Help! What dept to look in for Jeans for a teen boy?

[cybrkitn]

DS is now 13 and is 5' 3". School starts here in NY in September and I will need to get him some new jeans for the new school year. Our problem is two-fold. He's at the max height for the boy's department of sizes 8-20 (of which he is in husky sizes), but yet he's too short for the men's department which have an inseam start of 29". Waist wise, the men's jeans will fit. Unfortunately, the length will be too long and the leg width will be too wide for him (his torso is where the weight is, not his legs). I don't have a clue as to where to look for him. Can anyone help me?

 

[Aristocath]

Have you tried Gap? I have three teen boys and that was the hardest age to find jeans for them. I end up ordering online from Gap and returning what doesn't work to my local store.

 

[mjkacmom]

American Eagle starts at a 28 length. Ds17 wire husky pants in elementary, but was wearing men's by middle school (he was always tall). Most brands have skinny versions, or an option for a more narrow cut in the legs. Ds's is now a 34 x34, but started out as a 28 x 28.

 

[mnrose]

Hmmm. My son wore size 20 pants from both Penny's and Lands End at the beginning of last school year, and he was 5'10" tall. No problem with the length at all.

Now, he wears a size 30/30 in mens....some brands 32/32. Just depends.

I've had good luck with both Penny's and Lands End.

 

[Briarmom]

My son is now 16 and has been wearing jeans from The Buckle since about that age. The inseam/waist sizes never seem to work unless he goes there.

 

[zoemurr]

Hmmm. My son wore size 20 pants from both Penny's and Lands End at the beginning of last school year, and he was 5'10" tall. No problem with the length at all.

Now, he wears a size 30/30 in mens....some brands 32/32. Just depends.

I've had good luck with both Penny's and Lands End.

Have you tried a few brands? My son is 5'8" and the Old Navy 18s are just a tad too long. At 5'3" I would think he could easily still fit in kids sizes.

 

[luvmarypoppins]

Have you checked out the VF Outlet in Bellport. They always seem to have tons of jeans in all sizes there.

 

[cybrkitn]

Have you checked out the VF Outlet in Bellport. They always seem to have tons of jeans in all sizes there.

I used to get his uniform pants from there when he was little and in private school. Back then he was skinny and I could get him slim. I wasn't able to do that anymore once he got into husky sizes. I could give it another go and see what they have. I'm over that way next week anyway doing my bi-weekly BJ's run (love having that within 5 minutes of the house).

 

[AppleDumpling]

That's tough being kind of stuck in the middle. My son also went through a phase like this and instead of jeans mostly wore khaki type cargo pants which we had hemmed. I would go with the men's sizes as it's better to be too long than too short and he may have a growth spurt in the next few months, you never know. Have him try lots of different brands, they are all cut differently even if the measurements are the same. I've seen lots of guys who wear them a bit longer and just have them bunched up at the bottom, which looks OK as long as it's not too much. I also think cuffs on jeans are back in style now so he could go that route.

 

[cybrkitn]

Hmmm. My son wore size 20 pants from both Penny's and Lands End at the beginning of last school year, and he was 5'10" tall. No problem with the length at all.

Now, he wears a size 30/30 in mens....some brands 32/32. Just depends.

I've had good luck with both Penny's and Lands End.

It's very hard to find a size 20 in the boys department, especially in husky and at JCP. His waist size is bigger than 30" IIRC. Right now he's in either a 16 husky or an 18 husky. We've had luck in recent years with Sears for him with jeans. But I'm noticing that all of his jeans we bought from there are fitting perfectly length wise. Which means they will be getting shorter on him once the school year starts and he has another growth spurt.

We've also had luck with Levi's. They are the only company that actually makes jeans in husky/skinny. Yep, you read that right. Skinny jeans in husky sizes. They fit him better than the husky jeans. They are husky in the waist/stomach area (which is where he needs it) and skinny in the legs. They don't make his legs look wider than they really are. Unfortunately they only come in one color, black, and are only available via Levi's web site or at Sears.

When DS was in private school, I ordered his clothes from Land's End. They were great and definitely worth the price! Land's End would hem the uniform pants I ordered to where he needed them at no extra charge. Plus they lasted compared to buying navy dress pants anywhere else! I haven't ordered anything from Land's End since he transitioned from private into public school two years ago.

