High School Letter Jackets

[Lilacs4Me]

Where does one go to get a high school letter jacket these days?

Nobody around me IRL seems to know, and I know I can ask at the high school and/or athletic department, but was wondering if anyone here has bought one for their kids. Was it worth it? DS is getting his letter on Sunday.

 

[pryncess527]

The local sporting goods store in my town sells them for all the area schools. It's an old-school mom & pop store. I would think the corporate type sports stores might also have a process for ordering one.

 

[Flutter-butter]

My daughter's high school sells them in the athletic department.

 

[BrianL]

I thought you usually got them through the school somehow. I never had one, so I don't know for sure, but I thought they were all of a certain type and had to be ordered through the school so they would all be the same.

 

[soccerdad72]

Ours are purchased through the school at their spirit shop, where you buy other t-shirts and sweatshirts.

 

[undertheradar]

Where does one go to get a high school letter jacket these days?

Nobody around me IRL seems to know, and I know I can ask at the high school and/or athletic department, but was wondering if anyone here has bought one for their kids. Was it worth it? DS is getting his letter on Sunday.

Check award/trophy shops.

 

[mom2rtk]

Whether they are "worth it" is totally in the eye of the beholder. We would have bought them if the kid felt strongly about it, but so far the first 2 passed. We will buy our daughter one if she really wants it, but so far she's pretty lukewarm on the idea. And we don't spend several hundred dollars on "lukewarm".

 

[soccerdad72]

Whether they are "worth it" is totally in the eye of the beholder. We would have bought them if the kid felt strongly about it, but so far the first 2 passed. We will buy our daughter one if she really wants it, but so far she's pretty lukewarm on the idea. And we don't spend several hundred dollars on "lukewarm".

Our son wore his about twice last winter (it was a Chirstmas present). He later admitted that he would have been one of the only freshman wearing a letter jacket and he didn't want to look like he was bragging around school. Hopefully, now that he's a sophomore, he'll be wearing it this winter.

 

[Lilacs4Me]

Whether they are "worth it" is totally in the eye of the beholder. We would have bought them if the kid felt strongly about it, but so far the first 2 passed. We will buy our daughter one if she really wants it, but so far she's pretty lukewarm on the idea. But we don't spend several hundred dollars on "lukewarm".

Right!! lol

I guess what I mean is, we live in the Midwest, so although I personally would wear a winter coat for 6 months of the year, DS16 runs warm so he rarely wears more than a hoodie unless it is REALLY cold outside. Since he is a Junior, he would wear the jacket for maybe Jan and Feb this year, then from Dec to Feb next year, then he is off to college and I am assuming he will retire the coat to the back of the closet for me to deal with the rest of his life like most kids.

So, would it be worth it to buy him a heavy winter coat (because that is essentially what it is) just so he can display the fact that he is a high school athlete, for what amounts to a half a year total?

Just looking for opinions from the "been there, done that" parents!

 

[mom2rtk]

Our son wore his about twice last winter (it was a Chirstmas present). He later admitted that he would have been one of the only freshman wearing a letter jacket and he didn't want to look like he was bragging around school. Hopefully, now that he's a sophomore, he'll be wearing it this winter.

I hope so! I do think different schools have a different vibe about wearing letter jackets.

Right!! lol

I guess what I mean is, we live in the Midwest, so although I personally would wear a winter coat for 6 months of the year, DS16 runs warm so he rarely wears more than a hoodie unless it is REALLY cold outside. Since he is a Junior, he would wear the jacket for maybe Jan and Feb this year, then from Dec to Feb next year, then he is off to college and I am assuming he will retire the coat to the back of the closet for me to deal with the rest of his life like most kids.

So, would it be worth it to buy him a heavy winter coat (because that is essentially what it is) just so he can display the fact that he is a high school athlete, for what amounts to a half a year total?

Just looking for opinions from the "been there, done that" parents!

One of our issues is that, for whatever reason, none of the kids has actually used a locker in high school. Maybe it's the way the school is laid out, or maybe it's just not cool. Whatever it is, it impacts whether they wear winter coats. If any of them was to wear a letter jacket, they would have had to wear it all day (and overheat) or start using a locker. And none of them seemed interested in that.

Yes, they would go to school on the coldest of days wearing nothing more than a sweatshirt. I gave up on that battle a long time ago.

And honestly, after cleaning our attic out over the past month or so, piled full of 27 years of crap, I have no interest in buying something that I will need to store in the attic soon.

