<p>Looks like the boy child will be heading off to ME in the Fall…and everyone keeps warning me about ME winters. I’d like to take advantage of the end-of-season sales and pick up whatever I can. He usually just wears his Timberlands but will he need “real” snow boots next year? A super warm coat or are layers better? Anything else I’m not thinking of? Would love input!</p>
<p>My S, who grew up in Maine and went to college in New Hampshire, owns a pair of boots but virtually never wears them. Timberlands should be just fine. If he needs anything else, it can get it here. Generally, layers are better. What is essential is an outer layer that is wind and waterproof, under which he can wear a t shirt, a hoodie, a fleece, a flannel shirt, or whatever combination suits his fancy and the temperature.</p>
<p>If your kid is anything like mine, it is better to let him make his own clothing selections, or he just won’t wear whatever you buy. 
This is the land of LL Bean. In Freeport, he can also visit Patagonia, NorthFace, Timberland, and various other retailers.</p>
<p>I can understand your desire to buy stuff for your guy, but I would try to refrain, except perhaps for sweaters or a fleece.</p>
<p>Thanks so much for the suggestions! We visited “LL Bean Land” when we were visiting the school and I had so much fun! I guess I’m lucky, my son has absolutely no opinions about his clothing unless it has to do with his sport…and then heaven forbid I make a suggestion. Will definately keep my eyes open for a good quality shell for layering and some fleece. Thanks again.</p>
<p>My son goes to school in Maine. Most of the time he wears a down vest over a fleece and Bean duck boots (very popular with the kids.) I don’t think he even wears a hat.</p>
<p>Don’t know where you are from, but it is not that cold here. (I grew up in Wisconsin…Maine is Hawaii by comparison). Emilybee’s description fits what all the kids and many of the adults wear year round. Jeans get switched out for shorts by the end of this month (as soon as the mercury hits about 65) but the rest stays pretty much the same except for the month of August. My 15 year old son is quite proud that he managed to get through the entire winter without ever putting on a real coat…no teen here would be caught in actual snowboots so don’t go there lol.</p>
<p>Hell, I saw kids in Brunswick in shorts in Feb or whenever it was that we had that warm spell! I’d say kids break out the shorts long before 65. That’s practically tropical. </p>
<p>My S developed decided tastes in clothing during college. For his last 2 1/2 yrs of college he wore a leather jacket he bought for himself in Paris. He also started to favor what one might loosely call “young fogey” attire: really nice cardigans he inherited from my father, for example. (Paired with unlikely things, of course.) When I remarked upon this, he replied drily: “I grew up.” :D</p>
<p>We live in Maine (surprise) and both my sons wear shorts year-around. Well, except the rare days when it hits 90 and they decide to wear long pants! I don’t get it.</p>
<p>My New England raised 20 something kids will NOT wear anything that comes from LLBean which is viewed as a good place for parents to buy their own clothes. </p>
<p>Your kid isn’t going to freeze to death between the start of school and thanksgiving. While you may want to save money buying this season’s leftovers, you might find that your kid doesn’t want to wear those. I’d suggest waiting. Let him see what others wear and the make his own decisions. Let HIM pick out a fleece to layer over a hoodie (my kids like Northface, EMS and REI fleecewear).</p>
<p>Re: boots…the only one who had winter boots in college here was the kid who went to college in sunny California. Go figure.</p>
<p>We live in Northern Michigan and I finally bought my H a pair of boots this winter. He only wears them to fill the bird feeder. He won’t even wear them when he snow blows, I think it’s a man thing. I wear my boots in the winter. </p>
<p>The one thing I do want to say as my S went farther north for college is that he had a hard time adjusting to the less sunshine and daylight in the winter. Right now we still have snow on the ground and they are calling for freezing rain, sleet and snow tomorrow. I am having winter fatigue and my S really struggled his first winter. As soon as it got warmer and the days got longer, he was much happier. We made sure he scheduled some outdoor physical activity his next winters there and he was much happier.</p>
<p>Everybody in Maine wears LL Bean jeans, flannels and duck boots including the teens so you are on solid ground there. And yes, it’s the adults who wait until it’s 65 to wear shorts, the kids do sport them year round.</p>
<p>My son is headed to Maine too. We live in MA so the weather shouldn’t be too far off from here . </p>
<p>My S wears Timberlands and either a hoode or a leather jacket ( with an attached hoodie lining). hasn’t worn a “winter coat” or winter boots in years!</p>
<p>I am going to let him make his own clothing decisions, because I am sure that whatever I buy him will hang in the closet unworn!</p>
<p>The students we have met said that a Carhartt or a Northface are perfect for working in the barn.</p>