Budget for teen boy clothes?

[Pen]

I want to give my teen Ds a budget for clothing and perhaps give him a ride to Ross dress for less, or some such.  What sort of $ amount could cover underwear, and a few shirts and trousers?  Shoes are okay for awhile. 

He grew out of a lot over the summer and probably wears men’s medium now. However he has very narrow hips & waist which can be hard to fit. I think he still has a blazer that fits, but probably grew out of his dressy trousers, and probably out of his button down shirt.  One dress up outfit per year has tended to be helpful  

If you have done this what should I watch out for?

 

 I anticipate having to hold my ground that once he has received his budget,  he won’t get more till next budget time. 

[hippiemamato3]

My DS16 has no real interest in clothes, but I still probably spend $500ish or so per season on his clothing and shoes. 

Edited August 24, 2018 by hippiemamato3

[Garga]

I'd go online to stores like Old Navy or Kohls and price out how much stuff costs.  

If he needs 4 t-shirts, find out about how much they charge for 4 t-shirts.  If he needs underwear, find out how much they charge for underwear (too much...look at Walmart for underwear.)  

Once you get a ballpark figure, then give him the money and send him to wherever.  It'll all depend on exactly what he needs--the exact number of jeans/dress pants/button downs/tshirts, etc.

[Arcadia]

What’s his waist and inseam for pants? My husband is a “normal” 30x32 and can’t find khaki pants at Ross. He has better luck at Marshall’s or even Macy’s clearance racks. My DS13 has a hard time finding pants/jeans so we just spend on whatever fits. It’s hard to budget for DS13’s pants.

For button down shirts my DS13 wears S and my husband wears S or M depending on brands. They cost in the $20 to $30 range on clearance for fall material as my husband and DS13 do not like thin materials for shirts. DS13’s T-shirts for tennis cost under $25 on sale for brands like Nike, Under Armour, Ripcurl.

Underwear is the easy one, $20 covers either kids for a year since we buy the economy pack at the boys dept as DS13 has a 27” waist.

ETA:

Socks are 6 pairs of Nike socks for $15, sometimes less at Marshall’s.

Edited August 24, 2018 by Arcadia

[Tap]

Jeans will be hard to find right now at Ross since school is starting.  Those sizes go fast.

For ds I would expect $50pair for jeans/khakis at American Eagle with sales.  Tshirts 20-40.  Button down shirts/polos $25-50. Dress pants at JCPenny for $50.  Socks $12 for dress socks and $15-20 for athletic.  Underwear can vary from $15 to 50 depending on style and fabric.  

Were in Portland Oregon, so mid to high prices here.

Edited August 24, 2018 by Tap

[Pen]

@Tap Is there any place where one stop shopping could possibly be done?  Or maybe we should go with online, though I thought it could be good for him to be able to try things. 

@Arcadia  28x32, I think. Or if it existed maybe 27x31. 

———-

I take it there might be better times in the year for this?  I have formerly tended to get individual items as needed. Often by phone or online order. 

[Arcadia]

14 minutes ago, Pen said:

 

@Arcadia  28x32, I think. Or if it existed maybe 27x31. 

 

I did a thread looking for 27x31 jeans https://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/675176-where-can-i-find-27x31-boy-jeans-in-store/

 

I find it easier to find odd sizes at discount stores like Marshalls now that schools have started here. I managed to find a few odd size Levis in the boy’s and men’s dept. DS13 can still wear boys size 20 for khaki pants and for t-shirts so we look at the boys section as well.

[Beth S]

YMMV, but if you're like me, ALL clothes shopping for teens (sons AND daughters) is still a mystery.  ?
This may be too difficult a task for him---it's very difficult for ME!

We get lots of hand-me-downs from others & from older brothers. 
I buy the essentials for our sons (jeans, Tshirts, undergarments), usually at Walmart.
Stuff I wouldn't want him to be without . . . but also what I do NOT want to over-pay for!
They know how much these items cost.

If our college-age son goes to Kohl's & buys something, then I reimburse him (if it's something reasonable), or I pay half,  etc.
He now knows how to use the Kohl's credit card, Kohl's cash, & sales . . . to get the best deal.
But he's 23yo now. ?  The younger boys just don't care enough to go to ANY store.  ?

