<p>Not likely as I now have 2 pairs of formal shoes, 2 pairs of sneakers with on past its prudent replacement date, and a pair of 15+ year old seldom used timberland boots. I’d also never get brown shoes if I can help it. Prefer black for simplicity’s/practicality’s sake.</p>
<p>To the OP: I second comments to keep in mind your S is supposed to be 13 and does not need to be the perfect manifestation of young manhood just yet. :)</p>
<p>Moreover…depending on the school environment…being too well-put together may be the completely opposite of “cool”…especially among the boys.* </p>
<p>That was certainly the case at my high school…though it was a public and we didn’t really have much of a dress code.</p>
<ul>
<li>Some of us carry this over to our adult lives as my supervisors’ remarks about “monkey suits” shows. Incidentally…this is also a point with which some friends and I have used to make fun of one of the primary candidates…his love of wearing formal corporate wear…</li>
</ul>
<p>Land’s End has very clear instructions about how to measure for shirts in the men’s section. I got a great deal on a navy wool blazer from them a few months ago for DS.</p>
<p>For the formal wear, check around to see if any of the tux rental places have either a sample sale or an outlet. We have an outlet section at the local tux shop that has shirts for $5-7, pants for $10-15 and tux jackets under $25. My DS grew 8 inches in one year, so this place was very hepful.</p>
<p>For slim shirts, I recommend Express for men. they have very slim shirts, and are no-iron. DS gets most of his ties at Kohls, though I have purchased a few at Goodwill without his knowledge.</p>
<p>And with Lands’ End…if you’re still not exactly sure about what sizes to order, order a couple of different sizes…and then return the “wrong ones” to Sears…bring your receipt.</p>
<p>Lands End often has free shipping so you’re not paying more in the long run by ordering more.</p>
<p>I’ll give a couple of tips about dress shirts. You will be astonished how quickly they get dirty, especially the collars and cuffs. Unless you want to be washing and ironing constantly, get more than a couple. You might be able to find some in thrift shops–I would definitely take a look.
Wearing a white t-shirt under the dress shirt may allow the dress shirt to be worn a couple more times–especially if your son is sweaty. He may not need antiperspirant yet, but when he does, the t-shirt will protect the dress shirt both from sweat and the antiperspirant.</p>
<p>As for ties: buy CHEAP ties, from the thrift shop if possible. They will be stained almost immediately.</p>
<p>I just want to thank you all again for the great information and advice. So many things I didn’t know and never would have thought of. This is one of the really wonderful things about CC.</p>
<p>Speaking of ties, one possible source other than buying them is to get them handed down from fathers, older siblings, uncles/cousins, etc. </p>
<p>Good way to save money and if the former owner or his family had good taste in selecting the quality/designs…may be better than what’s available/affordable.</p>
<p>I am not sure if this has been addressed about pants and belts. If a 13 year old is slim and stays slim for a while, length can become a problem. The pant that fits at the waist may become too short. I always bought unhemmed unpleated pants for my son. That wayI could leave a lot of let-out in length when I hemmed them. </p>
<p>Another issue about hemming and length is how low will the boy actually wear the pants. I worked in the cafeteria at the school 3 days a month and got a grin out of how low some boys wore their pants. I finally told my son that I was tired of seeing the hem of his pants getting over-worn when he “wore them low.” After that we compromised and he picked a low-ish spot as his “waist” so that the pants did not drag.</p>
<p>There is a thought that a belt should be a size larger than the pant waist size. If the boy is getting bigger fast, that can necessitate buying belts each time the pants waist size makes you buy new pants. There are belts that have double prongs and holes the entire length of the belt. These can provide a longer use of the same belt. Just be careful on the width of these belts. The largest standard width belt for belt loops is 1-1/2". There are pants that have larger loops, but you have to seek them out.</p>
<p>The ONLY dress code shoes my son liked were boat shoes. I quickly discovered that the ones from LL Bean were much, much better quality than the cheaper ones at Land’s End. The Land’s End ones fell apart within a few months (son wore them ALL THE TIME) the LL Bean were still in good shape after son outgrew them.</p>
<p>Very true at our school, too, katliamom. The dress code says black or brown shoes with a black or brown sole, but most boys wear boat shoes. The soles were white when we bought them. Son’s Sperrys have almost made it through an entire year and he’s worn them every day.</p>
<p>I am a girl but I wore a uniform for 12 straight years. </p>
<p>With the belt thing seriously have him keep a spare in his locker or something. I got detention once and it was because I completely forgot to grab a belt that morning. I could usually hide it but that morning my Biology teacher decided to do a uniform check and I was busted. </p>
<p>My high school had a pretty similar dress code. Khaki pants with green polos (while seniors wore a special color. My year they choose a Barney purple.) in the fall/spring while the winter was khaki pants with white button down (guys wear ties) and a blazer. Blazers were the worst. </p>
<p>Sperrys were extremely popular at my school. Most people wore the tan versions but got away with different versions of the shoes. Sperrys are a little on the preppy side for me but they were comfortable and were a better option. </p>
<p>Put your name on everything. Everyone will have some of the same things and your kid will probably misplace it at some point. At my high school people’s blazers were stolen frequently and they were costly to replace (around $75 for a poorly constructed and made with bad fabric).</p>
<p>A dean at DS’s school keeps spare items. If he forgets a belt, he can borrow one. He got some great ties as gifts through his HS years. He has quite a collection. A real bonus for DS is that if we are going out some place nice, he can put together a nice looking outfit without direction.</p>
<p>Just to add a thought to this seemingly dead thread. When we lived in the Jersey suburbs of NYC, one local Protestant church had an annual tag sale. They always had a boatload of blur blazers and similar gently used uniform requirements for the nearby private schools. Ask around–there is surely a similar one near you.</p>