 

[mom2rtk]

We had a terrible time with this very issue with both of our boys. But we had great luck at Penneys. If they don't have the 20's in the store, they can order them from the catalog for you. If they are on sale in the store, they will match the price too.

 

[cybrkitn]

That's tough being kind of stuck in the middle. My son also went through a phase like this and instead of jeans mostly wore khaki type cargo pants which we had hemmed. I would go with the men's sizes as it's better to be too long than too short and he may have a growth spurt in the next few months, you never know. Have him try lots of different brands, they are all cut differently even if the measurements are the same. I've seen lots of guys who wear them a bit longer and just have them bunched up at the bottom, which looks OK as long as it's not too much. I also think cuffs on jeans are back in style now so he could go that route.

The length isn't the problem. The jeans DS has right now had to be rolled up about 4 times two years ago. Now the length is perfect and no rolling is required. It's the leg width that I'm concerned with and possibly his torso. I'm afraid that he'll be "swimming" in them b/c it's too wide for his skinny legs.

I really wish companies would make jeans/pants for teenage boys who are transitioning out of the boys department. We have them for us once we are out of the girl's sizes. Once we got too tall for the girls department, we went right into the Junior's department, then into either Misses, Women's or Petites (the latter in my case). I just don't understand why it can't be done for teenage boys :

 

[trip]

If he finds a style that he likes and fits well except for the length, you can always have them altered.

 

[mom2rtk]

The length isn't the problem. The jeans DS has right now had to be rolled up about 4 times two years ago. Now the length is perfect and no rolling is required. It's the leg width that I'm concerned with and possibly his torso. I'm afraid that he'll be "swimming" in them b/c it too wide for his skinny legs.

I really wish companies would make jeans/pants for teenage boys who are transitioning out of the boys department. We have them for us once we are out of the girl's sizes. Once we got too tall for the girls department, we went right into the Junior's department, then into either Misses, Women's or Petites (the latter in my case). I just don't understand why it can't be done for teenage boys :

We felt like we were in "no man's land" for a while with the jeans too.

My word of advice is that once you find some that fit, buy 5-7 pair so you're good to go for a while.

Shorts are so much less complicated since they only need to fit at the waist (although we managed to struggle with that too).

 

[missbrooke06]

B

My son is now 16 and has been wearing jeans from The Buckle since about that age. The inseam/waist sizes never seem to work unless he goes there.

The Buckle also offers free alterations on jeans.

 

[DisMom829]

We get the reclaim jeans at Buckle. I think $39.95. DS is 5'7" and weighs 106.

 

[AppleDumpling]

.I really wish companies would make jeans/pants for teenage boys who are transitioning out of the boys department. We have them for us once we are out of the girl's sizes. Once we got too tall for the girls department, we went right into the Junior's department, then into either Misses, Women's or Petites (the latter in my case). I just don't understand why it can't be done for teenage boys :

Oh I get it and understand your frustration. I remember having the same problem with shoes. I think it was size 7, which DS seemed to wear for quite a long time. Only it seems that with many of the manufacturers, the boys sizes only go up to size 6 1/2 and the men's sizes start at size 8. So a 7 was either nonexistent or very hard to find. I had a conversation with a shoe salesman once, could not believe it and he could not explain it either, just shrugged and apologized saying that's the way it is!

 

[Lilliputian]

Try Lands End. You can get all kinds of sizes online, and you can return them for free (no shipping costs) at Sears if they don't fit. If they do work, you can get them in several different colors so that it doesn't look like he's wearing the exact same pants every day. You could probably even use online chat to find out the waist size for the different sizes. My 5'3" son fits into the 18s perfectly as far as the length is concerned, but he's a little short in the legs and long in the back, so a 20 might be better for some people the same height.

 

[bigbabyblues]

I am dreading school shopping for my 14-yo. He is tall and skinny. Boys sizes are too short, but his waist is about 24. I found some 26 inch waist somewhere, but they were too big even with a belt.

 

[laughinplace199]

DS14 is 5 ft 3. He wears a 16 from the Gap, Old Navy, or Abercrombie. The length is perfect for him.