Clothes for 13 year old boy. A cry for help!

[thelittlebooktroll]

I am tearing my hair out. Hate shopping which is the first major obstacle. Prefer it to be quick and painless and preferably online. my son is slim but doesn't like slim fit jeans. Not into brand names but Gap only goes up to 13 and can rarely find anything big enough as he is really a size 14 and if I dress him in Next and H&M he often runs into 3 year olds in the same coat as him as they make the same clothes for teens and tots. So where do you go? Please help me

I have a slim DS who is now into proper mens sizes at 17, but we've had a lot of success at TK Maxx. You can take heaps into the changing room from all different manufacturers and sit and wait while he tries it all on.

We have been known to exit TK Maxx with full outfits including shoes!

I can't drag mine clothes shopping. I have to do most of it online.

Teen boy trying on lots of clothes in a changing room sounds very unrealistic

Uniqlo have a good range, it sounds as if he would be a small rather than extra small.

Teen boy trying anything on in a changing room sounds very unrealistic

It is a difficult time for boys' clothes and also they are just about to do their massive growth spurt so it isn't worth spending any money. I'm not sure about trousers (mine likes shorts most of the time) but XS size t-shirts in Primark should fit. Also Top Shop. Basically, the smallest adult size in high street stores should be OK for top half, but bottoms are a lot more problematic especially if they need to look at all smart. So, not much help really ...

If he's tall and slim try uniqlo - not too expensive and they do a 28" waist with 34" leg - still a bit baggy on stick insect ds but don't actually fall down with a belt and they are long enough (for a few months at least) 6'2" and no sign of either stopping growing upwards or starting growing outwards ...

DS is 14 and shops in:
-Top Man
-Blue Inc
-H&M
-River Island
-Urban Outfitters
-Jack Wills
-J Crew
-Uniqlo
-Ralph Lauren (mind you, very rarely)

Xs sizes in Superdry and Hollister for my brand conscious skinny DS - I tend to stalk E Bay though either for good second hand or the E bay seconds Superdry shop as I won't pay the High St prices

He's 13 as well.

Buy small men's sizes.

I buy my DS clothes from topman, river island, blue inc and primark.

He's do much happier with what I buy for him now.

All those do extra small men's too if the small is too big

This age is sooo hard to dress!

My 12.5 yr old has grown 2 inches since September, at this rate there is almost no point in buying them clothes at all

He is happy enough to wear ancient too short trackies and crocs combo anyway

Top Man, Jack Wills, H&M, Superdry.

yes there is a real gap in the market. Johnnie B was quite good and M&S went to age 14.

Zara for my little man and sweatshirts from top man. I'm not a big fan of H&m but you get occasional bits. Good shoes and a good coat and everything else will do.

I had this problem with my skinny son, who at 16 was still wearing M&S age 13 extra long school trousers. For casual clothes I found that H&M mens did good trousers with a 28 inch waist, also Top Shop does trousers for skinny boys that are not too skinny.

Primark and H&M for t-shirts.

Was about to post the same cry for help ... we've only found Zara, but loads of great ideas here. Really important as he's a shortie and might not make it into Men's XS. Thanks so much all!

I second Boden/Johnny B. They have a good return policy so you can always order a few different sizes. The skinny boys jeans are not quite skinny enough (my DS needs a belt on those). It is pricey but there's usually a 15 or 20% off to be had. The quality is good and everything I have ever bought there has been grown-out-of rather than worn out.