This may have de-railed your thread--but our boys were not clothes-conscious enough to do all this at 9th grade.

[Catwoman]

Is there any reason you want him to shop for his clothes on his own? Wouldn’t it be easier if you went with him?

[Arcadia]

Since DS13 is odd size while DS12 is a more typical size, what we found was we had to buy 12 tennis/golf shorts from three stores and only two shorts were a good fit for him as he wanted something that is below knee and heavyweight cotton material. One of the shorts that decently fit was a cargo shorts and a little loose at the waist. 

Since DS13 doesn’t like fitting rooms, we just end up doing a trip to buy and another trip to return those that don’t fit.

[Pen]

36 minutes ago, Beth S said:

 

YMMV, but if you're like me, ALL clothes shopping for teens (sons AND daughters) is still a mystery.  ?
This may be too difficult a task for him---it's very difficult for ME!

 

 

5 minutes ago, Catwoman said:

Is there any reason you want him to shop for his clothes on his own? Wouldn’t it be easier if you went with him?

 

I may be making a mistake to want this!  I’m trying to work on increasing his independence skills and budgeting skills, and should say teen in this case = 16. And he does care somewhat about fashion. 

I could just continue with long distance orders for clothes. 

[kitten18]

7 minutes ago, Pen said:

 

 

I may be making a mistake to want this!  I’m trying to work on increasing his independence skills and budgeting skills, and should say teen in this case = 16. And he does care somewhat about fashion. 

I could just continue with long distance orders for clothes. 

It’s not a bad idea. It made me start thinking about it. My DS is almost 13 and I don’t think he would have any idea how to shop for clothes. I bring ALL his clothes home for him, I can’t even remember him going to a store and trying on clothes. I can just picture him standing in the store with no idea what to do. Lol

[Catwoman]

2 minutes ago, Pen said:

 

 

I may be making a mistake to want this!  I’m trying to work on increasing his independence skills and budgeting skills, and should say teen in this case = 16. And he does care somewhat about fashion. 

I could just continue with long distance orders for clothes. 

 

I think you could go with him and give him pointers as necessary, while still letting him choose the clothes and figure out how to work within the budget you’ve set for him.

Also, the chances of him being able to find everything he needs in one store are probably pretty slim.

[TechWife]

First, if he can fit into the kids sizes, they are much less expensive than the adult sizes. DS wore size 20 Levi's until just this year for that reason. When I say less expensive, I mean by 50%, so if  he's willing to do that, he will save some $$.

My ds and I have been working on replacing some worn items in his clothing supply. I think the last time we did this on any scale was about three years ago. This is a great time of year to do it. It was definitely worth it to shop online for prices. Doing that, he got very little from a brick & mortar store. We know what kind of jeans he likes (Levi's 550's relaxed fit) and his waist size, so we ordered based on that. I will say that getting adult jeans in the store didn't work because the stores don't stock his size (30 x 30). If your son is small waisted or tall, you might need to order online as well.

Amazon had the best prices for Columbia convertible pants, Kohl's had the best prices for Levi's jeans. We ordered shirts from both Kohl's and Dillards, they are summer shirts and were marked down 50%. In the store, they weren't yet marked down 50%, but online they were. Tech shirts and pj bottoms were acquired from Kohl's and Target stores. The tech shirts were hard to find in his size, but I think that's because we were at the end of a sale and they had been picked over.

Can you drop him off at a store to let him find out what he likes, have him take pictures of the clothing item and the tag, then shop online for prices?

ETA: I just read through this and saw some of the prices mentioned. My son's Levi's were $29 on sale, his shirts were $20-24 marked down, his Columbia pants were $40 each, but they are both pants and shorts, so they do double duty. Earlier this year we paid $90 for a good pair of work boots for him.

Edited August 24, 2018 by TechWife

[Spy Car]

I wonder if Mrs. Spy Car might turn a profit on the boy's clothes?

At some point, my dear wife stumbled into the joys of hitting the thrift stores looking for great finds (prior to the "popping tags" song that might as well have been her anthem).

