What do boys wear at university these days? Need help shopping for DS18 please

[SpinkleBit]

DS18 is (hopefully) off to uni in the autumn. He has ASD and has zero interest in fashion, but I think it might really help him socially if he looks like he "fits in." But I just don't know what kind of stuff teenage boys wear now.
He likes his clothes to be comfortable and neutral-looking (no bright colours or anything that stands out). He is very tall and skinny.
So far he has:

• neutral hoodies from Next
• neutral plain T shirts from Next
• mid blue slim fit jeans from Levis
• navy and white trainers from Nike
• some manky trainers which should probably be binned
• a dark grey raincoat from Decathlon

I'm thinking he probably needs some more formal or semi-formal clothes and shoes? Some shoes/boots for when it rains? Something for if he goes to a club or on a date? I literally have no idea. Any advice would be very welcome. P.S. Our budget is quite big, but he wouldn't want any clothes that looked too obviously expensive.

Any formal or semi-formal? They wear jeans and trainers all the time. Even to clubs (though trainers should be fashion ones - air force ones, retro style, vans etc). Maybe trackie bottoms in halls. Unless he's going somewhere which has formal dinners or termly balls?

I work at a university and there are as many dress codes as their are clothes in the world. Jeans, t shirts and hoodies are fine. There's a good deal of tribal signalling through music/brands/messaging but also lots of generic stuff.

There 😳🙄

Honestly when I’ve seen young boys at uni (as a mature student) there is a huge huge range of fashions. There’s the tracky bottoms and sliders, jeans and a nice shirt, dripping in designer labels look, just walked out of the Secret History in a black overcoat and smart trousers look. Uni is generally a place where there is a lot more variety.

But I would say if he’s wearing jeans and plain t-shirts/jumpers he won’t stand out in any way. Which is not a bad thing necessarily. Have you spoken to him or asked if he wants any more clothes for uni?

Which university OP? I went to Durham and it was jeans , t-shirts, rugby shirts 'stash' (college branded clothing from events teams etc) , the odd pashmina, cord blazers etc the clubs there if you can call them that, had no dress code. One night we had gone out to the college bar then decided to go to klute, called housemate who said I want to come but I'm in my pyjamas and dressing gown, so he just came like that, no one batted an eye and just assumed he was part of a fancy dress bar crawl (common) .
The other end of the spectrum was formals and balls, usually black tie or at least lounge suits but they're not mandatory.

DH on the other hand went to uni in London, everyone was very trendy the right brands (not necessarily main stream), even the t-shirts were the right bands etc. Very cool.
So it will depend to some extent where he's going

What you’ve bought sounds good, op. Jeans, T-shirts, hoodies will fit the bill for pretty much everything. Whether something more formal would be useful really depends on him, how he likes to dress and what he likes to do- it’s almost certainly not required. (Some unis have eg black tie events but they’re less common than they used to be and won’t be sprung on him without notice if he wants to go.)

Some comfier trousers eg trackie bums?

Whatever he’ll want for any sports he does.

I don't buy ds's clothes any more so I can't help you very much! Ds is 19 amd not very into clothes but what he has bought has mostly been from charity shops and a vintage kilo sale. The benefit of that is that everything looks a bit worn in and is from a range of shops. Too neat and from one shop is probably to be avoided? He bought a pair of vintage twisted jeans he wears a lot, and a basketball singlet he likes.

Ds has bought a fair few hobby and band t-shirts, mostly Animal Crossing or a Japanese band I can't remember who have an artist that does amazing artwork. Does your ds like any particular game or manga or band like that?

Ds did initially take his prom suit to uni and wore it a couple of times but hasn't even taken it in since then, I don't think formal is very common any more.

Shoes wise - he wears trainers and slides. He does have walking boots but they're still back here.

Tracky bottoms, jeans, t-shirts and hoodies. Plain or branded.
Converse and trainers.

I teach engineering at a university so I see a lot of male students! I think they generally wear jeans and a hoodie, sweatshirt or jumper, over a teeshirt in darkish colours. Trainers on their feet. I am struggling to picture jackets/coats, possibly short down jackets or an overshirt jacket (I looked on Uniqlo's website to get the name of this). Dark coloured backpack to cart around a laptop, water bottle, notebook etc. Female students will have a pencil case, males will have a pen or two rattling around at the bottom of the backpack. I don't see them on nights out, obviously, so they could be in sequins and neon (I doubt it). Honestly I would say just wear what he is comfortable in, nobody will care. The only thing that bothers me about students is the ones who smell (either unwashed, weed or alcohol).

I think some T shirts reflective of his interests might be nice - eg a band/game/invertebrate he likes. Sometimes that's a quick way to make connections especially if he's into something pretty niche - but you might want to vet for suitability.

I'm sure he will work it out for himself once he gets there.

