<p>My son basically took his California wardrobe back east.</p>
<p>Warm weather: Plaid shorts (from Old Navy), t shirt, flip flops</p>
<p>Cold Weather: Jeans, t shirt, hooded sweat shirt, Vans sneakers</p>
<p>We did buy him a winter coat but he said he only wore it about 5 times - it was just too bulky</p>
<p>He also has some khakis and polo shirts for more dressy occasions. He has a suit at home but hasn’t had a need for it yet at college.</p>
<p>If anyone out there is looking for a suit for a slim guy, try Alfani Red at Macy’s. Be sure to wait until they’re having a sale. On sale, I bought the jacket and pants (sold separately which is perfect for slim guys) for about $185. It looks tailored made for my older son (slim, athletic but not built like a weight lifter–more like a soccer player).</p>
<p>I thought I’d share this info because it’s so hard to find a well fitting suit for slim guys that doesn’t cost a fortune. We were so happy to find one that fit. The only tailoring that needed to be done was hemming the pants.</p>
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<p>I tested Alfani Red today (it was on one of Macy’s frequent sales – Macy’s seems to be the kind of store that you probably won’t ever have to pay regular price at since the thing you want to buy will be on sale next week or so if it is not already).</p>
<p>The trousers are cut very strangely, as if you have very little gluteus maximus or quadriceps muscles. I had to go 2-3 sizes bigger in the waist to avoid it being too tight around the buttocks and thighs (of course, then the waist was too big).</p>
<p>The jacket did not seem to be very slim cut, since it had way too much material in the abdominal area for the size that fit in the shoulder area.</p>
<p>Seems like it may fit best on the “marathon runner” body type.</p>
<p>My dad worked for a brief time at Macy’s (something to do once he retired; he mainly shops there shoe wanted the discounts), so he’s familiar with the brands sold there. He said Alfani sucks!</p>
<p>^EDIT: so he wanted the discounts (not “shoe”)</p>
<p>My son shops at J Crew, Vineyard Vines and Brooks Brothers mostly. He wears chinos (red, green, khaki, etc…) to class most days. He wears plain front shorts in various colors when it is hot. He almost always a collared shirt. One day he wore a t-shirt and jeans to class and he said several people (even some girls he didn’t know) commented. He thought it was funny, he likes dressing up a bit. He owns a suit, sadly he has worn it to several funerals. He also has several blazers and a tuxedo. His tie collection is fairly large also. He had to dress for dinner twice a week at boarding school, that helped start a nice dress wardrobe. We give him a clothing allowance twice a year, not very much actually, but Birthday and Christmas gifts supplement his wardrobe nicely.</p>
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<p>What sucks about it?</p>
<p>He said it’s just really bad quality and like an attempt at appearing classy but a fail</p>
<p>Sorry, the style didn’t work out for you. It worked out great for my son–slim/athletic and I guess you could also describe him as built like a runner. He did have go up one size in the pants which gave him room/leeway to tuck in a dress shirt.</p>
<p>As far as sucking goes, it looked good on my kid. Not everyone can afford $400+ suits.</p>
<p>This thread is great</p>
<p>Well, Macy’s told us they had nothing in a 27 or 28" waist for young men. S tried their size 16 boys slacks & it just didn’t fit right & nothing else in terms of slacks they had fit him properly either. 
Same with Nordstroms. We may end up watching for the next sale that BR has for khakis in his size. He IS challenging to fit & we have urged him to get a few things tailored while he’s in Thailand, but who knows whether he will REALLY do it! Kids!</p>
<p>Off the rack clothing in Thailand may have a better chance of fitting him.</p>
<p>Good thought–perhaps he’ll look; he’s never been much of a shopper, but who knows?</p>
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<p>I like this list, it seems to fit both my college age boys who have very different styles. In CA, however, the flannel shirts are out and you wont see too many North Face winter coats on the under 40 crowd. Air Jordans should only be worn for sports. Duck boots? Desert boots? Both will only wear Vans. Vans with shorts require no show socks. Sweater vests and leather jackets seem to be making a comeback as are cut off jean shorts (uhm yuk!). The swim suits are definitely going retro and are moving back above the knee.</p>
<p>For good prices try Target and Old Navy. If you tell us what part of the country he is going to, people could be more specific for their region.</p>
<p>I’d like to get a medium weight transitional jacket for my son - something for spring and fall. Right now, he’s wearing an REI fleece zippered number, but he needs a slightly dressier jacket. I haven’t seen anything in the stores. J. Crew has a few army fatigue styles, but I think that they look fairly contrived, and he would not like leather. What do other boys wear?</p>
<p>BTW, HImom, my son is 6’ 135 pounds - his actual waist size is 28, which is almost impossible to find. I just bought him a few pairs of J. Crew 30/32 and they are working. They sit on his hips, not on his waist, which also gives the pants more needed length. Because the khakis are slim cut, they look fine. Surprisingly, he doesn’t need a belt. In the last year, I’ve polled many tall thin boys and they all seem to buy 30s and wear a belt.</p>
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True, flannels are on their way out but Northface is ubiquitous at east coast/upper-midwest schools. And I love my Vans as much as anyone but good luck trudging through two feet of snow in flimsy canvas surf shoes (I’ve tried it…it’s not fun). LL Bean duck boots are more of an Ivy League thing, everyone guy here seems to own a pair. If you’re a Californian going to a northeast or midwest school, you need to start planning your wardrobe around the seasons, which I know is a foreign concept for you coddled west coast people :)</p>
<p>hahaha Caillebotte about the Vans in snow! I’m with you on how ridiculous they are but where we live (which got over 600 inches of snow this year) everyone still wears Vans–ok the girls often have really cute boots. S went on a trip to Montana and it was well below freezing, and he still wore his Vans–Ugh! </p>
<p>I do have one that is heading east–He’ll need to catch up. He only wears ski/snowboard jackets. Northface is for preppy mom’s and dad’s. Duck boots–I googled them. I was thinking of those dorky things from the 80’s. But I guess a “Sorel” qualifies. S uses those when he has to snow-blow the driveway. Maybe being warm and dry will supersede being “cool”.</p>
<p>Did anyone have “The Preppy Handbook” back in the 80’s? It seems like many of those styles are back (or never left?)</p>
<p>Gourmetmom–</p>
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<p>I have one of these guys too but only 14. Have your son try skinny jeans. We were so excited to find a pair of pants that actually fit his waist. They don’t look “skinny” on him but just normal.</p>
<p>“Skinny” jeans actually look ridiculous on him, probably because he is tall and fairly big boned. The narrow legs just accentuate his skinniness. A regular cut khaki makes him look a little more filled out than he really is.</p>
<p>If the “skinny” jeans are cut like those Alfani Red suit trousers, then you’d have to have very little buttock and thigh muscle to even fit into them (without going to a larger size that results in the waist being too loose).</p>