But ultimately it comes down to how bad your son wants it. Is it a big deal to wear letter jackets at his school? If it was, I'd probably still do it.

My daughter brought her varsity tennis letter home last week and promptly hung it on the Christmas tree. I'm sure it will end up on her bulletin board after the holidays.

 

[luvsJack]

DD's letterman and her brothers' before her were all purchased through Jostens. Dd's was a bit over $200 but she has gotten a lot of wear out of it and still wears it some days. She is cold natured and wears a jacket on days I wouldn't even wear a sweater, though. She doesn't have an issue at all wearing it around her college campus, a lot of the students wear them. They are really warm. She got her's as a sophomore.

Her brothers wore their jackets until they got out of high school. Luckily both received them freshman year so plenty of time to wear them. They both played varsity as a freshman so got them early.

For all three kids, they were worth it. They got plenty of wear out of them so the $200 was spread over 3-4 years.

 

[AppleDumpling]

They aren't popular around here. Some HS students wear jackets with their school name and sport on the back, but not the letterman style, which honestly I haven't seen in decades.

The fact that you are asking where to get one tells me they must not be all that popular there either, or you would know from the school and/or his teammates. For that reason, and more importantly since you don't think he would even wear it much, I would not buy one. It's an unnecessary status symbol. Save the money you would spend and put it towards his senior year expenses- photos, prom, etc., or into college savings.

 

[mjkacmom]

Varsity jackets are popular here, ds18 got his January of sophomore year, dd15 just got hers. They run about $300, and several small stores in town sell them. It's good to ask around to find the best prices. Ds wore his for 3 winters, as will dd. They're pretty warm!

 

[Dawnlight]

I have never seen anyone from my boys' HS wear them and none of my 3 boys in HS ever expressed an interest in them. I think they have gone the way of the class ring and aren't in style anymore. They do enjoy wearing their personalized athletic jackets from their individual sports, but they are just general Under Armor or other brand jackets with the school name, sport, and last name (no letters attached)

 

[okeydokey]

Our Marching Band gets them, but only the Juniors and Seniors are allowed to. They order them online. It is actually a big deal and something the younger students look forward to.

 

[sam_gordon]

Depends on the community/school. I got one and wore it until heading to college. DD got one her senior year of HS and is currently wearing it as a freshman in college. What does your DS think? Would he wear it?

 

[mjkacmom]

I have never seen anyone from my boys' HS wear them and none of my 3 boys in HS ever expressed an interest in them. I think they have gone the way of the class ring and aren't in style anymore. They do enjoy wearing their personalized athletic jackets from their individual sports, but they are just general Under Armor or other brand jackets with the school name, sport, and last name (no letters attached)

Well, I think popularity is based on where you live. I don't know anyone on ds's soccer team who didn't get one, since the football team is all varsity there are a ton of football players with them, and there just as many girls who wear them. However, school rings aren't popular here anymore.

 

[camreesmom]

They're a big deal over here. You can't buy one anywhere, you "earn" it when you earn your first letter. The students do not have to pay for them here. But the kids all personalize them with patches from all of their clubs/extracurriculars. I think we spent over $200 on patches for DD20's when she was in high school. She earned hers during her freshman year so she got a lot of wear out of it.

Class rings aren't popular here anymore either. None of our kids have wanted one so I didn't push. We didn't see any reason to spend the money for something that they weren't going to wear.

 

[wilkeliza]

Never realized they were something that you could actually purchase. I have one that I don't wear but is still hung in my closet (gosh it is now almost 13 years old!) and I didn't pay for mine. We were given the jacket, school patch, and patch of how we earned it for free. Adding your last name, nickname, and any additional patches that weren't earned cost you. I got mine for FFA, JROTC, Academic excellence, and had a few patches like NHS, student counsel, and student government. I think I spent 50 on getting my name added to the back and a nick name. I wore it a lot in high school because it was the thing. If you earned it your freshmen year for anything other than academic excellence it was a big deal so we wore them with pride.

 

[Caskett616]

Back in the day (late 80's) I bought one for my younger sister. (she's the baby of the family, and I am 9 years older than she is - so I was working when I bought it) I bought it from a local mom & pop store who also put the letter on it for me as part of the price. It was her Christmas present in her sophomore year and she wore it all through high school. I think she still owns it, she loved that jacket.

I don't remember what I spent on it, but I do remember the owner of the shop personally delivered it on Christmas Eve so I could give it to her the next day.