swmmr984

My son has worn a uniform or a bathing suit his whole life. I need to buy him some clothes. What does he need--besides the obvious warm coat and underwear. What kindof shoes do kids wear--does he need any dress clothes, like a coat and tie. Do they wear jeans, cargos, Carhart, workshirts?

eli

for ND, apparently think warm. Windproof artifical fleece vests to go under a heavier jacket, wool not cotton sweaters, breathable rainwear, waterproof boots, plus plenty of T-shirts, khakis, jeans, Sperry topsider type shoes, sweat shirts, lots of underwear in case washings are far between. I'm an older guy, but those would be my tips.

irish68178

The weather isn't that bad, it gets down into the 20's but rarely ever goes below that. If you have some pants, sweaters, and a good winter coat (and hat, gloves, etc) you will be more than okay in my opinion. Other than that, it is warm in the spring/fall so of course normal summer stuff. Basically, just get whatever he will be comfortable in. I am not a fashionable person at all, I am all about comfort (I always had a uniform/dress code) so I just wear sweat shorts and a t-shirt. College, by and large, is not usually that that fashionable for a lot of people (though some people care, lol). I have seen girls that come to class all dressed up and others that come in their pajamas, it goes both ways. Lots of people wear jeans and collared shirts or t-shirts or things like that. As for shoes, just regular tennis shoes. There are formals so definately send him with some nice shoes, shirt, tie and sportcoat (with nice pants) but one set of nice clothes will work for most people. I hope that helps.

ghippleh

I agree with the above post. The winter is long and pretty cold. As long as you have a good coat and several pairs of pants you should be fine. One thing that stands out about the weather is that it is pretty windy all the time so make sure you have a wind breaker or something of the sort.

FightingIrish01

Hey do most kids dress preppy or is are they mostly jeans and sweathshirts?

ghippleh

Many kids do dress preppy but I personally just wear jeans or sweatpants and a sweatshirt pretty much everywhere i go.

plgallagher

maybe everyone should just wear clothes they normally wear and make sure they're practical and not think about what everyone else is doing

UCLAri

I tend to believe that clothing that covers his wingwang is best. Start from there, and work your way outward.

blammm

One thing he'll need that I forgot about freshman year was a business suit, especially if he plans on being a business major. There are a wide range of events that he'll need it for: class presentations, the academic convocation, formal dances, the career fairs, interviews, etc. Business majors definitely need a suit since most classes require students to give a formal group presentation. Anything will really do as long as it looks nice. It doesn't have to be new or designer label. Even hand-me-downs work (many of my friends use these and it really doesn't make a difference).

Other than that, most students wear preppy clothing from places like AE, Abercombie, and Hollister. But he can really wear what he wants and no one really cares. I'll wear t-shirts with cargos or jeans and it doesn't make much of a difference to me.

Have fun shopping.

TourGuide446

Make sure he's got some sort of waterproof Gore-tex lined shoes or boots. The campus isn't so huge that he'll need big insulated boots, but with rain, snow, and slush present for much of the school year, some sort of footwear to keep the feet dry will be a huge help. It might also be good not to buy everything before he gets there, so he can get a sense of what fits in and he can buy the stuff in South Bend.

alyssieann

note: There's an outlet mall in Michigan City, IN which is only about 30-45 minutes away from South Bend. It might be cheaper to go on a shopping spree there.