Then she discovered a cool this resale shop called Buffalo Exchange and what had been an "eccentricity" escalated into an obsession.

She will now (often with our son in tow) hit the thrifts, then turns around an sell (or trades for credits) stuff she knows Buffalo Exchange will love. She brings in piles of clothes purposely bought to trade with.

She gets a total charge out of it and the boys "looks fly" (his words) by using up the credits. There is, of course, an aspect of madness to it all, but hey.

Reminds me of the old Woody Allen joke---you know, a guy walks into a psychiatrist's office and says, hey Doc, my brother's crazy! He thinks he's a chicken.

Then the doc says, why don't you turn him in?

Then the guy says, I would but I need the eggs.

We need the eggs.

Bill

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Pen]

@TechWife thanks lots of good ideas. I just decided to order 3 T-shirts 1 or 2 pants and we can perhaps then address going to store when not before school madhouse!

[TechWife]

10 minutes ago, Pen said:

@TechWife thanks lots of good ideas. I just decided to order 3 T-shirts 1 or 2 pants and we can perhaps then address going to store when not before school madhouse!

Anytime, glad the info was helpful. Although stores are busy right now, they are busy because prices are low, so the trade off for going at a less busy time might be higher prices, so keep that in mind.

[Soror]

My budget is just as cheap as we can get by with...

ITA with Techwife on boys vs men's clothing. We took ds shopping at Penney's this year, during the back to school sale they had boys jeans for $10-$20, he found a pair of the $10 ones he liked so I was thrilled. He can fit into men's sizes but like many of the above posters he is super skinny and an odd size. I'll be keeping him in boys sizes for as long as I can. He's 5'6"+ right now and fit in the 14 or 16s IIRC, so he's got room to grow. We always try thrift stores here first to see what we can find and then fill in with sales and shop at discounters like Ross & Marshall's. 

Edited August 25, 2018 by soror

[Pen]

I think my son is too big for boys.  

He seems to usually take Men’s medium for sports shorts and pants. Sports bottoms often have drawstrings in the waist making fit easier.

A shirt he wears a lot is a large, I now see so I hope the men’s medium T-shirts I ordered him won’t be too small.  The jeans may be too small too. I wasn’t thinking clearly that 28x32 is what he already has and is growing out of. Sigh. 

Everything is returnable, but I realize now that I think I should have used “Prime Wardrobe” which would have made returning much easier and definitely no return shipping cost. But I hadn’t caught on to that in time. 

Well, the jeans arrive tomorrow so I will see, and take it from there. If they don’t fit, I think I will then try Prime Wardrobe out. 

[gardenmom5]

for a teen boy who needs a men's size/length, I would order online as those small sizes are often only available online.     -including ones that fit the length and narrow hips and waist.  I would check jcpenny's or sears online.   or even old navy, online for sizes.  (they'd be more likely to have the in the store)

if you are a costco member - you can order more dockers/khakis and  shirts sizes online than in the warehouse. they usually have sports pants as well.  I bought a bunch for dudeling (he won't wear anything else) in the biggest boys size (20) for $15 each. he's now taller than me.

I just helped ds start his "business casual" wardrobe.  (required for a college conference next week)  consisting of two pair docker's (he has a pair that fit) and six or seven? dress/collared shirts. (incl. some white church shirts.) was $200. - all were on sale.

do you want this to be a periodic thing?  or monthly allowance?

[Pen]

2 minutes ago, gardenmom5 said:

periodic thing?  or monthly allowance

 

I was thinking periodic. 

 

I have also now now become very aware that sizes on label may have little to do with actual size.

Ds has a pair of slacks labeled 30x34 which are smaller than a pair of dress trousers labeled boys 18. (I think the 30x34 were gotten at a great price originally due to being much tighter than 30, and the size 18s were unusually large for 18s) The former are 100% cotton and have been washed in hot many many times.  The latter are mixed materials and have never been washed in hot water— so possibly shrinkage in addition to initial weird sizing is part of it.

But at the moment after examining several clothing items, trying to decide what is likely to still fit, I concluded that I cannot be certain of his size.

It was easier when he clearly wore boys and we could go up a size in basically the same thing each time he needed something bigger. 