My DS wasn't that much into fashion either and once at uni he wore a lot of the uni branded hoodies and t shirts. He also played a sport for the uni so wore that sportswear too. He wore jeans, trainers and hoodies mostly. Had shirts and shoes if going out and a kilt for formal dinners and balls. He brought some of his clothes with him but bought most of them when he moved away.

Thank you - tonnes of really useful info here!

He will probably go to York or Warwick; as far as I know they don't have formal dinners or black tie stuff. He has got a lounge suit for 6th form, so he could take that with him.

He has some trackie bottoms, but doesn't tend to wear them much anymore - I will check whether they are in decent condition or need replacing!

I will get him some fashion trainers. And maybe a darker, slightly "smarter" pair of jeans. T shirts referencing his favourite games sound like a great idea - I will clear it with him first, though (he likes things to be very plain).

He's unlikely to shop for himself or pay much attention to what other people are wearing. He has been trained to wash and not smell! (combing hair is still an uphill battle, but at least the hair is clean!).

My son is exactly the same down to the asd except he is small and very slim.

Things that work for him

Black converse or Vans (ds prefers converse his friend prefers Vans but they are very popular amongst that age group. They can be worn casual or smart. Much more versatile than trainers.

Black jeans - ds studies music and he can even wear these for concerts. Ds prefers Primark skinny but if your ds already has Levi's I'd go with the same again but in black.

Neutral t shirts (black, white, beige) Nike, Addidas, Vans, Converse, are good brands with a bit more street cred than Next or merch ones (ds has band and show t shirts) If possible steer away from any with transfer patterns as they don't respond well to uni tumble dryers. My ds would also personally prefer to wear a Primark or Sainsbury's T shirt than a Next one for some reason!

Nike/Addidas joggers & hoodies. Some of his friends like Champion but ds doesn't. Some also like Stone Island but thankfully again ds doesn't. He also really likes a hoody from Primark.

He also does have a pair of black trousers a plain black short sleeved shirt an a plain white shirt for very formal occasions/concerts (he still wears his converse with them though)

(combing hair is still an uphill battle, but at least the hair is clean!).

Same here. ds's method of combing his hair is to put his hoody on straight after his shower with the hood up until his hair has dried!

Tbh if he likes plain stuff maybe stick with plain! It will be very clear when people are being themselves. He probably won't wear what he doesn't like anyway.

I do provide ds with lots of socks. That's partly because he has inherited terrible huge lumpy feet from me and it's a maternal thing because I hate to think of him having uncomfortable or smelly feet.

Ds also wears lots of uni sports club branded stuff so if your boy does take up a hobby you could offer to get him a piece of that if it doesn't occur to him to do so.

Only dress code he needs to heed is clean non-smelly clothes worn by clean non-smelly person.

So I think he'll be fine in what he is comfortable in.

Try not to worry - easy said than done I know - as chances are this is a bigger step fir you than him.

The branded t shirts that ds has are mostly very plain eg these which were bought on a multi offer https://www.nike.com/gb/t/sportswear-club-t-shirt-G2qXCD/AR4997-013 or these https://www.converse.com/uk/en/shop/p/embroidered-star-chevron-crew-neck-short-sleeve-mens-t-shirt/10020224.html?dwvar_10020224_color=white&styleNo=10020224-A01&cgid=Men%20Tops

What you've got sounds good. DS wears Jeans/trackies, trainers/Converse, t-shirts and hoodies. He has a couple of over-shirts to wear when he goes out clubbing. Waterproof coat and a winter overcoat.
One shirt, tie, suit and shoes for when he needs them (e.g. he had an interview for a summer internship).
Clothes for activities he might want to do (DS does outdoor stuff, so hiking boots, walking trousers, etc.)

This is an incredibly helpful thread - thanks so much to everybody. The brand suggestions are really useful to me, as I can probably get slightly 'cooler' versions of his favourite things (a lot of which are getting a bit old anyway, and need replacing).

Vans and Converse are looking like a real winner for shoes.

I hadn't thought of overshirts, but they also sound like something that would work well for him.

Thanks again for all the great advice.

Nike, North Face, Addidas tshirts and hoodies. Ones with small logos if he prefers the plainer look.

OP can I steer you to Weekday. If you don’t know them they’re a Swedish brand. A little bit street, a little bit studenty to my mind, not incredibly expensive and quite durable. I have a couple of hoody’s which have stood wear and tear really well. Loved the colour of this T shirt. ( it’s all in the fit)

Ooh I like those divebar

He sounds a bit like an ex boyfriend of mine who was a computer geek but NT I think.

He tended to go for maroon, mustard or black T-shirts or black ones from Gap. A black plain leather jacket and also a maroon leather jacket from Zara. Jeans which weren’t trendy but shape suited him (same shape). And found that he either didn’t suit or find comfy most shoes so all his shoes were Skechers (leather) bar trainers.

So I’d probably do Gap, Zara menswear and maybe Levi’s for T-shirts.

Is it worth him looking at websites or even going shopping on a quiet day with you?