This gap between boys' and men's clothing/shoe sizes is so frustrating...

[Colleen]

When my oldest was 11 or so, I discovered the niche market just waiting to be filled: Clothing and shoes that truly fit 'tweens. He had outgrown the boys' sizes and not yet grown into the men's. Even though he's 13 now, this problem still crops up from time to time. Like this summer, for example, trying to get board shorts/swim trunks that fit him. He's into brands like Quiksilver and DC, and I'm okay with those, too. But good grief! They're so big on him! My guys aren't tiny; they're average-sized but definitely don't carry any extra weight. I guess some of this is just today's styles, and some is the fact that clothes seem to be made for the average overweight American child. Either way, it's frustrating how difficult it is to find things that fit right. Anyone else encounter this?

[Crissy]

I hear you!

Jeffrey has incredibly long legs, but a 26 inch waist.

Finding a pair of jeans that looks nice on him is enough to drive me batty.

 

I'm glad we're having a stretch of good weather so he can wear shorts. I hate seeing my boys dressed in ill-fitting clothes.

[Mom2legomaniacs]

I am just about getting there. Ds is 10. He wears about a size 6 shoe and is almost 4'10". He is very thin too. So, size 12 slims in pants are creeping up on him. The next size up will be huge even with the slims. His feet are in between. But we have found some brands that work.

 

Lands End does well for him for swim wear and shoes. His tennis shoes are New Balance. And he has some Timberland hiking boots too.

 

He is in one of the larger sizes in the sports wear that he likes at Target. But the next dept. looks huge! I am sure we will be experiencing this frustration more and more in the next year or so too.

[momofkhm]

I encountered the same thing when my girls went from girls sizes to those 1-3-5-7 sizes. I don't even know what they call that department. The odd sizes though. The evens are misses sizes. My girls were too big for 14's but too small for 1's.

 

I still have an issue finding swimsuits for my oldest. She wears 4's most of the time. But Land's End and LLBean still are to big on her. We finally went to Dick's to try on swim team type suits to find the size then home to find one she actually liked on-line.

[Marie in Oh]

and they are huge-- long! Like capris on a woman. He also wears a size 6 shoe, so one more size and on to mens. He is still skinny-- 65 lbs and 4'6". He probably won't weigh 100 til he is 15. He comes from a long line of late bloomers, but even the big boy sizes are big on him because he isn't bulky. He needs a 10 for height, but for waist he is more like an 8. Slims are too slim for him though. Go figure.

 

And I know that once they cross over to men's sizes the price tag about doubles-- especially for shoes.

[Old Dominion Heather]

I sometimes wonder f I wouldn't do better to have their clothes tailored to fit rather than buying things that they end up not wearing because they don't fit.

 

My oldest is very, very thin and finding clothes that fit his waist is nearly impossible. He has never owned a pair of pants/shorts that became too tight. Everything eventually gets too short. We have to buy items with the adjustable waist band because even stuff with elastic waist is too loose.

[angela in ohio]

Like my dd who is too big/tall for the biggest girls' size, but too thin for a size 0 in the teen department. She fit into 0s for a little bit, but then she thinned out when she became more active for the summer, and now she has no jeans whatsoever. If I could find a 14 tall slim in the girls' department, we'd be all set. It is really hard to find clothes for a thin child...

[ereks mom]

ER still can't wear pants from the men's department. He's 5'10" and weighs 115 lbs. (Yes, I feed him! He is NOT a picky eater, and he eats frequently, but doesn't eat much at a time.) The only place we can find pants to fit him is JCPenney; he wears 18 slim or 20 slim. Men's sizes are way too big in the waist and seat.

[Jennifer in MI]

Oh yes! We're finding that here too. Ds (12) made the leap from boy's shoe to men's about a year ago. It was so frustrating! Then, there's also the price difference! Holy cow. We went looking for a pair of dress shoes and they were asking $80 - $90 at Kohl's! Yikes! Needless to say, we went elsewhere.

 

Ds is just now outgrowing size 12 boys pants. (I think he can still fit into a size 6 short - he's SOOO thin!!) Is there a size 14? I don't even know!

[Colleen]

Yep, there's a market here, just waiting to be tapped. And you're all so right about the price jump, too. Good grief!

[ThelmaLou]

My son is growing so quickly that he flew right past that in-between stage. He's only 13 and he wears a size 13 men's shoe. His pants are 32x32 right now, but are getting a bit short.

[TheLisa]

Yes, when ds was 10 it was hard to find shoes- boys' were too narrow, if they even had a 6 or 7, men's were too big all around.

 

When he was about 11-12, - boy's pants too short or tight, men's too big/wide.

 

And my ds is not skinny, he's just tall with big feet!

 

Part of the problem was that stores just did not stock in-between sizes, like a boy shoe size 6 or 7 (reg or wide); or a mens shoe size 7. Size 20 pants were hard to find; when we found them, they fit like an 18 or 20 slim (so they didn't fit).

