Redditor Designer_Detail_865 has a mommy blogger sister who loves a neutral color palette.
The Original Poster (OP) finds the colorless aesthetic amusing. Their amusement was elevated when they saw a TikTok describing “sad beige babies”. Immediately the OP thought of their nephew.
Recently while visiting their sister and nephew, the OP accidentally called the little one a “sad beige baby”.
This incensed the OP’s sister, driving the OP to subReddit “Am I the A**hole?” (AITA).
They asked:
“AITA for calling my nephew a sad beige baby?”
They went on to say:
“I have two kids (a 2-year-old and a 6-year-old girl), and my sister has a son who is 1.5 years old. She’s a mommy blogger and embraces the ‘white, beige’ aesthetic.”
“This preference reflects in every room of her apartment, including seasonal decorations, and she’s quite intense about it.”
“I’ve never said anything to her about it as it brings her joy.”
“Some months ago, I stumbled upon a TikTok channel where a woman adopts a fake German accent to ‘review’ fashion for what she calls ‘sad beige babies.’”
“I think it is really funny. It has become an I side joke at our home.”
“During our recent visit to her apartment with my parents and husband, my nephew was seated on my lap. We were playing.”
“I was wobbling him on my lap and pretended to ‘eat’ his little arms. As I was talking gibberish, I unintentionally slipped into the ‘sad beige baby’ persona.”
“I genuinely didn’t anticipate it becoming an issue.”
“However, when I mentioned ‘sad beige baby,’ my sister became furious. She expressed frustration, stating she’s tired of people critiquing her decorating preferences.”
“When my brother tried to explain that it was meant as a joke and that she is ‘too anal’ about her aesthetic, she angrily spilled her red wine on the white tablecloth, exclaiming, ‘Are you happy now?’”
“She then asked us to leave and has since inundated me with direct messages on Instagram, sending me numerous mommy accounts sharing the same aesthetic.”
“My mother believes I should apologize for my unintentionally rude comment. I’m utterly taken aback because, in truth, it wasn’t even directed at my sister.”
“My nephew happened to be wearing a beige sweater and made an exaggerated sad face, which prompted laughter, thus me calling him a ‘sad beige baby’”
“Edit: Yes, I tried to apologize. This is also not about if I should apologize or not. Even if I was 100 percent in the right, I would still apologize for hurting her.”
“We don’t bully my sister. The only time we make a comment is regarding her son. Like when family and friends gift him something colorfull and she throws it away on donates it.”
“The sad beige baby is not an inside joke about her. It’s an inside joke of a tiktok account.”
“Yes, I also call my children sad beige children. Like when they say they want a new toy or something, me or my husband go like ‘a sad beige toy for a sad beige child’”
“We also call them feral trash baby, stinky man, poopy gremlin, and more. They call us stinky goblin man and gobbo.”
“Also it’s my sister not my sister on law.”
Redditors weighed in by declaring:
- NTA – Not The A**hole
- YTA – You’re The A**hole
- NAH – No A**holes Here
- ESH – Everyone Sucks Here
Redditors decided:
“NAH for playing with your nephew, but you should apologize to your sister. She is hurt by it and it was a silly thing to say in her home when you know she takes her aesthetic so seriously.”
“Just an ‘it reminded me of a meme, but saying it was thoughtless and I shouldn’t have said it knowing how proud you are of your home. I’m sorry’.”
“EDIT: I want to clarify that my opinion is N T A for saying something without thinking about it. Same as you’re not T A for stepping on someone’s foot or walking into them.”
“OP W B T A if they don’t apologise.” – Tilly_ontheWald
“NTA. Babies and toddlers need contrast for visual development, especially in the first 12 months.”
“This aesthetic bullsh*t (no colorful toys??) has probably done most of its damage already, but no issue with you calling it out.” – C_Majuscula
“ESH. You for your comment that got out and her for overreacting.”
“Although this made me laugh:”
“‘She then asked us to leave and has since inundated me with direct messages on Instagram, sending me numerous mommy accounts sharing the same aesthetic.’”
