He does wear his own overcoat as that (along with his pair of old hand-me-down shoes) is the only item of clothing that Mrs Postlethwaite hadn’t burnt or cut into cleaning cloths… but protruding from beneath his overcoat is the pink day dress. He can feel the broad pink ribbon tied in a big bow flipping and flopping on the top of his head, and the moment he’s out of sight of Mrs Postlethwaite’s house, he removes it and scrunches it tightly in his fist before preparing to throw it into the hedgerow.
“Please don’t Billy… she’ll only get angry,” Alice advises. On second thoughts, Billy puts the ribbon in his pocket but Alice tells him to stand still whilst she puts it back where it should be. He moans, and quite rightly so since no boy should have to wear a ribbon in his hair, certainly not a pink one. “I know Billy but, all girls wear a ribbon.” Alice reminds him, “Even if they’re not really a girl.”