect.


‘I was raised very liberally, so when he expressed an interest in wearing dresses, I thought, why not?

(Picture: Kells Natural Photography)

‘I’m all for equality among the sexes.



‘If little girls can be celebrated for being and doing things like a boy, why can’t a boy be celebrated for embracing things that are feminine?’

(Picture: Kells Natural Photography)

Crystal, who’s from Hamilton, Ontario Canada, is so proud of her son for being comfortable in himself and feeling free enough to wear what he wants that since last year, she’s been taking photos of him in his lovely outfits.

She has since taken enough photos to create a series and is sharing them on social media in hopes of empowering both children and parents.

(Picture: Kells Natural Photography)

Crystal said: ‘It wasn’t one specific shoot. Some of them were pictures I did of him in his dance recital pictures from last year, some are from mother’s day this year, the glitter one is from mother’s day last year and the ones of him in the ballet leotard and skirt are the most recent… just a day after his dance class.

‘I wrote a blog about my son and shared some pictures of him with hopes to inspire people. To inspire people to love themselves and their children just as they are.

(Picture: Kells Natural Photography)

‘Society is changing. How we view ourselves and others are changing. My son has changed me. He has made me a better person.

‘He has inspired me to love myself, to have confidence when I didn’t have much before. He has taught me to love more and judge less. I wanted to share all of that with other people.’

Crystal said that the photos were captured in various everyday locations, with some happening in her home studio while others were at local parks in her areas. ‘The shoots are usually very quick,’ she explains.

(Picture: Kells Natural Photography)

‘I tend to know when I’ve got the shot that I want.’

Alongside hoping to encourage others to be more accepting, Crystal says the shoots she does with Cian are also just for fun – both for him and for her.

(Picture: Kells Natural Photography)

She said: ‘The shoots I do with him are for fun and for my own personal wants of documenting my son as he ages. The blog post and the sharing of the images was to raise awareness.’

Cian doesn’t always wear dresses. Crystal says she encourages him to wear whatever he likes – though dresses really are his favourite thing to wear.

(Picture: Kells Natural Photography)

‘Sometimes we do encourage wearing shorts or pants with a shirt when we do things like hiking or go-karting…. activities where it isn’t always a safe idea to be wearing a dress,’ she told us.



She added: ‘I purchased some of the items as surprises and gifts, but they are all items I know he loves and would choose himself.

‘Actually, the one dress that is the white top and blue skirt, he BEGGED me to wear and do pictures in.

(Picture: Kells Natural Photography)

‘9.5 times out of 10 he chooses to wear a dress.’

Since sharing her photo series online, Crystal says that the reaction has been mainly incredibly positive.

She said: ‘Of course, not everyone agrees and I don’t expect them to. But, the post is not for those people.

‘It’s for the people who want to celebrate my son with me and to educate those who don’t.’

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