I hope he can still wear the dress trousers because they have been great on him and I don’t think that they come in a larger size. I don’t see an equivalent in men’s either oddly. They are Perry Ellis all black. With enough stretch that he used them as ice skating pants as well as dress up with a blazer. 

[gardenmom5]

3 minutes ago, Pen said:

 

I was thinking periodic. 

 

I have also now now become very aware that sizes on label may have little to do with actual size.

Ds has a pair of slacks labeled 30x34 which are smaller than a pair of dress trousers labeled boys 18. (I think the 30x34 were gotten at a great price originally due to being much tighter than 30, and the size 18s were unusually large for 18s) The former are 100% cotton and have been washed in hot many many times.  The latter are mixed materials and have never been washed in hot water— so possibly shrinkage in addition to initial weird sizing is part of it.

But at the moment after examining several clothing items, trying to decide what is likely to still fit, I concluded that I cannot be certain of his size.

It was easier when he clearly wore boys and we could go up a size in basically the same thing each time he needed something bigger. 

I hope he can still wear the dress trousers because they have been great on him and I don’t think that they come in a larger size. I don’t see an equivalent in men’s either oddly. They are Perry Ellis all black. With enough stretch that he used them as ice skating pants as well as dress up with a blazer. 

jeans have their own sizing system

dress plants have their own sizing system

casual slacks have their own sizing system.

never the twain shall meet.

you measure, measure, measure.  then you look at the size guides for the ones you're interested in.

re: dress pants.  for super skinney, extra scrawny - get flat front, NO pleats.

Edited August 25, 2018 by gardenmom5

[Pen]

@gardenmom5 or any one who knows:

Do jeans have their own sizing such that I might be able to get a size up in Wranglers as compared to a Levi’s pair he grew out of? Or is each brand its own world?

 

Aargh!!!

[Arcadia]

1 hour ago, Pen said:

Do jeans have their own sizing such that I might be able to get a size up in Wranglers as compared to a Levi’s pair he grew out of? Or is each brand its own world?

 

Each brand is its own world. Even with the waist x inseam correct, each brand has different model numbers to suit. DS13 has a better fit with the Levi’s that is slim cut and boot cut/taper fit (forgot which model number but it’s a pricier model) than with Levi’s 501 and 505. I do live near a Levi’s Outlet as well as Super Walmart so it’s easy to buy and return Levi’s and Wrangler’s in store as even my skinny husband has problems with finding jeans that are a good fit.

I’ll check the model number of the Levi’s and ask what is the closest Wrangler equivalent.

[gardenmom5]

2 hours ago, Pen said:

@gardenmom5 or any one who knows:

Do jeans have their own sizing such that I might be able to get a size up in Wranglers as compared to a Levi’s pair he grew out of? Or is each brand its own world?

 

Aargh!!!

not only is each brand it's own world, different styles in the same brand can be their own world. ... . (had this happen with shoes).

there are so many options for fit these days with jeans.  skinny jeans, boot cut (larger lower leg), relaxed (bigger through seat and thigh) - and regular.

1dd was super skinny.    . . . sears .. . skinny jeans. . were too big. penny's fit well.

dudeling wanted skinny jeans - and then decided he hated jeans.  now he only wears athletic pants.

in kids sizes- jeans at old navy would come with an elastic on the inside to adjust the waist. I guess they figure if they can wear an adult size, they can deal with a belt.  1ds- complains even with a belt.   I'm glad I went with him he picked the size he said he was - no dear, those are too short and too tight. he took some of his shirts and had them tailored so they'd fit how he wanted them to fit.  (they didn't come in fitted sizes.)

[Pen]

11 minutes ago, gardenmom5 said:

ds sizes- jeans at old navy would come with an elastic on the inside to adjust the waist. I guess they figure if they can wear an adult size, they can deal with a belt.  1ds- complains even with a belt.   I'm glad I went with him he picked the size he said he was - no dear, those are too short and too tight. he took some of his shirts and had them tailored so they'd fit how he wanted them to fit.  (they didn't come in fitted si

 

We used to use jeans with elastic waist cinches too. 

The problem about complaints about clothes is part of why I wanted to hand it over to Ds. 

