Help My Son Get His Plaid On
September 27, 2011 3:55 AM Subscribe
Where can I find some stylish trousers for my son that don't cost $50?
All these wonderful, quirky, funky clothes for girls...and I have a boy.
We don't want camo or sports themes. We don't need fancy labels. We just want some colorful, interesting pants for our son--orange, lime green, plaid, electric blue, red--is that in his future? He's 6 and apparently 6 y.o. boys only want black, brown, or blue pants. (They also don't want any tee-shirts that don't have ironic sayings on them, but that's a different issue.)
We are in NYC if that helps.
Thank you!
All these wonderful, quirky, funky clothes for girls...and I have a boy.
We don't want camo or sports themes. We don't need fancy labels. We just want some colorful, interesting pants for our son--orange, lime green, plaid, electric blue, red--is that in his future? He's 6 and apparently 6 y.o. boys only want black, brown, or blue pants. (They also don't want any tee-shirts that don't have ironic sayings on them, but that's a different issue.)
We are in NYC if that helps.
Thank you!
Recently H&M had a great pair of red pants in the boys' section - they went up to size 8. I can't find them online. I wanted them for my daughter, who doesn't always want pink or purple and never wants glitter and dangly crap sewn on shirts - but she wears a size 10 right now. I am mostly very tired of stores that feature "collections" of everything in one or two theme colours, but no basic items in a variety of colours.
Boden also has great pants (online) and I order them from both the boys and girls section for her. I LOVE their quality. The last through several hand-me-downs and they're comfortable, according to the kid.
posted by peagood at 4:46 AM on September 27, 2011
Boden also has great pants (online) and I order them from both the boys and girls section for her. I LOVE their quality. The last through several hand-me-downs and they're comfortable, according to the kid.
posted by peagood at 4:46 AM on September 27, 2011
Mini Boden has some colorful trouser options.
Bright blue trouser/skinny pant
With a quick search it seems that there are more options for bigger/older boys. If he can wear a size 8, here is a plaid option (cool but not so colorful).
on preview, peagood beat me to Boden.
posted by Fairchild at 4:53 AM on September 27, 2011
Bright blue trouser/skinny pant
With a quick search it seems that there are more options for bigger/older boys. If he can wear a size 8, here is a plaid option (cool but not so colorful).
on preview, peagood beat me to Boden.
posted by Fairchild at 4:53 AM on September 27, 2011
Ralph Lauren has one red pair. Diesel is another good choice. Both are probably over your budget at full price, so either look for the sale stuff or you can scour the racks at Century 21, Filene's Basement, Loehmans, etc.
also, these fun cords from petit bateau.
posted by melissasaurus at 6:28 AM on September 27, 2011
also, these fun cords from petit bateau.
posted by melissasaurus at 6:28 AM on September 27, 2011
We're only on the cusp of toddler clothes right now (went winter-clothes shopping last weekend) and are already having this problem.
Going thrifting occasionally yields good stuff, because apparently little boys don't wear the fun goofy pants. I'm mostly dealing with it by knitting him amusing accessories and buying bright socks.
posted by tchemgrrl at 6:45 AM on September 27, 2011
Going thrifting occasionally yields good stuff, because apparently little boys don't wear the fun goofy pants. I'm mostly dealing with it by knitting him amusing accessories and buying bright socks.
posted by tchemgrrl at 6:45 AM on September 27, 2011
Response by poster: Thanks, all.
We have ordered from Boden--love them.
I'll check out H&M since they don't seem to online shopping in the US.
Many colorful boy's clothes end at size 3 and start up again at size 8. Strange. We'll look forward to a wider variety once he gets big enough.
For others looking, I did find some stuff at Levi's--mostly super skinny jeans, in orange and bright blue. It's a start.
posted by aimeedee at 6:50 AM on September 27, 2011
We have ordered from Boden--love them.
I'll check out H&M since they don't seem to online shopping in the US.
Many colorful boy's clothes end at size 3 and start up again at size 8. Strange. We'll look forward to a wider variety once he gets big enough.