[Rhondabee]

ER still can't wear pants from the men's department. He's 5'10" and weighs 115 lbs. (Yes, I feed him! He is NOT a picky eater, and he eats frequently, but doesn't eat much at a time.) The only place we can find pants to fit him is JCPenney; he wears 18 slim or 20 slim. Men's sizes are way too big in the waist and seat.

 

off to JCPenney ASAP!

 

=)

Rhonda

[WTMindy]

When my oldest was 11 or so, I discovered the niche market just waiting to be filled: Clothing and shoes that truly fit 'tweens. He had outgrown the boys' sizes and not yet grown into the men's. Even though he's 13 now, this problem still crops up from time to time. Like this summer, for example, trying to get board shorts/swim trunks that fit him. He's into brands like Quiksilver and DC, and I'm okay with those, too. But good grief! They're so big on him! My guys aren't tiny; they're average-sized but definitely don't carry any extra weight. I guess some of this is just today's styles, and some is the fact that clothes seem to be made for the average overweight American child. Either way, it's frustrating how difficult it is to find things that fit right. Anyone else encounter this?

 

Oh, do NOT GET ME STARTED!!!! For us, it is the shoe thing. Expain to me why the shoe department at Payless has boys shoes that go up to size 4-5ish and mens shoes that start at size 7 or 8. And my son wears size 6. And I can't find shoes for him. When I ask them (in my nicest voice, of course) they say, "Oh, I know, that size always goes first." So, why can't the get MORE OF THAT size? I guess I'll look forward to the clothing thing to in a little while!!

[Starr]

I have found a shoe - boot trick, buy womans! They cover that inbetween stage and when he outgrows them I can wear them! :lol:

[akmommy]

Ugh! I've grown to hate shopping for kids clothes. My 15 yr old is still wearing a girls 14 but they are getting short, and the smallest juniors sizes practically fall off her. My younger DD is 10 and already beginning to have this same problem. If the pants fit in the length they are too big in the waist, if the waist fits they're too short.

 

It's not just tweens though. My DS is 8 and he is not slim enough for slims and not regular enough for regulars. It has only been the last year that he can wear pants that don't have elastic all the way around and that's only if they have the little waist adjuster buttons and are set to the smallest button.

[Jennifer in MI]

I have found a shoe - boot trick, buy womans! They cover that inbetween stage and when he outgrows them I can wear them! :lol:

 

 

I did this with shorts once for my ds! I ended up buying ds a fairly expensive pair of shoes for this summer because I can wear them when he outgrows them!!! Ds at 12 wears a size 9 mens!!! How did that happen?

[unsinkable]

When my oldest was 11 or so, I discovered the niche market just waiting to be filled: Clothing and shoes that truly fit 'tweens. He had outgrown the boys' sizes and not yet grown into the men's. Even though he's 13 now, this problem still crops up from time to time. Like this summer, for example, trying to get board shorts/swim trunks that fit him. He's into brands like Quiksilver and DC, and I'm okay with those, too. But good grief! They're so big on him! My guys aren't tiny; they're average-sized but definitely don't carry any extra weight. I guess some of this is just today's styles, and some is the fact that clothes seem to be made for the average overweight American child. Either way, it's frustrating how difficult it is to find things that fit right. Anyone else encounter this?

 

Anyone ever seen this: The Underminer at Total Foods?

 

 

 

"Is that Ella? She's so...solid...now."

"You're like a little American, with your little American body!"

 

Disclaimer: I don't think Colleen is an underminer.

[sadiegirl]

I have the same frustrations with my 2 boys. They are average size for 11 and 12 year old boys but we have had such a hard time finding jeans to fit right. They haven't had that height growth spurt...but they are growing in size in other areas so it seems like pants that fit in length don't fit in girth. And they don't have extra weight on them. It's extremely frustrating to them as they say it makes them feel bad how hard it is to find clothes to fit!!!

[Jenny in Florida]

I know it's coming, though. My 10-year-old son is 4'10'', 85 pounds. We bought his first pair of shoes from the men's department a couple of months ago. He's currently wearing size 12 slim pants, but they're still baggy. So, the possibility of bumping up to a 14 for the length does not sound promising.

 

And I have every reason to believe this will get worse, having known my husband since we were pre-teens. Heck, until he'd lived with (and been fed by) me for several years, my 6'1'' husband still weighed less than 140 pounds. He used to be impossible to fit, too.

 

And, yes, we did go through this with my daughter, too, although not because she was skinny. She, poor child, seems to have inherited my metabolism instead of her father's. So, she did the typical female thing of chunking up just before puberty. Combine that with her refusal to be uncomfortable in clothes, ever, and our joint wish to keep her reasonably modestly covered--and toss in the fact that she hates shopping--and life was really interesting for a while. She has a long torso, so we could frequently just buy her t-shirts and blouses in the juniors department. But pants were a misery.

 

Fortunately, now it's easier. She grew 3 inches in the last year without gaining any weight and now fits pretty reliably into juniors sizes. So, now all we have to cope with is finding things she likes and feels are appropriate.

 

At least the modesty issue isn't quite as big a problem for guys!