Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Flip

1 2 3 4

Original poster

To ask what on earth 13 year old boys wear these days?

76 replies

mamamia2020 · 08/08/2020 14:57

We live overseas in a place that never rains, as at result my just turned 13-year-old lives in shorts and T-shirts. It is chilly for a couple of months in the winter and he wears unbranded tracksuits when not in school.

We're moving back to the UK and I literally have no idea what 13-year-old boys wear in the UK. I've promised him a new wardrobe when we get there and don't want to unknowingly buy him clothes that would be bully fodder. Any info on what your boys around this age are wearing would be much appreciated? What shops? Brand etc. TIA

OP posts:

BiggerBoat1 · 09/08/2020 11:03

Just go to Sports Direct. Its the only place that is acceptable for my DS. Anything Nike or Adidas

mamaoffourdc · 09/08/2020 11:08

My 13 year old boy literally doesn't care what he wears, I buy him stuff from Abercrombie, H&M, next, superdry, Zara - I would like him to take some kind of interest! And even though I buy all the stuff he always looks scruffy! 😂😳

dalmatianmad · 09/08/2020 11:08

OP you sound like a bloody lovely mum thinking about clothes so that he doesn't get bullied. Go to JD Sports, you really cant go wrong. Nike, under armour, Adidas and north face.....
Good luck coming back x

TheProvincialLady · 09/08/2020 11:19

Surely it will depend a lot on the school he is going to and the type of friends he is likely to have. My son and his friends wear nothing obviously branded in a school with a lot of middle class kids who do the same. Other schools in the city are less MC and friends tell me that their children are under huge pressure to wear the ‘right’ clothes and shoes. As with everything in this country, class is a factor. You might want to ask parents whose children go to the school your son will go to, if that is an option.

Gingerfish91 · 09/08/2020 11:25

My son is 13. Mostly he lives in shorts and t Shirts regardless of the weather. When it’s really cold though he wears jeans, with holes in 🙄. He wears mostly Holister stuff. 90% of it is bought in the sales, their sales are amazing and the XS mens fits. He likes the loud flowery t shirts they do.

Goingdownto · 09/08/2020 11:44

We looked at about 20 almost identical pairs of black trainers in sports direct the other day. All Nike or Adidas - only one of the 20 was acceptable for him though! I have no idea what made the difference and he couldn't explain

mysteryfairy · 09/08/2020 11:48

There’s massive variation by area and even school so I would buy the minimum until he has chance to work out what he wants.

nicknamehelp · 09/08/2020 11:52

I would perhaps get him basics to get him started then top up new wardrobe when he knows what he wants his style to be. But jeans, black tracksuit bottoms, T-shirts hoodies all basic bits. Trainers black or white bout £100. Nike seems to be most acceptable make!

SisyphusDad · 09/08/2020 11:57

Since lockdown, mainly pyjamas. Other than that, unbranded joggers and t-shirts, spiced up with the occasional merchandise top from some YouTuber he admires (buys himself out gets as present).

jcoc147 · 09/08/2020 12:04

I have trainer obsessed teen, any money he gets goes straight on trainers. Nike seem to be the only acceptable brand and either black or white. Try looking at Nike airforce they are around the £90 mark and seem to be a staple for most teens.

SmileTolerantly · 09/08/2020 12:13

I’d get the minimum and then top up when you’ve got more sense of how his peer group works.

The only thing you really need to know is that the Sports Direct own brands (Slazenger, Lonsdale and a couple of others) are an absolute no-no. Also Gap branded goods are not worn by any teen of their own free will (nothing wrong with their unbranded T shirts or shorts but their jeans are probably also best avoided).

Original poster

mamamia2020 · 09/08/2020 12:23

@SmileTolerantly
The only thing you really need to know is that the Sports Direct own brands (Slazenger, Lonsdale and a couple of others) are an absolute no-no.
This is good to know, thank you.
We've never been into brands and we're in the Middle East where I would say young teenagers tend not to be so streetwise or into fashion, or at least his friends aren't. My son isn't remotely into fashion. When not at school he lives in shorts and t-shirts. I don't want him to be a slave to fashion but he will have enough on his plate settling into a new school, in a new country, a new area in the middle of a pandemic so its good to get an idea of teenager fashion (I feel clueless in this department) so I don't commit a fashion faux pas

OP posts:

TheSunIsStillShining · 09/08/2020 12:29

We are so out of fashion. The

TheSunIsStillShining · 09/08/2020 12:31

jeans/short jeans: gap
t-shirts: custom designs from germany (cheaper and great quality)
shoes: sketchers
pullovers: I knit + h&m
in the winter: no coat, but the school blazer. He doesn't even have a coat atm.
every knitted item I do, like scarves, hats, gloves,....

