Clothing advice for teen boys

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Those with teens how do you know what’s in fashion and what’s not? My son is 13 he is autistic and has no interest in fashion. He has a few school trips and no school uniform days that come up and I would like to get him some fashionable clothes to wear for them as he has been bullied in the past for wearing non branded clothes but how do I know what’s in fashion? As a mum in her 30s I have no clue what’s fashionable to teen boys and neither does he. He would need men’s sizes now. Any advice? Thanks. Is Nike still the most fashionable?

Hi OP.
My youngest is 13 and he wears a lot of Nike . T shirts and shorts . He likes the Nike Dry fit t shirts.
He also wears North face especially t shirts. If you pm me I can send you some ideas as I have 2 teenage boys xx

My son is quite particular about comfort, so the feel of the material is really important- we have had success with uniqlo tshirts, vans, Nike, abercrombie etc. If there's an outlet centre anywhere near you they can be a great place to stock up on branded items/sports gear.

Agree with all of the above, Nike Miler t shirts are very popular here, no labels so very comfy too https://nike.sng.link/Astn5/6tbz/r_d738cf7440

Universally acceptable are Nike, underarmour, possibly adidas.
H&M/ hollister/ montirex/ north face are tribe dependent as are jeans.
Cargo pants are a safer choice (loose fit).
Trainers need consideration. Again, Nike are safe.

My 14 yo wears only sports clothes - Adidas, and some very bright t shirts from Next. I've noticed he tends to only wear the shiney material ones.
He's currently in a long phase of only wearing football type shorts as well. (He has some sensory issues).
When I drop him off, his friends are also all in sports clothes, lots of Adidas. They don't seem to go for the bright t shirts though, and wear training pants,rather than shorts.
I likes zip up hoodies - Under Amour or Adidas.

Thanks so much for starting this thread. I have an autistic 11yo about to start secondary and again has no care in the world for brands, only comfort and what feels acceptable from a sensory POV. I will have a good read through.

It's also reminded me I can't continue dressing him solely in Next boys clothing forever 😂

This is really useful to see, the consensus seems to be you can’t go wrong with Nike! I need to get myself on JD Sport website I think. Hoping they have a good returns policy as sizing is hard with my skinny lanky boys.

My son is 13 and he wears Under Armour, North Face, Berghaus and Nike, My nephew is the same age and he also wears Essentials. Have a look in JD sport and Flannels (expensive) and be prepared for the cost!! My son also wears Adidas trainers look for the most expensive as these are the ones that are trendy and popular..(Which is ridiculous) Any help needed send me a direct message and i can send you links to what my son would wear. I totally get why you want to dress him to be fashionable.

I would say Hollister, Pull & Bear, Uniqlo and Sports direct stuff. My son always preferred Adidas to Nike though

I have a 17 year old DC on the spectrum with sensory issues.

I took him to a Hollister to have a look and check the sizing. he liked it, but said, can I really get this stuff, it is expensive!

Then we went home and looked up the Hollister outlet online, a fraction of the price. He likes

• baggy jeans
• baggy shorts
• band T shirts
• technical Hollister tops designed with kind of aertex panels
• soft hoodies
• most of it to be black (at least all the black stuff kind of coordinates)

We are currently awaiting an order from ASOS (currently have a sale) of very baggy, long shorts.

We have had a couple of mostly positive shopping expeditions, he likes to feel he is choosing his own look. But he has limited patience with the shops. So ordering stuff that he needs online has been a godsend. The only thing with that is that he needs to actually try the things on and give them back to me in time for me to return them. Cue some maternal nagging!

My teen who couldnt give 2 hoots about fashion lives in cargo trousers from jack and jones, he has a couple of jeans too but prefers the cargo trousers, tshirts without big logos, he likes northface nike and jack and jones, same for hoodies, no big logos, v simple in blacks, greys, navys and khaki greens.

Under Armour for anything sports related- T-shirts, hoodies, shorts and we found H&M great for other stuff. DS is now 23 so has graduated / broadened his horizons to Zara as well as the above.

I would say be careful with some sports brands, especially from Sports Direct as they carry some lines which might make him stand out for the wrong reasons as they aren’t on trend. I think Nike is probably a safe bet but I agree, it is a minefield. Has he any older relatives who could help , boys or girls (DD used to help me with present buying and was always right)

You can keep eyes open at school gates, I know for mine it shifted from Nike to charity shop/vintage Nike and then premium brands:
Stussy
Carhartt
baggy jeans
north face nuptse puffer

Certain New Balance shoes
Nike Jordan’s shoes

It does help ”fit in” … my ASD copies his older brothers clothes and we steer him away from some of his quirky preferred items (red trainers, yellow wellies, tight jeans).

will say get a lot of wear out of premium brands as they wear and wear it and then sell when done

My 12 year old wears a combination of sports tops etc from JD sports and similar and Zara - baggy jeans, shorts, jackets, tops. And interesting t shirts from op shops.

