Help 19 year old ds with style

[Comefromaway]

Ds is 19, autistic and has no sense of fashion. He looks really young for his age, people assume he is about 14.

This is a problem as he is at uni and starting to try and break into the music industry. He is doing well, but he turns up looking a mess in his comfy joggers and t shirt. Occasionally he will wear a pair of primark jeans and a polo shirt.

He hates chinos so will not wear those. Will tolerate jeans. What sort of brands/styles are in both for casual and a bit smarter?

I would look at Kings Will Dream, Hoodrich, Glorious Gangsta and similar brands stocked by Foot Asylum. It’s basically joggers and a hoodie (ie comfy) but with a bit of a stylish edge. Lots of embroidered details but nothing too out there. Also my DS grew a beard at this age to look older.

I'd say New Look, H&M, maybe Penguin (more expensive).

Just dropped dc back at uni and all boys are wearing jeans and checked shirts or sportswear and North face jackets. Hoodie and trackies seems normal tbh

I think part of the problem is that he will only wear two specific styles of trackies (one of which you can't seem to get any more) the straight leg addidas/nike dri-fit type ones and the cuffed fleece lined ones.

What would they wear on a night out?

His friend likes Stone Island but I can't justify that for someone who hates clothes!

Do his clothes fit well? My son is a bit younger but has definite ideas on say how long a polo should be or if trainers should be regular or slim fit. He knows that super skinny does not suit him because of his body type and he has sensory issues anyway so wouldn't wear super tight clothes anyway.

With the polo, is he wearing muscle fit or just regular fit? One will make him look like a young man where as the other will give dad/teacher vibes. Are his clothes ironed? Ds is a massive housework dodger but spends lots of time ironing his clothes so he looks polished.

You don't mention shoes. My son wears shoes that often cost more than the rest of his outfit. Does he clean them so they look good?

Hi there I had a similar issue with my Autistic son. I found buying at least 2 pairs of his favourite style of trousers and at least 2 t shirts the same or similar designs. He seemed happy wearing the clothes to keep his routine.

No, his clothes often don't fit well mostly because he is so small. We have a problem in joggers for example in that the larger child sizes are too big in the waist but the smallest adult sizes are too long in the leg.

Neither of us know what muscle fit is so I guess he is wearing regular. He has a couple from Primark then a plain black one he uses for pit work and one from his theatre group. He doesn't iron when he is away at uni.

Shoes he wears black converse. I have been nagging him to clean them. He did have a red pair but now seems to prefer black.

He is happy to wear what he has. But he regularly performs with a band or in an orchestra on stage. Also he has an interview soon for a musical director job where he will need to be taken seriously by adults older than him. And girls think he is under age!

Maybe take him into a Levis shop and try on loads of pairs of jeans?

And if he likes Converse, a couple more pairs of Converse will take him to most places a student is likely to go.

Band t-shirts with a checked shirt on top?

How tall is he? My skinny 14 year old wears men’s jeans (H&M jogger style) size XS. They fit fine in the waist and are just the right length. Men’s joggers in small or XS (you can those sizes in sports shops like JD sports) also fit fine.

He is about 5 foot 3

Primark XS size jeans fit him

Depends where you live but brands wise, a lot of under armour, North Face, Montirex, Monterrain, Nike. Sometimes joggers or shorts, sometimes a tshirt or a 3/4 zip, sometimes a hoodie or sweatshirt. Sometimes jeans with the tshirt. Trainers usually something like Nike 95, 97 or 110, or On Running.
Night out often a top like a knit polo from river island with jeans and maybe Vans or Mallets. Most young men I know tend to get their going out clothes in River Island or occasionally Zara. Some branded polo's or tshirts from Hugo Boss, Ralph Lauren etc!

Wonder whether jeans and a band or graphic or even Plain type tshirt with a shacket or checked shirt would suit his style?
If he tries some bits from River Island or Zara rather than Primark, you'll find he looks much more put together

Almost all of his t shirts have either a band or a theatre show graphic. I have tried to get him to wear a checked shirt in the past.

He also wears inappropriate clothes together eg he has a black and white haiwiaan style shirt he loves but he wears it with joggers whereas it looks better with jeans.

I think what I need is a list of basics.

Most of his current clothes eg the polo shirts were bought when his ex girlfriend took him shopping. She basically chose everything for him (it was post lockdown and he had grown out of most of his stuff).

List of basics:

black Levis
blue Levis
black Converse
black and white Converse
a couple of hoodies and shirts that he can wear over his band t-shirts
a plain shirt to wear with his cleanest Converse and black jeans when he needs to look a bit smarter

I wonder if it would help once you've bought them new clothes if you could help him put outfits together, maybe he could take photos of outfits laid out on his phone and refer back to them.

I really like the checked shirt look over a t shirt & jeans. I bough a whole load for DS and my best finds were at the budget retailers (Tu, Florence & Fred and Primark) after I'd gone hunting in all the Westfield glossy shops! DS is also on the spectrum and not really interested in labels or fashion so I have to ask friends what's trending.

My 19 year old has good taste in clothes, I think he dresses well. He does wear joggers quite often, grey or black with hoodies. He buys everything from asos, like this www.asos.com/asos-design/asos-design-super-oversized-hoodie-in-dark-green-with-rodeo-front-and-back-print/prd/203806257?clr=rain-forest&colourWayId=203806258&SearchQuery=hoodies. Also wears cargo trousers, slim-ish fitting, some with cuffed bottoms others straight, think from New Look the latest ones.

Have a look on youtube for mens capsule wardrobe videos. That way he won't have to think about styling and can mix and match.

My 19 year old likes cargos (lots of different colours in Primark) with slightly oversized T-shirts - stussy, Palace, Corteiz. Hoodies and AF1 or Jordan's

He's first year Uni and when I've been there I've seen a lot wearing similar, or joggers and hoody look

My ds was very thin at that stage and River lsland jeans suited him. They have different styles. He also wore a lot of plain black tshirts which sort of went with everything. Or just plain white ones. River lsland do the fitted ones and they look a bit smarter than baggy ones.
Also as said H&M