29 minutes ago, Arcadia said:

 

Each brand is its own world. Even with the waist x inseam correct, each brand has different model numbers to suit. DS13 has a better fit with the Levi’s that is slim cut and boot cut/taper fit (forgot which model number but it’s a pricier model) than with Levi’s 501 and 505. I do live near a Levi’s Outlet as well as Super Walmart so it’s easy to buy and return Levi’s and Wrangler’s in store as even my skinny husband has problems with finding jeans that are a good fit.

I’ll check the model number of the Levi’s and ask what is the closest Wrangler equivalent.

 

The grown out of jeans are 514s   Who would you ask about Wrangler equivalents?  Salesperson?  

[gardenmom5]

Just now, Pen said:

 

We used to use jeans with elastic waist cinches too. 

The problem about complaints about clothes is part of why I wanted to hand it over to Ds. 

 

The grown out of jeans are 514s   Who would you ask about Wrangler equivalents?  Salesperson?  

depends on the store.  some clerks might know, and other's are clueless.

[Arcadia]

3 minutes ago, Pen said:

The grown out of jeans are 514s   Who would you ask about Wrangler equivalents?  Salesperson?  

 

My local Walmart stores have Levi’s 514 so I could match them to the Wranglers they carry. Nordstrom Rack and Kohl’s are the other stores that has both brands with wide variety. How knowledgeable a salesperson is depends on the stores and the person.

[Targhee]

My estimate for shopping at somewhere like Old Navy or Target (or even Ross) for two pair of pants ($50), 4 Shirts ($60), 8 pair underwear ($15) totals $125

[Arcadia]

We went to buy jeans for DS13 and clothes for husband. DS13 chose these two.

Calvin Klein Jeans CKJ 026 SLIM BOSTON BLUE JEANS https://www.calvinklein.us/en/ckj-026-slim-boston-blue-jeans-25504344

Joe's Jeans The Brixton Straight & Narrow Jeans https://www.nordstromrack.com/shop/product/1099340/joes-jeans-the-brixton-straight-narrow-jeans?color=MIDNIGHT

The CK Jeans 30x32 was tight from the knee down for him and when I measured laid flat was 1” narrower at the calf and ankle area than the Joe’s Jeans. He could wear it but he doesn’t like it so skin hugging. 

The Joe’s Jeans is a size 29 but the size chart says it’s for waist 32.75 and hip 38.5.   DS13’s waist is around 29”/30” depending on time of the day. The jeans is 3.5” longer than the CK Jeans. It’s slightly loose which DS13 prefers and the right length. The inseam is 34”. I think it sits slightly below waist for DS13 with a rise of 10”.

The Joe’s Jeans sale price was $79.97 so we’ll have to hunt for cheaper prices at the outlets. At least now we know roughly DS13’s jeans sizing. Now I feel tempted to bring a tape measure when shopping for DS13’s jeans ?

[Arcadia]

20 minutes ago, heartlikealion said:

 I buy dh's clothing and he's big & tall but I usually find something reasonable. Man, I hope I'm not spending $30 a shirt for ds when he's a teen. 

Has he outgrown The Children's Place? 

 

My husband could get cheap smart casual button down small/medium slim long sleeve shirts from Forever 21 and H&M, like $10 a shirt in store on sale. DS13 is taller and skinner so my husband’s shirts looks oversized/flappy on him. I think DS13 also needs longer shirt sleeves than my husband but I have to check how much longer.

DS13 outgrew The Children’s Place size 18 Slim. DS12 can still wear The Children’s Place size 16 slim. DS12 is still in the more typical dimension clothing wise but he is also in a growth spurt period so might hit the odd sizing soon.

Edited August 26, 2018 by Arcadia

[Jenny in Florida]

A couple of years ago, my son and I sat down and made a list of the clothes he needed for each year. We then looked online at prices on those items at his favorite/preferred (read: "more expensive") retailers and on the same items at Target.

For example: He is another one of the tall, skinny ones, almost 6' and about 130 pounds. He really likes the fit and style of the jeans at Zara and Express, which range from $60 - 90. However, he can make do with the $30 Denizen ones from Target. 