“I’m not sure what she thought would persuade you about her good taste by sending lots of equally beige mommies for you to look at lol.” – JoinMyPestoCult
“Everyone who’s saying y t a has never heard of the sad beige baby meme and it shows lol. That’s honestly so funny.”
“Sorry she’s so sensitive. She must deep down know it’s weird to drain all color from a child’s life lmao NTA” – Stupidityconfetti
“NTA,”
“And I’m in shock at the amount of YTA responses.”
“I consider myself a goth and would love all black aesthetic but when I’ll have a baby, they will get all the colors for better brain development.”
“And you didn’t even said anything that bad.” – Meg-Finch
“Haha, NTA I know what you’re talking about. I sometimes see it on insta its kinda funny yeah .”
“The reason it hit a nerve is because it made her realize she’s using her baby as an accessory.”
“It’s funny how all the AH judgments seem to come from people. Who don’t know what op is talking about.” – ChickenFriedPenguin
“I’m sorry, maybe unpopular but absolutely NTA.”
“Sad beige clothes for sad beige children is a hilarious bit, and while I guess I can see it coming across as a little odd if you aren’t familiar with it…”
“…getting THAT offended over someone making a joke about her preferred aesthetic is ridiculous.”
“ETA: all of you voting ‘a-hole’ seem to overlook the fact that this grown woman got upset enough to dump red wine all over the tablecloth and yell at OP over a meme.” – bamboohobobundles
“YTA. You couldn’t even keep your judgemental attitude toward your sister out of the first paragraph. I bet she’d be thrilled to find out about her whole family laughing at her behind her back.”
“You should apologize” – jimbob19304
“If that’s how she reacts to such a minuscule comment then I’d hate to see how that kid turns out in the future. Nta. She’s a sad beige mom and she knows it.” – Atomie888
“I don’t see the harm in apologizing when you know you’ve hurt her feelings. Sure it’s an inside joke between the rest of you but the joke is at her expense.”
“Based on her reaction, throwing red wine on the couch I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s shared her annoyance before.”
“You made a joke, offended your sister, so just apologize and move forward. This is not a hill you should die on. YTA in this situation 🤷🏽♀️” – Embarrassed_Advice59
“ESH”
”You because your comment was deliberate and because you knew your sister would know exactly what you were referring to.”
“Your brother because he did the opposite of helping.”
“Your sister because her reaction was ridiculous.”
“Your mother is correct. Apologize and don’t do it again.” – AdvertisingLow98
“I worry that the aesthetic is going to damage children. They need bright colors and vibrant shades because their brains and eyes need that contrast.”
“We’re going to have a bunch of sad beige adults. Your sister is being a bit of an AH, but that’s no reason you need to stoop to her level. NTA, but I think you should still apologize.” – Silent_Syren
“Joke or not YTA I’ve never heard of sad beige baby. Well I have now and I have to say, If someone made a comment like that towards my child, I wouldn’t be happy.”
“If comments have already been made towards her about her aesthetics, it’ll no doubt already be a touchy subject.”
“Saying something like that at her child will no doubt cause her to react badly.” – Miserable_Humor5422
“NTA, because it wasn’t directed at her. She’s mad because she’s probably heard it before.”
“i don’t normally say this but apologize it’s easy I’m sorry my comment made you upset, I didn’t intend to hurt your feelings or disrespect you in your home’.”
“because you didn’t intend to hurt her feelings. this was just a hit dog hollers moment” – jsbleez
“Tell your sister that depriving infants, toddlers, and children in general of vibrant color stunts their development. This is a proven fact that she can research.”
“You are NTA, whether it hurt her or not. It is the truth. She is the boring equivalent of parents who force their fandom on their kids.”
“She is allowed to have her likes and dislikes, but his room should have color and vibrancy and bright toys. Caring more about her aesthetic than her growing child is selfish.” – cheesycrescentroll
There’s a time and a place for an aesthetic.