Teen boys and clothing

[lmintzer]

Wondering what other teen boys (or older tweens) are wearing. My 14-year-old is super picky about clothes. Just spent an exhausing 3-4 hours at the mall with him and his less-than-willing younger brother. I seriously walked over 8,000 steps!

His most common mode of dress in name-brand athletic wear (Nike, Under Armour, some Adidas and Puma). He likes shorts and the dry fit style shirts the best. We also bought a few pairs of long pants (though will only wear them if it is extremely cold or over shorts on the way to the bus). The other type of shirt he tends to wear are t-shirts from races or school soccer team shirts.

He also likes to "dress up" about once/week in a Polo or American Eagle polo style short sleeve shirt (the latter is still a bit large for him) and cargo khaki shorts or occassionally cargo long pants. He also will wear a crew neck tee (solid) and just bought a waffle textured longsleeve shirt to pair with cargos. He also considers American Eagle graphic t-shirts and cargos to be dressed up. : )

For shoes, he's into Nike, but he can't fit too many types due to having a wide foot. He used to like loud colors but this year chose black. We just got him a pair of Sperries in canvas (they are two-toned--kind of original--they look like a canvas boat shoe). I see a lot of teens in solid canvas sneaks around here--like Vans, maybe?

He likes a thin sweatshirt or his soccer warm-up jacket as a coat. He has a North Face fleece from last year that he'll wear if it's below 30.
Winter coat? A no go so far. He's grown out of his LL Kids parka and has nothing for this year (I asked him what he'll do if he wants to shovel snow or gets asked to go skiing?). I really don't know what he'll be willing to wear.

To make matters worse, the high schoolers do not use their lockers and instead carry their backpacks all day long. He has a HUGE (and I mean huge) LL Bean commuter backpack that can hold the immediate world. But he probably wouldn't want to stuff a winter coat into it.

All this "name brand this," "name brand that" makes him sound like a snob, but he's very appreciative when I do take him shopping.

I feel like there's not a ton of variety in his wardrobe. He doesn't really have all that much--he's tough to fit (short for age and athletic build).

Anybody else? Oh, and my 11 almost 12-year-old doesn't care what he wears at all. Rarely. He did get excited about picking his sneakers for school this year, but that's unusual for him.

[SnuggleBuggles]

My teen doesn't care one bit. I buy him whatever and he wears it. He's unaware that brands even exist. . Uniforms for school so I don't need to buy him much anyway.

[g-mama]

My son will be 15 in a couple of weeks - a freshman in high school. He cares very much about what he wears. He plays soccer and is very athletic, but unlike most other boys he does not like to wear athletic clothes to school. He will once in awhile when he's feeling "bummy" but prefers to wear khakis, jeans, t-shirts, button ups...for shoes either Nikes or Vans. He wears his team soccer jacket when it's cool out and will wear a North Face when it's colder. We buy his clothes from American Eagle, Hollister, and Old Navy. At 5'9, he also borrows from his dad's wardrobe now.

I don't know why he prefers not to wear athletic clothing to school other than that I've always dressed my boys up more than that simply because I've always liked shopping and dressing them. My younger two are the same way. He also seems to get attention from the girls who compliment him for always looking nice so maybe he likes that it makes him stand out.

I wish name brands weren't so important, but they definitely are. I am a bargain shopper and never pay full price. He had a summer job and he sometimes buys his own clothes, too.

[oneplustwo]

Our high school is the same ~ there are lockers, but nobody uses them (not convenient) and everyone carts around their enormous, overstuffed backpacks everywhere. I have a highschooler DD and two middle schooler DSs. I have no idea what DD will do when she starts to wear her winter coat; she has no room in her backpack for it. We have the same trend towards little outerwear during our freezing winters as well, at least for the boys. However, my boys were happy to have NorthFace down coats last year for the really cold and snowy days instead of their usual LL Bean sherpa hoodies, and they will wear them again this year (I bought them big to get two years out of them). Around here, teens tend to wear NorthFace for outerwear. Middle school boys are all athletic wear, all the time. High school boys are split 50-50 athletic wear and Hollister/American Eagle from what I can tell.

