<p>I’m a little out of the loop about most things cultural. I’m clueless.</p>
<p>What kind of clothes - tops, pants, shorts, shoes - are average college-age boys wearing? Looking for things that wouldn’t look out of place in typical situations. And nothing expensive.</p>
<p>I’d appreciate online ideas too, especially sites like kohls, llbean and landsend, which I’ve dealt with before.</p>
<p>Thanks for any ideas!</p>
<p>Are you a college-age boy?</p>
<p>I’d say, depending on the occasion/weather, jeans, shorts (athletic ones or like khaki, cargo’s comin back too), T-shirts, sweaters, hoodies, button-downs, fleeces, topsiders, sneakers, etc.!</p>
<p>I think the correct answer is a gift card if it is for someone else’s kid, and cash if it is your own. Young adults like to check out what their peers are wearing, and choose from that what they’d like to get for themselves.</p>
<p>Depends on what they are into. My S is into sports and loves to wear unusual T’s saying something about local sports teams. I can usually find them online by googling “red sox tees” or something like that. My S would not go near an LLBean or Lands End article of clothing. He will wear Kohls though and they have a nice selection of sweats, tees, sweathirts in their young mens section. Buy big, most of the boys I know like their clothing baggy.</p>
<p>I would also suggest that one needs to take into account where the college is located.
My S at school in the Southeast, wears lots of khakis, and has many button downs at school and topsiders. (But yes, still has tshirts/sweats/team shirts) It’s very different from his friends that are on campus in California in shorts and flipflops. On advice from his older sister, he took a limited variety to campus initially, and then either had me send or bought more of what he felt what would be the best for his wardrobe…</p>
<p>^That is an accurate assessment of the Southeast, though they do wear lots of shorts, t-shirts and flip-flops in the summer.</p>
<p>My son was reluctant to do a lot of clothes shopping before he left for college. He wanted to wait until he saw what others were wearing. I’m glad he didn’t buy a lot. Once he got on campus, he started changing his look a bit and started buying different brands. He has his ‘frat boy’ outfits (khakis and button downs, topsiders) and his ‘hiker boy’ look (Columbia sportswear, Chaco sandals). Seems like every time I turn around, he asking to add to his wardrobe. When I complain, he reminds me of all the money I saved over the years by not having to dress a daughter. :)</p>
<p>My son never wore full zip hoodies in high school, but tends to like them better in college. I suppose it is easier to adjust for classroom temps.</p>
<p>Those Nike or Underarmour dry fit/ loose fit colored tee shirts are great for kids to wear as a layer and they are easy to wash.</p>
<p>Recently mine have been wearing plaid shirts over t-shirts, khakis and topsiders. All three started wearing sweaters again this winter and sweatshirts not as often. Two years ago it was polo shirts, jeans and adiddas and sweatshirts. They all three still like polos but have preferences from logo to no logo. Cargo shorts all three gave up 5-6 years ago and plaid plain front shorts they gave up 3 years ago…now they just want neutral colored plain front shorts. Sandals are still flips and “chaco” type and that’s been the norm for at least six years. One will wear athletic shorts the other two would never be caught dead in public in athletic shorts. It’s interesting because they are in different geographic places but they all seem to gravitate toward the same clothes (with the exception of athletic shorts) so I assume it’s herd mentality nationally. Layering seems to be the norm with subtle differences in the layers.</p>
<p>My son only wears what he can get at Goodwill or Salvation Army stores. cheap! No dress code at his college.</p>
<p>bethievt: Love it! My S is king of the free t shirt. Or whatever anyone will buy him. I would not take my fashion advice from him though.</p>
<p>I find this is so regional. For instance we live near the Hollister Ranch and no one around here wears Hollister clothing yet it is popular mainly with HS kids all over the place.</p>
<p>More like, it was popular 5 years ago</p>
<p>If you go to college in California, don’t wear Hollister. It’s only popular in the East, even in high school.</p>
<p>I would suggest going with t-shirts, jeans, and flannels. Occasionally sweats, track pants, and hoodies.</p>
<p>Actually, I think my son and his girlfriend are trend setters. If not, they don’t care anyway, so that still works.</p>
<p>My son hates clothes shopping and anything trendy. We buy most of his clothes at Target.</p>
<p>Target has some great stuff</p>
<p>Ditto those who say don’t stock up & wait until your S sees what is being worn on HIS campus. S wore the same cargo shorts he wore in HS throughout college. He also wore surf shirts from HS & lots of free t-shirts he got from his U (he’s in LA, what do you expect) :). There are folks wearing the full range of clothing at his campus–preppie with khakis & long-sleeved or short-sleeved collared shirts to his more casual look. Different schools can be quite different, which you & your kid may notice when touring the campus.</p>
<p>Even how much students wear campus logo wear can vary by school.</p>
<p>S2 at big state u. in the south…in the winter, he wears jeans, thermal shirts of various colors w/ t-shirts underneath, hoodies, fleece jacket,Sperrys or suede ankle boots(like Clarks).
In warmer months he wears khaki shorts with a wide variety of t-shirts (anything from college t-shirts to ones from restaurants, businesses,sports teams). When he wants to “dress up”, he wears a Polo w/ his khaki shorts. He has a collection of RL Polos all bought at Goodwill. Footwear ranges from Sperrys to Rainbows to running shoes depending upon the occasion. He has a black Columbia rain jacket for those rainy day hikes to class. </p>
<p>S1, an '09 college grad from diff. big state southern u., wears Quiksilver,Hurley,O’Neill t-shirts along with college t-shirts and ones from various bars and restaurants. He wears Khaki shorts and some plaid ones too. He wears a lot of workout clothes. S1’s favorite shoes are Vans and Sanuks.<br>
Winters wear is jeans,t-shirts and hoodies with some button up longsleeve shirts for going out at night.</p>
<p>^ both sound stylish and what typical “cultured” college kids would wear (S1’s style is more common on West Coast)</p>
<p>Packmom I would say you described the same look…it’s a pretty universal look for the OP all over the country (mine are in the west) if she’s searching for clothes. Mine are similar although they don’t wear running shoes and they’ve given up on the plaid shorts for the most part. Mine also got the Clark-like “ankle boots” for winter this year (they bought them). They have the Sanuks but were never into the Vans. They have all transitioned from the wider boot cut leg jeans to a slightly narrower jean I noticed…but not the skiinny jeans (they aren’t lanky boys).</p>