If your ASD teen is at a school that has an uncontrolled bullying problem, he will be bullied for a different reason even if his clothing choices are perfect. Bullies will bully. If he is at a school where the bullying is well controlled, he will be fine whatever he wears.

My ASD teen wears chinos or jeans with a variety of highly geeky tshirts conntected to various science fiction franchises, Dungeons & Dragons, Japanese Anime characters and things connected to the rise of the Mighty Cthulu from the Deep. Occasionally plainer patterned or single-colour tshirts from Next. He doesn't care for a moment whether he's wearing the same as his class mates on non-school-uniform days and none of his classmates care either.

My 14year old wears mostly primark. He lives in their joggers, T shirts and hoodies. Shoezone trainers. Luckily he's not bothered about high fashion and nor are his tribe.

My teenage sons wear next jeans and sports tops from adidas, Nike, under armour. Ralph Lauren, north face.

Next a safe bet to get clothes from for boys. J&D sports for tops and sports bottoms and shoes. My lads are wearing Nike shoes.

TkMaxx is great for bargains too. Check eBay for used but in good condition boys lots.

they are 13 and 15, very popular smart boys that are into their sports. The 15 year old is very tall and wears men’s small/medium depending on the cut. Next has tall boys sizes.

If your son isn’t already, maybe look into local sports clubs he might be able to join to make some friends outside of school. It will build his confidence.

Hmm my teen is the same and I share your concerns all the kids I see seem to go for sports brands but ds wants to feel smart and comfortable - not sure I did the right thing but I got him Levi 511 jeans and Levi combats from next and a Lacoste hoody (a bit pricy) as he will
tolerate small logos but he doesn’t really want logos at all (I’m not a walking advert mum) or random picture or words and isn’t sporty so the sports brands don’t suit him (somehow) so I try to buy plain t-shirts to go with, but he did like a couple with collars I got with a little next logo like a stag.

Ds goes in uniform on non-uniform days since year 6
I worried the first few times but if he has had negative comments he has never said and insists it is easier as his blazer has each pocket designated to essential school items! There are a few others in uniform he says but I suspect these are those that forget the non uniform days

I think it very much depends on your area and although it sounds horrible, also your general social circle. We live in Cornwall and see teens come here on holiday in black Nike sports gear (or adidas / under armour etc etc) and all the local teens laugh at them. Boys here wear boardies or baggy jeans and surf brand t-shirts, or surf club sports kit. But also, my boys go to private school and we live rurally so they wear the surf style stuff at the beach but when meeting up to do activities such as shooting or fishing etc, then they’ll wear quite different clothes - much more ‘young farmer’ in style (coloured jeans and checked shirt with collar up). I think the best thing you can do is have a sly look at teens in your area and go for similar clothes, as it all seems to be different in different areas.

I get branded sports wear on Vinted for my 15yr old - he gives me the parameters like colour or brand and I find stuff to show him and then buy the ones he likes. Search by New or New without tags, some "very good" stuff is genuinely that too.

He's happy with just bog standard shorts with them so I just get Primark jogger style or sports ones

My DS is 13 and lives in sportswear - he doesn't even own a pair of jeans ! He is very sporty though and plays national league basketball.

Shorts /joggers either Nike, Jordan or addidas and tees are jordan, nike dry fit (pretty cheap (£12) on kitlocker even for adult sizes),or spurs tees. Thats about it. SPorts direct good for shorts but there are decent sales on at the moment at JD, Nike etc.

Exactly as Mauve said, except I'd say shorts are a bit longer, below the knee, both jean shorts and jogger shorts.
Relaxed fit t-shirt, with a print or plain black. Subtle logos on things.

My ds is 17 and also doesn't own a pair of jeans...I don't think he's even worn a pair since he was in primary school. Its very rare to see a teenage boy in my area wearing a pair of jeans.

I would say Nike, Adidas and under armour are the safest brands. Others like Montirex and North Face can be seen as good/bad depending where you live/ friendship groups. DS spent £50 on some Montirex shorts in y7 only to declare 6 months later that he couldn't wear them any more due to the branding.