Where do you buy colourful, comfortable clothes for older boys?

[LumpkinPumpkin]

Why is dressing boys so hard?! Am I missing something? The choices for slightly older boys (so not toddlers, but not teens) seem to be mini footballer or grey/khaki/black bleugh.

My eldest is 8. He’s autistic, hates sports, likes to be comfortable.
Likes:
Animals (the weirder/more obscure the better), colours, geology, history
Dislikes:
Anything that might look vaguely sporty, Minecraft, superheroes, jeans (or any kind of structured trouser generally).

Frugi is sometimes spot on, but other times too ‘babyish’.
Maxomorra and Duns likewise (and I’m not made of money!!)
Supermarkets only seem to do the dullest, darkest colours or else football/superheroes/minecraft themed stuff.
H&M and Next occasionally have the odd T-shirt or pair of less boring coloured trackies.

My son is 7.5 and very similar. We've had a surprising amount of success in Primark - my son gets on well with their joggers, including some smarter ones (which are still comfy and have an elasticated waistband). M&S is great for tops and shorts. I also keep an eye out in charity shops.

Boden

M&S and Ralph Lauren with the odd t-shirt dedicated to a special interest.

Next have good basics in lots of colour choices.

I was going to say Boden, too, and if you shop in the sale or on Vinted the prices can feel a little better as they can be a bit on the pricey side for some things, I think.

M&S
Next - particularly online as they get older and they have less variety in store
John Lewis
Boden
Asda
Sainsburys
Museum shops - perhaps try London Zoo or the Natural History Museum or others, all of which are available online

This French company can have nice things.

www.vertbaudet.co.uk/occasion-wear-cotton-linen-jacket-for-boys-beige.htm?ProductId=702500047&FiltreCouleur=6310

Sorry I did not mean that jacket. The company is Vertbaudet U.K.

It’s interesting to me that people are recommending Boden as my mum volunteers in a charity shop and the staff there said that Boden clothes don’t last well. I have avoided them ever since but would love some counter examples as their clothes do look lovely new!

We get a lot of basics from Next. They have some lovely bright t shirts/ tops/ shorts without looking babyish. We usually pick things out online and collect.

NameIt.
i buy all my 10 year olds joggers from there as they have an internal adjustable waistband which he needs as he’s very skinny for his height. They have colourful t shirts too. A bit pricier than other options but I find they have worn well and you can pick up second hand on Vinted.

Scandibugs' own brand is great for brightly coloured basics. My son loves their leggings and long sleeve tops, he can be funny about clothes but finds them very comfy. They go up to age 10.

Also Lindex can have some good stuff in sometimes.

https://www.scandibugs.co.uk/collections/scandibugs-own-label

I actually find supermarkets have lots more colourful stuff than they used to, but unfortunately it’s few and far between so you have to get little bits here and there where you see it. I just got some nice joggers from Tesco and stocked up on some short a t shirt sets for next summer.

We used to get quite a few bits from Benetton, but did wait for the sales. Some seasons were better than others for colour etc, but they always washed and lasted well.

Boden and it lasts really well, it’s gone through multiple children here as hand me downs.
also had some lovely colourful stuff from JohnLewis own brand

I don't agree with your mum at all. My DC lived in Boden clothes from 2 to 12 and I was forever amazed at how well their clothes lasted, how well they washed and how hard wearing they were, so much so that I passed them all down to friends' younger children and that was after years of my DC wearing them.
Boden all the way @LumpkinPumpkin
Bright, colourful, good designs, ultra soft material, last forever.
My DS is 15 now and it's all Nike, Vans, etc. But he still uses all his old Boden t shirts from when he was 12 as PJ tops because he loves them so much and they are so soft and comfy!
atm their sale is on, and even if you go in to their non sale items they're still doing 20% discount off their full price clothes.
I can't rate them enough and I miss buying from them.
I wish they would do a teenager range!

Boden
Polarn O Pyret
Lindex
Learn to make clothes yourself 😂

Mine are a bit older, but I find Vinted good because you can filter by colour so I used it to find hoodies in cheerful colours but plain (no massive PlayStation / Marvel branding) and some nice t-shirts.

i bought a lot of boden off Vinted (I rarely bought new) and it was passed down through my children and honestly nothing lasted like it!

Next and supermarkets. But Boden for sheer wear and bold prints!

Colourful Standard have lots of basics in variety of colours

Could also try Kite clothing, The Wildlife Trust or Rapanui for some more niche T-shirts, and I think Zara and Next are good options. I went into Next recently and thought the boys range was terrible - the baby stuff is so cute but looking at age 3 and up I thought it was all hideous, but I was in a small branch and the range in the store was just a bit limited - there’s plenty of choice online.

@LumpkinPumpkin Came here to say this! My son is almost 7, autistic and likes bold "rock" kind of clothes - skulls, dragons, graffiti, colours etc. He also isn't sporty or into Minecraft or superheroes so it's hard on the high street sometimes!

Next do more stuff online than in store, but if you search their t shirts you should find a few things.

Asda and M&S do nice soft joggers that he finds comfortable. Not always in amazing colours, but if the top/shirt is bolder then "plain" trousers look ok.

I haven’t bought anything for DD from mini Boden for about a decade but some of the stuff I bought for her is now onto its fourth or fifth look life as it circles around the cousins’ DC. I love it on the family when someone posts a photo of their DC in a item and two or three of us can then follow it with a photo of our own DC in that item.

If you look for when there is a discount code (very often), Red Bubble is great for 'interest' t shirts and usually theres a wide variety of colours available in the childrens sized t shirts

GAP - available on Next.