Bay Area Moms...what type of clothes do I need for my kids?

[aretheyallyours]

We are moving to the Bay Area at the end of the week! Dh has been out there for over a week and says it feels like fall. We live in the South so fall here is much different than other parts of the country. My big boys never need to wear pants. Maybe a sweatshirt in the morning. So how do I need to dress my kids? How do bigger kids dress in the Bay Area?

Thanks!

[crl]

It depends a bit on just where you will be in the Bay Area. South down the peninsula (Paolo Alto, etc) and Far East (Pleasanton, Livermore, etc) are warmer and can be relatively hot most of the summer and into the fall.

We have lived in San Francisco and the close in East Bay (warmer than the City, but color than most other places). Fall is really summer here and winter is the rainy season. My ten year old boy wears jeans or LE climber pants and short sleeve t-shirts year around. He doesn't like shorts though. There are a couple of boys at his school that wear shorts pretty much all the time. I would be cold dressed like that most of the year, but ymmv.

My ds wears a fleece lined rain jacket, LLBean's trail model (we had a horrible time with the zipper on the Discovery jacket), a lot. It is by far his most used jacket. He occasionally wears a hoodie. Those typically get used the most in the winter and spring, but have definitely been pulled out even mid-summer on cool days. It is never cold enough here for him to wear a true winter coat, although I wear one when I am sitting in the stands for baseball in March. We did have a very hot spell earlier this summer with a week in the nineties.

Catherine

[aretheyallyours]

Thanks for the response.
We are looking in the East Bay, very close in. I never thought about rain coats, so I will be putting that on my list!
Keep the advice coming, please.

[SnuggleBuggles]

My niece and nephew graduated from Berkley High and have long been into a more punk style of dress. Lots of layers too. I think neighborhood will influence fashion somewhat (I give an auntie eye roll when they tell me how suburban and same people are in my city when they are little cliches of counter culture along with all of their peers ;)). Visiting I the East Bay, fashion really runs in lots of directions but hoodies and such will be needed.

[wencit]

Keep in mind that we've had a relatively cool summer, so these fall-like temps are unusual for this time of the year. Also, depending on where in the East Bay you live, the temperature differential might be as much as 20-25 degrees! If you're closer to the shoreline, such as Oakland, you're going to be much cooler in the summer than if you live in the interior East Bay locations, like Walnut Creek or Dublin.

In general, my boys wear shorts and t-shirts throughout the summer, switching to t-shirts and jeans/long pants in the fall, starting around late September. In the morning, DS1 wears a light jacket (like the Hanna Andersson Wind at Your Back Anorak), but takes it off by the time the first recess rolls around. He could get away with a sweatshirt, too. In the winter, I do get a warmer coat for him, but I'm kind of a weather wimp. ;)

[citymama]

Welcome to the area!

Like crl says, it really depends where you are - even in SF, my neighborhood and crl's were *completely* different, like 20 degrees in the summer! But assuming you're in the fog belt, you need layers. Fleece is your friend - even in the summer, my kids wear fleece lined jackets on their way out to preschool/camp, with leggings and either short or long sleeved tee depending on what the weather forecast is. By lunch time, the fogs burns off pretty much everywhere and it can be downright hot depending on where you are. And then foggy again by 4 or 5! Their wardrobes consist of lots of leggings, long sleeved tees/dresses and hoodies. Their shoes are closed toe Keens or sporty mary-janes - no need for winter boots or lightweight sandals most of the time.

We have a rainy season - Dec-March, so rain boots and jacket are great. You don't need winter gear except for travel to snowy places. I buy my kids Fall clothing for year round use, with some summer stuff for beach days or when we drive 20 miles inland. That's all it takes to go from 60 degrees to 80 degrees in the space of half an hour!

[smiles33]

Welcome to the Bay Area!

How old are your kids and are they both boys? My girls are both young (4 and 7) so I'm not sure I can be much help, but I'll echo what the PP said about layers. Like citymama said, f you drive as little as 15 minutes in a different direction, you find a completely different microclimate. We have lightweight jackets/sweaters we wear even on "hot" days, as temps can go from low 60s to high 80s in the same day (sometimes it takes a while for the fog to burn off!).

If your kids are older (middle school and up), I'm guessing fashions will be dictated by the culture of their particular school. I suspect wardrobes from mall chains are typical in most Bay Area schools, but some of the more affluent ones may be more label-sensitive.