We set a price per item by averaging the higher and lower costs, multiplied by the number of items we agreed it was reasonable for him to buy/replace each year, then added it all up to get an annual budget.

In his case, it came out to about $600 per year.

He preferred to receive a regular weekly allowance, because he's a recreational shopper. So we divided the total by 52 and set up recurring transfers to his checking account.

He was free to spend more if he wished, but that was our contribution. 

Edited August 26, 2018 by Jenny in Florida

[bethben]

I found jcpenney online to have men’s jeans and dress pants for cheap on sale.  They are the Arizona brand pants.  I got my Ds a 26 waist with 34 inseam kakis for about $15 each.  I would never be able to find that in a store!

[unsinkable]

On 8/24/2018 at 5:28 PM, Catwoman said:

Is there any reason you want him to shop for his clothes on his own? Wouldn’t it be easier if you went with him?

I have to play "personal shopper" for my DD bc she cannot tolerate the fluorescent lighting that is in most stores for more than a few minutes. So she might go in and get a sense of what catches her eye and point it out to me if she is feeling good. But she doesn't have much time to try stuff on before she gets seizur-y. Which sucks when she is locked alone in a dressing room. I have come to prefer the dressing rooms which have both clean floors and space where I can stick my head under the doors. 

So I mostly bring her home stuff to try and take back or exchange what doesn't work.

I started doing it for my boys, too, when they had no interest in shopping. We all find/found it so much easier. This was especially true of basics...jeans, pants, dress clothes, sports/workout clothes. I know the best prices and where/when to get them.

As they got older, they'd shop for more in-style, trendy stuff on their own...usually on jackthreads or asos.

So all that to say...yeah, go with him or do it yourself...

[Pen]

3 hours ago, bethben said:

I found jcpenney online to have men’s jeans and dress pants for cheap on sale.  They are the Arizona brand pants.  I got my Ds a 26 waist with 34 inseam kakis for about $15 each.  I would never be able to find that in a store!

 

This looks like a possibility.  I see they have a sale right now till September 3. Are jcpenny online clothes sales with men’s jeans and dress slacks frequent?  And how is jcpenny online for returns if needed?

Edited August 26, 2018 by Pen

[DesertBlossom]

I don't know if it's been mentioned, but around here there are a few used clothing stores geared towards young adults where they buy and sell used clothes. The stuff is usually brand name, popular stuff. It's one way to stretch your budget.

[PeterPan]

1 hour ago, DesertBlossom said:

around here there are a few used clothing stores geared towards young adults where they buy and sell used clothes. The stuff is usually brand name, popular stuff. It's one way to stretch your budget.

Bingo, when budget is essential, then learning to shop 2nd hand is good. There can be some really nice stuff. 

Beyond that, for actual deals, the best way is online, watching for sales. Figure out your size, know exactly what you need (straight leg, this inseam, blah blah), and then use the online coupons and deals. My dd tends to dress way above her budget because she is tall with big feet, etc. It's not like she can just walk into the stores and find deals. She does it all online and has learned the rhythm of when they clearance and when there will be deals. Like I think she just bought 5-6 new pairs of pants, all stuff like Ann Taylor Loft, stuff WAY more expensive than anything I wear, and she didn't pay more than $20 a pair. Seriously, lol.

Beyond that, my opinion, for anyone where the issue is more life skills, is not to complicate it. Help him figure out his size at a store where the style is acceptable. Help him buy 5 pairs each at that store, boom done. Like pick LandsEnd or Duluth Trading Company or Gap or whatever works for his body and lifestyle, and just stick with it.

Underwear are such a pain in the butt to sort through in the store. Walmart.com would work well for that, unless he needs a snazzier brand. Same for socks. Even shoes you can order online once you really know your size. Then you can find deals AND have convenience.

[elegantlion]

It might depend upon how picky he is about fit. We have to hit a variety of stores to get clothes to fit ds, he's about a 30/30 or 29/30, but he's long-waisted, thin, and hates extra bulk in his shirts. 

We've had good luck at Old Navy for pants, Target for some items, Walmart for shorts and tshirts. He ended up in Dillards (like Macys) clearance the other day - he ended up in the boy's department for dress shirts. He's also shopped Kohls for dressier clothes, but not sportcoats. Thrift stores are hit or miss for his size - about the only thing they're good for is collared shirts. He doesn't wear regular jeans. 

