boys clothing brands - what is popular and any good stratigies for finding deals?

[disney_5]

My son is 11 and getting taller each day. He needs some new shirts and sweatshirts. In the past I have bought him gap kids and childrens place mostly but I am guessing in bigger sizes other brands are more popular. Our big mall has 77 kids, abercrombie, p.s. from aeropostale, and gap kids. Are any of these brands popular with your kids/pre teens? And are there any other brands that are popular? And if you could exlain how sales work at these stores that would be great too. p.s. from aeropostale seamed to have almost everything on sale but there non sale prices were quite high.

thanks, Jen.

 

[Jill in Chicago]

Is your son interested in fashion? If so bring him with. If he doesn't care, then I would simply buy whatever you like.

Do you have a teen resale shop near you? The deals are fantastic! The clothes are in great shape. Both of my boys (now 23 and 18) still shop at these stores. You get very current fashion at such low prices.

 

[Shmily1]

Aeropostale seems to have higher prices but tend to have everything on half off alot. American Eagle (owns 77 Kids) is super popular, but you won't get much of a sale there unless you sign up for their free rewards card (not the credit card). They will mail you discounts and send emails with that. Otherwise, it's the clearance rack for sales.

Hollister and Abercrombie are similar in sales. They will mark some things down sometimes (like $16.50 shirts down to 2/$30), but mostly it's only in the clearance section in the back. Moral of the story, start in the back at these stores.

Gap is still popular, but a little less so, and another one that is high and tend to go like Hollister and Abercrombie on sales. Old Navy is still there too, and tends to be more reasonable and have more sales, but is lower on the totem pole than the previous ones.

Also, I believe all of these have XS shirts for guys in their adult stores so you may find something good for him there. Hollister usually has tables full of guys shirts in the clearance section!

 

[3boymthr]

Aeropostale seems to have higher prices but tend to have everything on half off alot. American Eagle (owns 77 Kids) is super popular, but you won't get much of a sale there unless you sign up for their free rewards card (not the credit card). They will mail you discounts and send emails with that. Otherwise, it's the clearance rack for sales.

Hollister and Abercrombie are similar in sales. They will mark some things down sometimes (like $16.50 shirts down to 2/$30), but mostly it's only in the clearance section in the back. Moral of the story, start in the back at these stores.

Gap is still popular, but a little less so, and another one that is high and tend to go like Hollister and Abercrombie on sales. Old Navy is still there too, and tends to be more reasonable and have more sales, but is lower on the totem pole than the previous ones.

Also, I believe all of these have XS shirts for guys in their adult stores so you may find something good for him there. Hollister usually has tables full of guys shirts in the clearance section!

Hollister, Abercrombie, Aero are the more popular brands around here as well. Gap & ON are generally only worn by the littler kids - not the teens. as PP mentioned haunt the clearance - even jeans and winter coats can be had there for a relative bargain. Oldest DS also likes the crazy logo Ts that are found at Target; i.e., Dr. Pepper - says "trust me I'm a dr." and similar. Also really popular are the sports Ts for local teams and the band Ts (Old bands like Guns N Roses, Led Zepplin, Who, Beatles, etc. ). Middle DS likes these as well as being addicted to Under Armor - which is really pricey so I buy a lot on clearance.

 

[mjkacmom]

My girls will wear P.S., Abercrombie Kids, etc., but ds8 will not wear the kid brands. None of my kids wear Gap. If you do Old Navy, nothing with the ON label (most kids don't like to advertize that they wear inexpensive clothing). Can your ds wear adult extra small? Ds13 likes Hollister, Abercrombie, American Eagle, and Aeropastale. We only shop sales, clearance, and if we have a coupon.

 

[3mickeymom]

We live near the beach so surfer stlye clothes are popular with the guys. My son is 14 and a freshman. Pac sun has clothes he likes and the local surf shops do as well. Pac sun has alot of sales and they have outlets too. One thing great about surf brands are they really hold up well to wear. I've had shorts and shirts get passed down through three boys.

All my boys will wear levis and I notice them on other kids too. They have some nontraditional stles in young mens sizes(skinny etc). I try to hit a sale at Kohls and I NEVER buy more than three pairs. They just grow way too quickly at this age.

Sport stuff(my kids like NIKE) are cool too and graphic tees. I get the tees at Target and Kohls but the kids pick them out since what I think is funny is usually quite different than what teens think is funny.

