Boy mamas: Cheap boy clothes are HTF!

[G's mommy]

When my son was young, toddler sizes through about 7/8, I bought almost everything at Gymboree, Gap and The Children's Place. They were the only stores that cute little boy clothes, all the other department stores had the standard 3 racks of blah stuff. I agree though, once they get past about size 8, it is very difficult to find clothes of any variety for boys and the size 10-14 are long gone by the time they get to clearance. I did buy a good bit of his clothes at Kohls when he was in that size range. We are now in the 16/18, 28 waist and he is almost 13 years, so it's all Aero, AE, Hollister and Abercrombie now, on clearance or at least 50% sale of course! I cannot pay $80 for jeans that have holes in them when you buy them.

 

[mjantz]

I have an 11YO & as he's gotten older, it has become more difficult to find discount clothes for him. Ironically, one of the more expensive places (the GAP) has some of the best deals. We live near a few outlets & they get a lot of my business. I try not to pay more than $10 for a pair of jeans & I usually have really good luck.
Childrens Place has some good deals as well. And, don't discount Abercrombie Kids. I've found sweaters for $10 there as well as other deals.

 

[piratemamaof3]

What I had a hard time w/ last time I took my almost 10 yr old the other day. He is filling out some but is still small for his age. A sz 8 is snug and just fits but a sz 10 is way too big, as is a 8 husky so we are stuck in limbo now.

Shoes also. His sz is the smalled men's shoes in some stores and kids in others. He didn't want cartoon characters but we went to 4 stores before we could find shoes that he liked and some where with a decent selection.

 

[2bearsmom]

This is the problem I am just now running in to. My ds just turned 7 and will soon be needing size 8 pants/jeans. The 7's I bought over the summer for this school year are slowly creeping up at the bottom! He is so super slim though. I love the jeans that have the inside adjuster belt thingy. I spent probably $60-something total for his back to school clothes and he has a ton. I bought at Target $4 for most of his jeans including the Levi pair, $2 for shirts etc. I loved getting such great deals since he can only wear the stuff one season. At least my 3yr old will wear them in a few years.

I just could not believe the prices in the 8-20 size. Nor could I believe my baby actually needs this section of the store now He is in a size boys 3for shoes. I'm thinking I should just buy 4's when I see them now for next year. Kohls had a pair of Skechers marked to $15.99 but they were a size 3 and I know that wont fit too much longer. Vans were down to $17.99 but were a 5. I am really going to have to check Gap, Children's Place and other mall stores much more frequently for the good sales/clearance racks.

 

[MinnieForMe]

My son is that size and I can't find clothes that are appropriate. We end up purchasing from Lands End because they, at least, are quality clothes that last a season. I wouldn't say they are cheap but reasonable.

 

[ColoradoMom!!]

It has always been a problem IMHO. For a while when my older one was 9-10 (about 5 years ago) I couldn't find anything that didn't have a skull or some morbid thing on it! My boys like sports, and Mervyn's used to have great shirts with sports themes - but alas Mervyn's is no more. I have some luck at Kohl's. It has always bugged me - as a Mom of two boys - that the selection for boys is sooooooooo obviously less than girls. It is amazing.

 

[1Tink2Peterpans]

I also have this problem with my oldest son, and I wonder why someone doesn't have a store just for boys like they do for girls(limited 2 and justice for girls) my boys like to be in cool clothes too

 

[luvnmy2bys]

My boys mostly live in jeans and t-shirts and I stock up when I find good deals at Kohls, Penny's, TJ Maxx , etc. However its the nicer clothes that I have a problem finding in this size range. I was looking for a basic polo looking or collared shirt for my size 12 son 2 weeks ago. I had to go to 5 stores to find one. All I could find were t-shirts and multi-colored shirts. I needed a solid color. I also have the issue of one thick and one thin kid. My oldest although not heavy at all grows thick around the middle before he shoots up in height. He mostly wore regular if they had the extend tabs with husky thrown in for those times when he just hadn't shot up yet. Thankfully he is 15 now and its much easier finding adult clothes that fit. My youngest is 13 and is so skinny even slims need a belt. It is so hard to find jeans that fit him right that A)He likes B)that I like and C.) that he can actually wear for longer than 3 months. I never got the luxary of passing down pants from the oldest to the youngest.
luvnmy2bys

 

[debsays]

Target and Macy's has some GREAT reduced prices. I just picked up some adoarble outfits to put aside for our grandson at both places.