For others looking, I did find some stuff at Levi's--mostly super skinny jeans, in orange and bright blue. It's a start.
posted by aimeedee at 6:50 AM on September 27, 2011
Oh - and, I should mention that Boden's clearance sale prices are usually pretty great, because yes, $48 is close to $50 and you'd mentioned a budget. BUT, my daughter is tough on clothes, and for some reason, their clothes will fit, look good and last her a full year or more, when we go through Target clothing like we go through Kleenex tissues. One pair of their pants is worth three pairs of cheap pants that don't last, I promise.
posted by peagood at 6:52 AM on September 27, 2011
posted by peagood at 6:52 AM on September 27, 2011
I too always think Boden when I think colour.
I wanted to add at that age you should also consider girls' trousers. They come in a wider variety of colours and, provided you don't mind a more fitted look, the cut is essentially still the same for boys and girls. The only thing is that you'll probably need to size up.
posted by Dragonness at 7:38 AM on September 27, 2011
I wanted to add at that age you should also consider girls' trousers. They come in a wider variety of colours and, provided you don't mind a more fitted look, the cut is essentially still the same for boys and girls. The only thing is that you'll probably need to size up.
posted by Dragonness at 7:38 AM on September 27, 2011
If you really like Levi's and find a style and size that works well for him (this is probably more difficult with a growing kid than it is for me), check eBay for deals. I get an alert sent to me every day with all the pants in the style I like (I wear 511s, which are skinny jeans that aren't super skinny) and my waist size that have been posted, and I look and see if there are any I like. I recently got a $60 pair of pants new with tags for $30 shipped, and there are deals even better than that to be had.
posted by naturalog at 8:36 AM on September 27, 2011
posted by naturalog at 8:36 AM on September 27, 2011
Also, Target (disclosure: I work in one) has plain tees and polos for boys (and girls and women and men) in a bunch of colors for pretty cheap. Old Navy might also be a good bet for that.
posted by naturalog at 8:37 AM on September 27, 2011
posted by naturalog at 8:37 AM on September 27, 2011
These J Crew pants come in some bright colors (including a very very bright green).
These Gymboree cargo pants come in orange.
Janie and Jack have some pretty loud trousers (I don't know if they have a shop in nyc).
I found these using ShopStyle. It is hard to find colorful pants for boys.
posted by bluefly at 9:00 AM on September 27, 2011
These Gymboree cargo pants come in orange.
Janie and Jack have some pretty loud trousers (I don't know if they have a shop in nyc).
I found these using ShopStyle. It is hard to find colorful pants for boys.
posted by bluefly at 9:00 AM on September 27, 2011
Along the lines of H&M, have you looked at Uniqlo? They're within a block of each other in SoHo.
posted by mkultra at 9:52 AM on September 27, 2011
posted by mkultra at 9:52 AM on September 27, 2011
About Dragonness's suggestion to check out girls trousers - the cuts can be the same, but check the rise. One of the reasons I like to look for boys' pants for my daughter is that the girls' often have lower rises (You know, because no stylish first grader wants to be caught in mom jeans) (and, even in toddler sizes like 2T, as I recall, the difference at places like Old Navy was as much as 4 inches, especially at the back) leading to plumber's butt at circle time. The code word for this at school is "pants". In the lunchroom it leads to having grapes and crackers tossed in your crack, as well as wedgies; and that can be devastating, socially speaking (so I understand).
posted by peagood at 10:30 AM on September 27, 2011
posted by peagood at 10:30 AM on September 27, 2011
Heh. This is an ongoing problem with me. My son is five, and wants to wear nothing but red.
H&M has been a godsend. Very inexpensive stuff, fits his skinny little butt very well, bright colors and patterns. (here's a typical outfit for him). In the photo, the pants came from Boden, the shirt from H&M. We also picked up red and kelly green pants for him at H&M for school. I love Boden, and their stuff is amazingly well made, but it is very pricey.
I wanted to add at that age you should also consider girls' trousers.