For dressier clothes, he's spent about $200 to stock up. Summer and casual clothes were less than that. 

 

[Pen]

The Wranglers 28x32 I ordered came. They look nice, but fit him on the tight side —no shrinkage room— so I ordered a 29x32 flex fit (his choice). I was going to return the 28x32 tomorrow, but think I will wait for the 29x32 to come in case the 28 is better after all.

He may turn out to need jeans with gussets or “ballroom” jeans as Duluth calls them. 

Will then have to decide if I want to pay for a UPS pick up or drive the returns into the city.  

[fairfarmhand]

For my girls, I outfit them in basics, so like 3-4 or jeans and 6-9 casual shirts. And a few church things. Basic shoes—tennis shoes, boots, flats, sandals. And they get to make up the wants with their own money. 

So they help me shop for their basics. 

I do it this way because they are odd sizes and a flat budget might mean they only have 2 jeans if they had to pay a lot because their odd size was awful to find in an inexpensive store. 

So what I’d do is set an arbitrary number of pants, shirts, jeans, etc. and supply that, and tell your son he can supply Anything over that. If he damages or loses something, he can replace it until the next season rolls around.

 This also means that my kids learn to do laundry because they seldom have more than 4-5 pair of jeans. 

[fairfarmhand]

Oh, if your son is hard on jeans, I recommend diamond gusset. They’re practically indestructible. My dh was wearing out Levi’s every 6 months and that was just wearing them for casual Friday. The ones he wore on the farm were a mess quickly. So we tried diamond gusset and even with farm work they wear like iron. 

[Pen]

2 hours ago, fairfarmhand said:

Oh, if your son is hard on jeans, I recommend diamond gusset. They’re practically indestructible. My dh was wearing out Levi’s every 6 months and that was just wearing them for casual Friday. The ones he wore on the farm were a mess quickly. So we tried diamond gusset and even with farm work they wear like iron. 

 

Is diamond gusset a shape of gusset or a company?

 

So far I have not found Jeans with gusset crotch under size 30waist. 

 

At at this moment Ds has zero jeans that fit.  And he is going to brick and mortar school, so I think at least one pair would be a good idea, maybe two. He wears athletic shorts or pants a lot though. 

[Arcadia]

DS13 tried two more pairs today. The RVCA pants is my husband’s and he was trying just for size. It was a decent fit but DS13 doesn’t like the smoke color and button fly closure, so he can’t borrow my husband’s twill pants.

RVCA 30x32 https://www.rvca.com/shop/product/mens-pants/stay-rvca-pant-3

The Joe Jeans boys The Brixton pants size 18 was too tight at the knees but ok everywhere else. So size 20 might be ok for him at the knees and slightly loose at the waist and hips https://www.nordstromrack.com/shop/product/1819655/joes-jeans-brixton-stretch-cotton-twill-pant-big-boys?color=FADED BLAC

Diamond Gusset Jeans https://www.gusset.com/

[fairfarmhand]

Diamond gusset i

8 hours ago, Pen said:

 

Is diamond gusset a shape of gusset or a company?

 

So far I have not found Jeans with gusset crotch under size 30waist. 

 

At at this moment Ds has zero jeans that fit.  And he is going to brick and mortar school, so I think at least one pair would be a good idea, maybe two. He wears athletic shorts or pants a lot though. 

Diamond gusset is a brand. And they’re made in the USA! Here in middle Tennessee. They do have 29 inch waist, 32 inseam. Their customer service is great! I’m totally impressed with this company. Good luck! 

[fairfarmhand]

I can also find diamond gusset jeans in the farmers co-op store here in our area. If you want a local place that you can easily return to if things don’t fit, I’d call the company and see where they stock their jeans in your area.

[Pen]

1 hour ago, fairfarmhand said:

I can also find diamond gusset jeans in the farmers co-op store here in our area. If you want a local place that you can easily return to if things don’t fit, I’d call the company and see where they stock their jeans in your area.

 

They are only in stores in Tennessee.