[niccig]

My DS is nearly 11 and he wears similar clothes. He wants athletic clothes, but thankfully doesn't care about brand so wears target's version mostly. He will wear jeans but it has to be cold for him to put on long pants. He'll also wear soccer uniform shirts from previous seasons to school, and he has several of those. The trend lately is for the clothes to be bright neon. Latest pair of sneakers is neon yellow. Add to that the neon top and shorts with a neon strip, and it's blinding, but he's easy to spot at pick-up. Most of the boys in his class wear similar clothes. I've insisted on a few nicer clothes/shoes when he needs them, but I just let him choose his everyday clothes. It's not a battle I'm willing to fight. If your son is fine with his clothes, I would just let it be for daily wear, but have a few nicer things when he needs to dress up more.

[essnce629]

My teen doesn't care one bit. I buy him whatever and he wears it. He's unaware that brands even exist. . Uniforms for school so I don't need to buy him much anyway.

I think our kids are very similar! DS1 (12) could care less as well! He does not like sporty clothing and pretty much wears the same thing every day-- khaki shorts and a Dr. Who t-shirt (I bought him 6 for his birthday)!

[Meatball Mommie]

My DS who is 12 is similar. He has to wear a uniform to school so his wardrobe is pretty small. The hard part is that he has a very athletic muscle-ly build. Thick thighs from all the skating he does! Pants are a nightmare to find. He likes athletic pants or cargo pants but isn't picky where they come from (thankfully!). He likes Under Armour and Nike sweatshirts but his t-shirts are usually from hockey tournaments or for our local teams (Bruins, Patriots, Red Sox). He likes the t-shirts from Old Navy since they are soft and tag-less. Not really picky as far as brands yet - he doesn't really comment much - it's more about feel and comfort still.
DS2 is 10 and doesn't care much about clothes...shoes...well that's different! Loves to look at different Nike's

eta: Winter coat? What's that? Seriously, my two don't wear a winter coat unless they are going skiing or sledding. They have warm up jackets for their hockey team that they wear in the winter even. The only concession is that they'll wear a hat. I don't even fight that battle...haven't for several years. I figure if they aren't allowed out for recess because they aren't dressed appropriately or if they're cold, then that's the natural consequence.

[gatorsmom]

My teen doesn't care one bit. I buy him whatever and he wears it. He's unaware that brands even exist. . Uniforms for school so I don't need to buy him much anyway.

This is is us. Gator is 12yo and wears a uniform all week long. Then on Sundays, for church, he wears his uniform pants and I pair it with a sweater and button down shirt. In the summer he wears his uniform pants with a golf shirt to church. Other than that he has 2 pairs of jeans (Levi's 505) that he will wear with a golf shirt or button down and sweater if he wants to dress to impress, a ton of t shirts from various places and some athletic c9 tees. He pretty much lives in his c9 to shirts and c9 athletic/warm up pants at home. In the winter he throws a fleece zip-neck over it all. He still fits into some Janie and Jack sweaters so I always scan the sales section for their sweaters. They are great quality so I don't mind spending more because I can pass them down to his brothers. Not sure where I'm going to get him sweaters when he outgrows that brand.

Winter coats and bibs are lands end (because he loves the thumb-hole sleeve) and he down hill skiis all winter so he has a nice ski coat too.

[JBaxter]

Athletic shorts and T's are our Tween uniform here. He could care less. Oh I would just laugh if he demanded all Nike or Under Armor We have some but if he wants it not on sale he can buy it. Thankfully he hasn't gotten into that.

[mariamintonwa]

My boy 14 and girl 9 are colorful wearing, but I dont see them care much, they like almost clothes I bought