We have found that once he passed the 4T size girls pants are significantly lower in both the front and back rise than boys pants, with the result that you can see his underpants.
posted by anastasiav at 10:57 AM on September 27, 2011
H&M has been a godsend. Very inexpensive stuff, fits his skinny little butt very well, bright colors and patterns. (here's a typical outfit for him). In the photo, the pants came from Boden, the shirt from H&M. We also picked up red and kelly green pants for him at H&M for school. I love Boden, and their stuff is amazingly well made, but it is very pricey.
I wanted to add at that age you should also consider girls' trousers.
We have found that once he passed the 4T size girls pants are significantly lower in both the front and back rise than boys pants, with the result that you can see his underpants.
posted by anastasiav at 10:57 AM on September 27, 2011
Check out Tea Collection, City Threads (brand carried in aggregator shops) and American Apparel. And the cheap odd stuff at Bitz Kids is frequently charming.
posted by xo at 11:11 AM on September 27, 2011
posted by xo at 11:11 AM on September 27, 2011
Urban Baby Runway has tons of plaid pants for boys right now.
Also the amazing PoP Poret has fantastic colorful kids pants. As does Wonderboy Clothing.
And Fore Axel and Hudson also does bright reds.
I've had luck on Amazon too. They often have deals on brighter colored boys pants.
On Facebook there is a group Boys Be Cool. Post your request on there and you'll find tons more ideas.
posted by k8t at 11:48 AM on September 27, 2011
Also the amazing PoP Poret has fantastic colorful kids pants. As does Wonderboy Clothing.
And Fore Axel and Hudson also does bright reds.
I've had luck on Amazon too. They often have deals on brighter colored boys pants.
On Facebook there is a group Boys Be Cool. Post your request on there and you'll find tons more ideas.
posted by k8t at 11:48 AM on September 27, 2011
On sale for $15!!! This brand is awesome.
http://www.polarnopyretusa.com/index/page/product/product_id/2175/category_id/577/product_name/COLORED+SLIM+FIT+JEANS++%28CHILD%29
posted by k8t at 1:50 PM on September 27, 2011 [2 favorites]
http://www.polarnopyretusa.com/index/page/product/product_id/2175/category_id/577/product_name/COLORED+SLIM+FIT+JEANS++%28CHILD%29
posted by k8t at 1:50 PM on September 27, 2011 [2 favorites]
LL Bean has some plaid flannel cargo pants for boys - sizes 4-16. Less punk, more pajama to my eye, so I don't know if they're what you're looking for.
posted by clerestory at 7:03 PM on September 27, 2011
posted by clerestory at 7:03 PM on September 27, 2011
Cute orange pants at Gymboree for $24.
I don't understand why these are $59 but they have a bunch of cute colors. Maybe you can track down the brand? Or sign up for a newsletter & wait for a sale?
Oilily often has colorful clothes but they aren't showing up on their website. I'd set an eBay alert for his size, with some of these brands, and see what happens.
posted by barnone at 7:52 PM on September 27, 2011
I don't understand why these are $59 but they have a bunch of cute colors. Maybe you can track down the brand? Or sign up for a newsletter & wait for a sale?
Oilily often has colorful clothes but they aren't showing up on their website. I'd set an eBay alert for his size, with some of these brands, and see what happens.
posted by barnone at 7:52 PM on September 27, 2011
Nike kids Purple skinny jeans when he's a size 8!
More red pants on ebay. And some electric green! And hey, some orange chinos!
Red and Green cords at Petit Bateau. Tres chic and tres chere. There are a few pairs on ebay too.
Colorful clothes here, but they're too small for your son.
posted by barnone at 8:18 PM on September 27, 2011
More red pants on ebay. And some electric green! And hey, some orange chinos!
Red and Green cords at Petit Bateau. Tres chic and tres chere. There are a few pairs on ebay too.
Colorful clothes here, but they're too small for your son.
posted by barnone at 8:18 PM on September 27, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by griphus at 4:31 AM on September 27, 2011