 

[lukenick1]

I agree with the sports wear. My son is into Boston Celtics clothes. I usually buy him Abercrombie because I know they will get passed down to my other DS8 but now that my ds10 lost his $55 sweatshirt I need to cut back on the expensive clothes. I usually never pay a lot of money for clothes, only ever buy clearance at those name brand stores but this sweatshirt was a splurge because my son is very particular about sweatshirts. He liked this one because it has a v cut in the neckline so he didn't feel choked. I'm so upset he lost it I tried Kohl's with a 30% coupon but they have a lousy boys section.

 

[uk_wildcat]

My ds9 doesn't really care about clothes yet. I generally try to buy him things I like or find on sale. I actually have found some of the better deals at Abercrombie and Aeropostale. He can wear a men's small in shirts, so I shop the adult versions of these stores. I always hit the clearance at Abercrombie, Hollister, American Eagle and Aeropostale first. I bought him a ton of shirts a few weeks ago at Abercrombie when they had an extra 50% off of clearance. They even had some hoodies and long sleeve shirts on clearance as well as t-shirts. Hollister was running the same sale and I found a few things there as well. Aeropostale recently had an additional 30% off clearance prices and some of their hoodies and long sleeve shirts were good deals. I have bought Nike and other athletic clothing at Kohl's using a 30% off coupon.
I always find it interesting that many of these stores have higher prices on their children's versions of their items than their adult versions. I noticed this online at Aeropostale and their children's store PS. The clothing at PS seems much higher than the clothing at Aeropostale.

 

[lukenick1]

Are there any printable coupons for Gap, Abercrombie, Childrens place, Aeropostale or American Eagle???

 

[java]

strange one but around here the middle school crowd are all into UnderArmor stuff.

 

[shoney]

strange one but around here the middle school crowd are all into UnderArmor stuff.

Same for us! With a little Nike thrown in. GAP is a big no-no!

 

[DisneyNutMic]

Under Armour, Hollister, and Aeropostle are about all my son wants. I got some really good deals at Aeropostle before school started. I need to find a good consignment shop for his stuff. He grows to fast to pay this much for his clothes.

 

[Debbie7452]

I am a budget shopper, so I never buy these brands unless they are on a big sale. A few weeks ago I lucked out when looking for boy clothes (my DS is 13) The Hollister and Abercrombie stores both had 1/2 off the clearance prices. There was lots to choose from and boys styles don't change all that much over time. I got a huge bag full of stuff for under $50. Both brands are owned by the same company, so if one is having a big sale, visit the other too.

 

[3boymthr]

Are there any printable coupons for Gap, Abercrombie, Childrens place, Aeropostale or American Eagle???

The only way to get coupons for them is to sign up for their e-mail lists.

Gap is having a sale right now online only - 48HOURS will get you 30% off and free shipping with free instore returns. This code is also good at Old Navy.

Also to save money when I have a code I will buy online thru sites like e-bates or mypoints. Abercrombie and their other brands don't participate but the rest of them do.

 

[mrsklamc]

If you are interested in him wearing what is "popular" you definitely need to check w/ him, or with other moms or something. It's going to vary substantially by region. What is popular with other DIS mom's kids may be geeky at your kids' school.

 

[MinnieGi]

strange one but around here the middle school crowd are all into UnderArmor stuff.

Its not just middle school here - my first grader DS likes wearing UA stuff!! But he is a sports guy so was introduced to it b/c of wearing it for ice hockey, soccer etc...

Now he also likes to wear Addidas, Nike, and Reebok... and he no longer wants to wear "little kid" clothes. Threw me for a complete surprise school shopping this fall!!!

 

[RitaE]

My son's won't wear Gap, Old Navy, or Abercrombie.

They tend to shop American Eagle (mostly blue jeans from them), stuff they buy from H&M, Express and Pac Sun. They also like Under Armour, Fred Perry, Adidas and Nike brands off the top of my head.

 

[MinnieForMe]

I have an 11 year old and he prefers anything camo but he'll also wear Abercrombie, Nike, Adidas as well as anything his older brother hands down to him.

There's a mixed marital arts brand that's popular too but I can't remember the name. Gap is popular with my 1st grader but definitely not "in" with the preteen, middle school crowd.