HTH!

[YouAreTheFocus]

Welcome! Since you mentioned east bay/very close in, I'm going to assume you'll be in my vicinity :) I have an almost 4 yo preschool boy, what ages are yours? My ds wears pants and ls tees for winter/spring, and pants with ss tees for summer/fall. The weather doesn't have very extreme changes season to season, so really switching between ls & ss is really the only change we make. He has never worn shorts! The closest we get are a few pairs of lighter weight roll up/button up pants for the warmer weeks. I do see the elementary kids in shorts, though. Similarly, we've had pullover/crewneck sweaters and lined pants for winter, but they just don't get much wear. And i agree your dc won't get much use out of a true winter coat, I feel like we buy him one every year but they rarely get used. For outerwear he has a fleece, regular weight hoody, fleece lined hoody, and something like a fleece lined shell or raincoat. For shoes I guess I tend to put him in more leather shoes in the winter and canvas in the summer, but I think a lot of kids really wear the same shoes year round. And yes, rainboots for all!

In general I find clothes pretty easy out here (i'm from the northeast) and its just nice that you can wear pretty similar clothes year round and don't have to do the major closest change out between summer/winter.

[aretheyallyours]

Thanks everyone for the advice. I have some shopping to do!
To those who asked, I have four boys ranging from 12 to almost 2 and a 7 year old dd.
I love that I am going to be able to buy for basically one season. It's going to make shopping so much easier.
My dh is already out there and has commented on the micro climates and the wind!

[Globetrotter]

Welcome!

I wrote a long email last week but lost it, so I will try to summarize. Like pp's said, it depends where you live so look up temps. We are in the East Bay. Generally speaking, ds wears short sleeves and shorts in the summer, adding a light jacket for the evening and sometimes pants (he doesn't get cold like I do - I always need something on my legs at night!). In the spring and fall, he does long sleeves and light pants and maybe a thin jacket on cooler days and a coat in the evening or short sleeves and pants on warm days. In the winter he wears long sleeves or tnecks and sometimes fleece/heavy knit pullovers plus cords/heavy knit/fleece pants (he likes the softness :)) and a coat in the evening. We generally use ski jackets only for skiing :) and rain gear comes in handy in the winter. It's cold rain so I find a fleece-lined rain jacket is ideal, or layer a rain jacket over a fleece jacket. We wear a lot of fleece :D

[citymama]

Welcome!
rain gear comes in handy in the winter. It's cold rain so I find a fleece-lined rain jacket is ideal, or layer a rain jacket over a fleece jacket. We wear a lot of fleece :D

Sorry to hijack, but where do you buy your fleece lined rain jackets? I think this would be perfect (for kids and me too!) - thanks!

[crl]

Sorry to hijack, but where do you buy your fleece lined rain jackets? I think this would be perfect (for kids and me too!) - thanks!

Not Globetrotter, but I have been buying LLB trail model fleece lined rain jackets for ds for years. The discovery version we bought had a horrid zipper, but the trail models have been perfect. Ds has worn some for two or three years and they still look brand new--and he is hard on clothes. They don't start until size 4, which might be too big for your youngest. Last spring I bought a $15 fleece lined rain coat at Costco for dd. It hasn't held up well at all and I'm not sure that they still have it, I haven't seen it when I have been in Costco this summer.

Catherine

[Kindra178]

Not Globetrotter, but I have been buying LLB trail model fleece lined rain jackets for ds for years. The discovery version we bought had a horrid zipper, but the trail models have been perfect. Ds has worn some for two or three years and they still look brand new--and he is hard on clothes. They don't start until size 4, which might be too big for your youngest. Last spring I bought a $15 fleece lined rain coat at Costco for dd. It hasn't held up well at all and I'm not sure that they still have it, I haven't seen it when I have been in Costco this summer.

Catherine

Not in SF but just wanted to plug the LLB fleece lined Trail Model Rain Jacket. Very waterproof, even sitting outside for two hours during a tball game. We, too, had some zipper issues with the Discovery.

[citymama]

Thank you both!

[YouAreTheFocus]

I am always surprised how many of us there are around here! I think we should do a meet up!

[Globetrotter]

City mama, I've found them at lands end in the past. I once found an awesome jacket when Talbots was ending their children's lines.. Wish I had bought it in every size because it's perfect for our weather!