Hoppinggreen · 09/08/2020 12:34

DS is almost 12 and DD is 15 so based on what DS and DDs male friends wear I would say no to Next.
They like Hollister, Abercrombie, Adidas, Nike, Under Armour, North Face.
Black skinny jeans or trackies with Hoodies, no bright colours

Hoppinggreen · 09/08/2020 12:36

I would also agree that brands seem more important at our local Comprehensive than the Private school for some reason

Crystal87 · 09/08/2020 12:39

My almost 12 year old wears Under Armour, North Face and Nike.

user327253 · 09/08/2020 12:41

Why buy designer brands so he fits in though? That's teaching him designer sports wear is important and dressing the same as a certain group is the ideal. He's 13, he's old enough to choose his own clothes. I'd ask him to choose some things from somewhere neutral like H&M, M&S, Next. I have teenagers and none of them like sports brands mentioned, they say it is chavvy. If he really wants those brands then wait for him to ask for them himself and gift them at Christmas. Let him find his own sense of style.

frustrationcentral · 09/08/2020 12:43

11 year old DS likes - Champion, Nike, Adidas

16 year old DS likes - champion shorts/joggers but not T-shirt's ( probably as his brother wears them!!), Nike, Adidas, Hugo Boss, Armani and Ralph Lauren - luckily we live by a few of those outlet centres

AngelsWithSilverWings · 09/08/2020 13:00

@user327253 that's the sort of thing I would have said before I had a teenager who was struggling badly with his mental health due to bullying and teasing about his appearance. Kids can be so cruel to each other. No amount of telling him to just ignore it helped. Counselling only goes so far too.

I decided to do whatever I could within reason to boost his self esteem and try to keep him under the radar of the bullies. I won't go all out and buy the most expensive stuff but I listened and understood when he said that if he wore certain things he would get bullied. Treating him to a few nice brands helped him to feel good about himself.

Our kids live in an instagram world sadly - I hate it.

DollyPomPoms · 09/08/2020 14:02

I really think it depends on the child and what they are into. My son is 11 and likes the ‘Stranger Things’ look. 90’s t shirts, jeans, vans. He likes Zara too. He has long hair and is very confident in his style. He wouldn’t be caught dead in sports wear.

I’ve taught him to be confident in himself. Chose things you like and wear them with confidence.

mamaoffourdc · 09/08/2020 14:19

Yep mine wouldn't wear sports clothes either

treeeeemendous · 09/08/2020 17:37

@DollyPomPoms I'm guessing your child isn't at secondary school yet. Teens can be cruel.

My dd totally has her own sense of style, she is very quirky and confident in what she wears. This doesn't go unnoticed by others though. What she wears with us and when out with her friends is one thing. Own clothes day comes around and she is very careful about what she chooses.

DS isn't into brands and doesn't like shopping, so I buy him stuff based on what I see others of his age wearing. He is very sporty and will only wear shorts/tracksuit bottoms, wears jeans under duress if we need him slightly smarter.

DollyPomPoms · 09/08/2020 18:16

@treeeeemendous he is about to go into secondary but I honestly don’t think it will matter. He has teenage friends now and he has friends that jib him about his clothes and he honestly couldn’t care. He knows what he likes.

I think it also helps that we are in a small market town that happens to have a secondary. There are plenty of pupils at the secondary that also wear the same things as him so I don’t think it will be an issue. He thinks he looks ‘cool’ and doesn’t like sportswear material or aesthetic so he doesn’t really care about the opinions of the boys that do wear sportswear and jib him about his clothes. He appreciates that we are all different and have different tastes.

I think it helps that a group of older girls told him he looks like he should be in The Blossoms which happens to be his favourite band!

formerbabe · 09/08/2020 18:30

I think it definitely depends on the kind of area you live...we are in an unposh part of London, being cool is pretty important to my ds. It's pretty laddish and macho. Emo is definitely not 'in' here.

Flip

1 2 3 4