<p>There is a little boy in my house (he IS a little boy, darn it, and if you say otherwise I will put my fingers in my ears and sing loudly.) who is just on the cusp of growing out of boy clothing. What comes next? How are they sized and are there any particular stores that almost-former little boys prefer to shop?</p>
<p>My S, soon after “graduating” into men’s sizing discovered the following stores:</p>
<p>Beachworks (we live in CA)
Forever 21
H & M
Zara</p>
<p>It’s been a while, but I recall that they grow very fast at that age, and the manufacturers don’t seem to offer too much in the sizes that actually fit them!</p>
<p>The usual department stores have young mens clothing at more budget friendly prices than the top name stores. My H needs small/XS sizes so I have still been looking at the 8-20 areas of stores (got lucky recently with size small in mens not being too large- did an XL-S comparison and they were the same). Neither son nor H care much about clothes. You may just see what is sold in his size in the store section for young men at Penneys, Sears, Macys, Kohls or whatever stores in your area. Son, now a college grad, found suitable woven shirts at Penneys and such for his job (no stuffy corporate clothes required, I’m somewhat happy he didn’t opt for the acceptable polo shirt gear). When son, tall for age, needed larger sizes it was just a matter of going to another section of the stores. Young mens clothing is okay for school age kids, not too old looking.</p>
<p>My 19 year old would love his entire closet filled with J Crew items…$$$$$$…not happening!</p>
<p>My DS will get “dress” clothes from Kohls and tight button-sowns from Express for men (when on sale).</p>
<p>My son (17 yrs.old) is content to wear plain T shirts from the GAP, Old Navy, or J. Crew. For jeans, he, like many man-children, is all legs. We buy his jeans (29 Waist, 34 Length) from the GAP online. Lately, he wears cargo shorts everywhere (because he can fit his wallet and car keys in the pockets). Macy’s has a nice selection of quicksilver brand (which my son likes since they run longer (the legs again).</p>
<p>My 20 year old son has a closet full of J Crew, Vineyard Vines, Brooks Bros. and odds and ends from the local surf shop. He does shop at the outlets occasionally, otherwise he gets clothing as gifts.</p>
<p>At this age I highly recommend Target because whatever your buy him this week will not fit next week.</p>
<p>My kids mostly got clothes at Old Navy. Younger son tends to pick stuff up at Salvation Army! He got razzed for wearing a suit jacket with his jeans, till he pointed out to his friends it had cost him $7!</p>
<p>Zooser, S2 went from 5’'8" to 6’2" between the end of 7th to the end of 8th grade. After his Bar Mitzvah suit, did not buy him another one til winter break of freshman year of college (and he is now 6’4"). Khakis and dress shirts from Kohl’s were more than sufficient for dressy occasions in HS. I was not going to spend lots of $$ on clothes and shoes that he’d outgrow in 20 minutes.</p>
<p>I have one of those 29W/34L boys, too. He is not picky about clothes. Got him a suit senior year of HS at Men’s Warehouse and it still fits him, though we have had the jacket and pants lengthened. He now fills out the shoulders nicely, too. He did not have the sudden, huge growth spurt his younger brother did (5’3" to 5’8"), but has consistently been getting 1/2" taller each year. </p>
<p>I replaced shoes faster than jeans for both guys.</p>
<p>My S2 grew 8 inches in two years and even has stretch marks from the rapid growth! He’s a 30W/34L guy.</p>
<p>S2 got stretch marks, too. Got more of them when he did weight training for football. His legs were also really achy at various points during that growth spurt.</p>
<p>My son gets jeans at PacSun. Their skinny jeans look like regular jeans on him.</p>
<p>I am taking notes here! Thank you all so much. Boys are such strange creatures, aren’t they? He had to wear a shirt and tie for his 8th grade graduation pictures yesterday. Seeing him standing there in that outfit was enough, but when he spoke and that deep voice came out of his mouth, I was done for.</p>
<p>Kohl’s, Target, American Eagle, Old Navy…mine especially like the khaki pants from American Eagle- I wait for a sale/sign up for their email notifications. Jeans from Old Navy fit my boys well. I’ve shopped Kohl’s for more dressy ocassions like school dances, a wake, etc. I second the need to be economical as these boys just keep growing!</p>
<p>We also go looking for 30x34 pants - not easy! We do well at Kohls which does have Young Mens department between kids and mens sizes.
Old Navy, kmart, target can sometimes work also - especially since he outgrows the clothes so fast!</p>
<p>30x34 are hard to find, we can get Levis at Kohls in some styles - also can look on the web if your store doesnt have them in stock. We just got some Jeans at American eagle in this size (on sale this week)</p>
<p>Lands End also has a good selection of pants, and the size 18/20 Big boys still fit, and you can also get a choice of lengths.</p>
<p>If your son is in that tough in-between stage and if you are looking for pants (jeans, khaki’s and shorts - not dress), we found two places that always have 27 and 28 waist sizes in-stock are Hollister’s and Aeropostale. Even if your son doesn’t like the branding, it’s fairly subtle on their pants. Small waist sizes are so hard to find.</p>
<p>Oh yeah! He is 5’4’ish and weighs 86 pounds with ridiculously long legs, so he definitely needs the small waist sizes.</p>
<p>My brothers are both in their 50s and weir 30/34 pants. I guess he is going to be a tall, skinny drink of water like his uncles.</p>
<p>My strategy was to have a nephew who was eight months older, who could pass down clothing - especially dress clothing. I recognize this strategy doesn’t work for all, though!</p>