<p>Since your S sounds just like mine (flip flop-shorts wearer in 40 degrees AND thinks planning ahead is announcing he needs a jacket 5 minutes before leaving for ski trip), I know the need to plan ahead FOR him. </p>
<p>If he is further like mine, he WILL care what brand. AND it sounds like he is not run-of-the-mill size. So, either ask him what brand he will want, or guess (I guess Northface). Go on line and see how hard it will be to find his size (I predict it will be hard; it was for my S). Armed with this info, call him and tell him you need to order now, or email him the link. This did get my S going; his fleece arrived a few weeks ago.</p>
<p>Warning: even narrowing it down to Northface (or whatever) the styles/temperature ratings etc. will be overwhelming. In my case, I went by who had the size and color he wanted and went for lowest price. He wouldn’t have appreciated the warmer, more expensive ones anyway. Might have even refused to wear them.</p>
<p>Oh, PS, if you can find one discounted because the zipper is broken, go for it. They never zip them up anyway. :p</p>
<p>I sent him a list of links to North Face and Columbia styles (3 of each…not too overwhelming). I did find tall sizes in Columbia, but not North Face, although North Face seems to be fairly generously sized and as simba mentioned, a parka will give a little extra length. I also steered away from the $300+ coats, as they’d probably be TOO warm and definitely too expensive for a kid who wants shorts and flip flops. Why do I feel like I’m dressing an ornery 6 year old?</p>
<p>Keep in mind that college is the time for our kids to start making their own decisions.</p>
<p>Do we have some helicopter parent like activity going on here? Last I heard, the risk of our kids dying from alcohol overdose is far greater than from freezing. </p>
<p>IMHO, there’s no better way for our kids to learn the mysteries of retail clothing seasons than to wait for cold weather only to find out some stuff is sold out. (and they will probably find that the stuff college kids like is backordered now, as parents buy in advance, and available next month when the cold weather hits and the college kids start buying. Heck you can buy this stuff in mid summer. It’s not particularly fashion merchandise with set seasons and planned obsolescence!)</p>
<p>on the other hand- while my daughter is perfectly happy with my discards- and she does buy her own clothes without any feedback from me- I do think it is perfectly appropriate for someone to give a piece of clothing as a gift .
For xmas every year- I usually have a cache of gloves, snowboarding socks, long under wear , fleece or whatever else that might have been misplaced since last time we used them.
The socks went over really well. nice warm socks seem so expensive, and no one is likely to buy them for themselves, but are perfectly happy to accept them as gifts ( aren’t they?)
Last year I bought each of the girls a down vest- for xmas, which they wear quite a bit , and I know my older D would not have bought one, since they can seem high considering you still need a jacket. good for layering though</p>
<p>Warning: When the Pats won the Superbowl during an artic winter season, all the stores within miles of Harvard Square and other college shopping areas were cleaned out of cold season clothing. The stores supposedly did a roaring trade in earmuffs, hats, scarves, gloves and mittens.
None of my menfolk ever buy clothes for themselves. Should I add helicopter wife and fashion consultant to helicopter mom?</p>
<p>sjmom: my son actually wore a cowboy hat or a fedora (he had a hat collection, including a white straw hat for summer)–to school, to anything, to everything–every single day from when he was two until he went to middle school (the school had a no-hat policy). I remember that the picking of his hat for the day was a big deal all through elementary school. I’ll have to ask him if he’d like a nice Stetson for Christmas. </p>
<p>My father wore a Stetson, a beret, or a nice straw hat every day.</p>
<p>got our -25 F rated parka. It is not heavy at all. Weighs less than the jacket I wear. I don’t know how it can stand -25 F…should have gone with -40 instead.</p>
<p>dmd - when my S was “principal for a day” in 4th grade, his primary platform was declaring a moratorium on the No Hats policy of the school :D. It was received with great glee by children and teachers alike, who wore everything from lobster hats to easter bonnets to the more typical baseball cap. Ended with a great full page, photo-illustrated article in our local paper, picked up by AP and ran in part all over the country. Maybe that Stetson will get your S his 15 minutes of fame.</p>
<p>my younger daughter wore a scarf that she had made at Camp Sealth for about about a year- this was part of her uniform in 4th grade- tank top- boys shorts from costco- teva sandels and a fleece vest
When she was performing in the school concert- the principal made her take it off- I didn’t recognize her on stage for about 10 minutes</p>
<p>Weight does not equate warmth! Are you bringing it to your S? Just to give you the chills, it snowed in the Berkshires last night. First time I can remember that happening in October. :(</p>