Wish I’d known there was such a thing as a travel suit! We just purchased a regular wool suit at JCrew. And it still needs to be tailored as it was slightly too large. But the next size down was of course too small.
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Question (planning ahead):
- for next year housing: is your child rooming with a friend?
My son’s current roommate (DOUBLE) is one of his freshman QUAD roommate. They get along as roommates, but they’re not “tight friends”. They work out together sometimes; they don’t hang out together much, and their friend groups do not really overlap.
For next year, they are considering living together again.
My college roommates (Sophomore-Senior years) were my closest friends, who are still my lifelong friends now. We did road trips together, Spring Break, frat/sorority formals, stayed over at each other’s houses, etc.
I want that for my son, instead of just living with someone who is just “ok”.
His other option is to live in his frat house, but this Mom is not a fan of that. It’s further away from his dorm/campus/library (he tends to study in his room - hard to study when there’s parties 3-5 nights a week); it’s not as clean, etc.
Help?
Don’t underestimate the value of “getting along as roommates”. My D lived with a friend sophomore year and it totally imploded. So much so that she opted for a single junior year. She lived with different friends senior year which worked out, but her closest friends were outside her living situation. I don’t think that’s uncommon.
I would take your cues from your son!
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I totally agree. My daughter loves the fact that she and her roommate get along very well but are not close friends. She does not like the idea of living with friends - she thinks that might put a strain on their friendship. Plus, she says she does not want to hang around with the same people “all the time”.
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Our D had a “challenging” roommate freshman year. Currently (sophomore) she is in a single and definitely prefers the flexibility it affords her. She has already signed a lease for a single bedroom apartment for next year.
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My son likes his roommates, but they aren’t best of friends either. He has to pick from kids on a housing scholarship, so it’s a little harder. I believe they intend to room together again next year as well. Hopefully for year 4 too. They get along well enough and have had no issues. They eat together at least 3 nights a week. They watch movies and football together. I’m hoping they get to be good friends, but I think this is a good match for living.
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My S22 opted to get a studio apartment this year. Similarly, he was in a suite with 4 other students last year. All nice guys but had different majors and interests and did not want to room with any of them this year. He really likes going out and socializing with his close friends, but then returning to his own quiet space to rest and study. He still has best friends on campus who come and hang out with him or he goes to their apartments, so having his own studio doesn’t seem to have limited him socially at all.
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Here I go with another question:
- Class ring: WHICH metal?
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S22’s college has a whole thing around their class ring:
- a formal gala just for ring delivery day
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There’s only 5 metal options:
- Yellow gold - too soft
- white gold - too soft
- rose gold - no
- “extreme silver”
- Ultrium = austenitic grade (non-magnetic) stainless steel substitute for white gold
Son wants white gold. He doesn’t wear jewelry (used to wear a gold chain before starting wrestling; annoyed with taking on/off, so he hasn’t worn since).
If he wants white gold, wouldn’t “Extreme Silver” or Ultrium be just as good for almost half the price?
Extreme Silver is an alloy of silver, palladium, and platinum, among other metals, with desirable qualities, including tarnish resistance, versatility in terms of designs and styles; it can be resized; it’s also hypoallergenic, durable, and lustrous.
ulthrium = Austentitic stainless steel (Celestrium, Ultrium) don’t bend well and can’t be re-sized. The material is durable and long lasting, a good choice for people whose jewelry gets hard wear.
In case you don’t know, J Crew offers a student discount with a student ID.
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Sure wish we’d known that! Well, maybe we will get him another one before he graduates.
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And opposite seasons, so it would be winter during our summer.
UPDATE in case anyone finds this info helpful:
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We purchased the Bluffworks Gramercy in the beautiful Blue Hour color blazer and pants
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he hasn’t worn it yet, but they came out of the small shipping-box wrinkle-free
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their C/S was very helpful with sizing
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my son is short/stocky-big chest-arms/small waist/big Dominican butt
– ordered 40 Short blazer and 32waist pants with 28 inseam
– local tailor shortened the blazer sleeves and took in the pants waist and he’s good to go -
should be perfect and comfortable for his summer internship in Mexico (the cool-wicking/washable/no-ironing)
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“After 3 years of development, we created the Gramercy - a machine washable, wrinkle-free material that looks and feels like the most elegant suit fabric. These separates can be shoved in a bag and emerge looking great, every time. They’ll keep you cool, even when the temperature rises, all in a technical package that looks and feels like wool.”
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Does he normally wear 32/28 pants/jeans? Just curious if any adjustments were necessary for the suit pant.
Yes, our tailor took in 1 inch at the waist. But the rest was perfect.
I suggest giving them a call.
The sizing numbers confused me.
To fit my son’s bigger butt, we had to order up.
Even ordering the size 32, I was concerned that it’d be snug on his butt, but the pants look GREAT!
His waist is 33, but hips are 40.
Chose REGULAR fit, instead of TAILORED because of his muscular legs.
Bluffworks customer service recommended the Gramercy, over the Presidio because the Gramercy pants is a little roomier in the butt.
His inseam is 26.5, but the 28inseam pants was perfect w/ dress shoes on.
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He’s built short and stocky, so I was stunned that this suit fit him so well “off the rack”. Bluffworks offer so many different sizing/cuts/lengths.
You should see his collared shirt: he wears a LARGE to fit his huge neck, but then has to hem his sleeves about 4inches and add darts to the back of the shirt so that the shirt isn’t a complete balloon/roomy.
Good luck.
We highly recommend it (but haven’t washed it yet, so don’t have experience with that yet).
I would not hesitate to order my husband a suit, with the next sale 
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This is great! Please let us know how washing goes!
Time is going fast, coming up on 2 years completed already. S22 is applying for study abroad in Tokyo. If he goes, that means he has only 3 full semesters left on his college campus!
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This is one of the sleepier parents’ threads. Hope all the kids and their families are doing well.
S22 accepted an internship close to home for the summer. Based on his interview, the position incorporates a number of topics he is learning currently, so he’s excited.
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I kind of forget about this thread! We are busy getting my daughter figured out.
But S22 is still looking for a different internship experience this summer but if no luck he will go back where he was last summer. He’s still enjoying his college experience and we hear from him less often now. He’s pretty busy.
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Busy with sibling in C24. D22 is looking into study abroad programs for next year. After that I hope they will look into summer internships or research.
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My D has internships lined up for this summer and 25. After all the angst of the college application process and choosing a less prestigious school, she went to an internship onboarding event with kids from Notre Dame and other prestigious colleges. It all works out in the end.
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