 

[3boymthr]

That's been the running trend on larger sizes for at least 5 years now. I've been trying to find cheap clothes for oldest for years - it's very hard. But the deals are much better on designer clothes at these sizes. I've gotten som Abercrombie Kids stuff cheap (mostly the larger sizes are in demand here). Also try Gymboree - most of the 10 yo don't want the shirts they're too cute, but I've gotten good buys on jeans and cords ($10 or so). Other places I've had luck - Dillards online store (the nearest Dillards to me is states away); Macy's ($7 RL Polo & Sean Jean shirts); Sears; Land's End in their online outlet - check out the "on the counter"; and one of my all time favorites - www.bargainchildrensclothing.com - They have Dogwood shirts for under $10. This is a huge bargain. I've seen these shirts sell at boutiques for over $45.

I also second the recommendation for TJMaxx and Marshalls - I just got a pair of Spyder GoreTex ski pants for $69 - which may not seem like a bargain but the MSRP price was $350 - that's 80% off. I got a Columbia Coat for $29 marked down from $69 and this was in Sept. And on Wednesday they had Columbia Ski Pants size 18/20 for $15 on Wednesday (Unfortunately thy had pink letters).

Also this may seem like a strange recommendation but check out your local high end children's boutiques. Often I've found high end clothing lines for cheap.

ETA - the good news is if you do buy the high end stuff while it might cost a dollar or two more if it comes out in good shape it resells for about 50% of what you paid for it.

 

[MnMomW3Boys]

I agree that the older the boys get the smaller the selection espeically in deparment store. The vast majority of my boys clothes are from GAP (ages 8 and 6) I never buy full price and alwyas buy for way less the full price at Target, and Wal Mart. Get the GAP card you get a % off when you open it and then 5% back on all their purchases, or sign up for there e-mail and you will be alerted of sales both in store and on line. This week-end GAP and Old Navy have 30% a lot of their new spring things and free shipping if you spend over $150 befor the 30%. I just loaded up on shirts, shorts and swim trunks for our trip in May.

Happy Shopping.

 

[MinnieForMe]

Does Abercrombie run true to size?

 

[lntsmom]

I thought it was just me. I used to live in KCMO and could go to Cargo Largo and the Penneys Outlet for cheapie priced new clothing. My boys are to the sizes and ages where Children's Orchard just doesn't carry anything for them.

I haven't found a good place for sales since moving. The thrift stores here carry stuff I'd use for rags. The Old Navy's don't have sales like the one at home had.

My biggest gripe is that every danged thing has skulls on it. Now, skulls are fine when they're on a POC shirt, but I don't want my boys wearing nothing but skull clothing. Oh, there is one option...shirts with inappropriate comments about bodily functions and how great it is to be a slacker.

This fall I did most of my shopping at Penneys and Sears. I live 10 miles from the closest stores, so it's not like it used to be when I could pop in a couple times a week to check for sales.

I ended up using the discount coupons Penneys put in the paper on their special sale days and got everything for half or more off.

 

[dclfun]

I also have to wonder why designers of children's clothing think that girls either need more choices or that boys don't care what they wear. There's always way more selection for girls, even looking at infant sizing. I live near lots of outlet malls ( Orlando) and like the Oshkosh and Gymboree outlets, although I agree with the OP that they don't have the larger sizes at Gymbo. Marshalls, TJMaxx usually had a pretty good selection when my boys wore that size. GapKids used to have good selections too, of nice quality clothing in fresh nice colors and styles. I get tired of navy, black, gray, or brown only and yes, what's up with the skulls? Someone in merchandising and design needs to rethink their boys lines.---Kathy