Somebody MUST make jeans for boys with bellies, right?

September 24, 2012 3:02 AM

Where can we find cool-looking jeans for a short teenage boy (he's 5') with a big belly (like 34-35")? Old Navy husky are too small, nothing at Target seems to fit, and he says Walmart jeans are completely uncool.

What to do? Due to a medication change, my previously sized 12-14 son can no longer even fit into size 18 husky jeans from the above-mentioned stores.

Any idea where (online or concrete store) we can get this kid some jeans?

posted by kinetic to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (13 answers total)

You can buy whatever is cool - like I dunno, Levi's or whatever (I have no teenagers) - and have them hemmed. However, you need a very specific kind of hemming; the stitch and thread colour and placement have to match the original, and the hem style is called a rolled hem. You can also re-attach the original hem!
posted by DarlingBri at 3:17 AM on September 24, 2012

Response by poster: ...I do want to add that with the help of his pediatrician and a nutritionist, he is working on keeping the weight gain low, but in the meantime, the kid needs something to cover his legs.
posted by kinetic at 3:20 AM on September 24, 2012 [1 favorite]

Seconding buying adult jeans of his choice and having them hemmed. Call around and ask dry cleaners and tailors if they do "original jeans hem". Where I have lived in the US this has cost about $10 and not been a hard to find service. I actually do my own now, it's not as complicated as it seems (if you have a bunch of time to do that kind of thing!). Get the original hems though, it's basically impossible to match the color and stitch and you lose any fading effects when they do it the other way.

Good luck to you both. Sudden body changes are rarely fun.
posted by crabintheocean at 3:49 AM on September 24, 2012

(most of the Walmart jeans I've seen are totally uncool, I agree with your son.)

Agree with above. Hemming a pair of "cool" jeans is your best option. I'm fairly short as well and have the same issue to a degree. Getting pants hemmed is just what has to be done sometimes. No biggie.
posted by PuppetMcSockerson at 4:21 AM on September 24, 2012

Before you buy adult-sized jeans to hem, make sure the RISE fits him: the height from waist to crotch varies, too, not just the total pants lenght. (And it definately would NOT be cool if the rise was so high he looked like a stereotyped geezer with his pants pulled up to his armpits!) Perhaps an adult 'short' size would be good; if you start with something designed FOR a short person, you can always hem and change the lenght of the legs, but it's almost impossible to change the top part.
posted by easily confused at 4:48 AM on September 24, 2012 [5 favorites]

Agreed with the above; I would try on a bunch of pairs of adult jeans, and go with the best fitting ones completely ignoring extra length. When I've had jeans hemmed as described, even with close examination of the hem, I literally cannot tell that they were altered.

I just checked Old Navy men's jeans online; they have tons of options for 34 waists by 30 length (that's the shortest they go for that waist size). There's a good chance that would be alterable to look just right.
posted by insectosaurus at 6:27 AM on September 24, 2012

As per easily confused: something in the trendy low-rise skinny jean market might be good. Skinny on an adult could be just right for him? It may be worth trying on, anyway. And then get them hemmed, obviously!
posted by AmandaA at 6:27 AM on September 24, 2012

I have different girl-type problems with "nothing fits me in the jeans department" - but my best luck with jeans has been at a decent sized second-hand clothes store (we have a ginormous Goodwill, for example). They a have a million different brands, in cuts and styles from a bunch of different years -- and nothing is too expensive so you won't feel so bad about chopping a few inches off the bottom to hem them yourself.

The downside about that is the need for patience for trying things on -- might be tough with a teenage boy.

Alternatively -- maybe try the department stores. Not sure what you have in your area, but where I live Dillard's and Macy's will often have super-clearance deals as seasons change, and both of those places have all kinds of extended and unusual sizes.
posted by pantarei70 at 6:56 AM on September 24, 2012

I'm barely an inch taller than your son and 30 length jeans should fit cuffed a couple of times or hemmed. Levi's 511 or Gap Skinny or H&M skinnies should fit him just fine. I think H&M only go up to 33 but they're like 1 percent spandex and a little vanity sized. The 511's or Gap jeans will fit a short person like a straight legged jean as opposed to a skinny. If he wants actual skinnies he should go for Levi's 510's or straight up girl jeans. Ain't no shame in a girl jean.
posted by last night a dj saved my life at 8:16 AM on September 24, 2012

@last night a dj saved my life: I'm so confused. You're saying he should wear girls' skinny jeans?
posted by jitterbug perfume at 10:37 AM on September 24, 2012

Nthing Goodwill. Tons of choices/sizes/brands. If you have an upscale consignment shop in the area, that might be a good option too - better brands = better tailored (i.e. not like the "Walmart" brands). I've had luck with the store American Eagle - on the woman's side, they sell smaller/petite sizes that go up to plus sizes, and they are actually tailored, which is kind of rare for that price range. Kohl's is so-so, they have a lot of options and it's definitely a step up from Walmart.

FWIW, no offense to the poster who suggested this, but I do not agree with the suggestion that he wear girls' skinny jeans. Teenage boys have enough to contend with - if his peers find out when he's changing in the locker room, I'd be prepared to move to another state. I work with teens and I do not envy them in the slightest.
posted by luciddream928 at 10:43 AM on September 24, 2012 [2 favorites]

What style of jeans did he like to wear before the weight gain? Did he gain weight in a normal fashion all over his body, or just in his belly?

If he grew all over more or less proportionally, then I think he and I are probably built pretty similarly (I'm a lady who wears mostly men's clothing). I love Old Navy's Slim-Straight corduroys. A lot of "regular fit" or "loose fit" pants have the aforementioned huge rises and most pants with lower rises are also too tight in the thighs. These pants have neither of those problems.
posted by martinX's bellbottoms at 1:14 PM on September 24, 2012

@jitterbug perfume, sorry for the late response, but yes I was. At the end of a list of skinny low-cut mens jeans, I might add, since people appear to be shocked at the suggestion that teenage boys sometimes do wear girl jeans.

I wasn't implying that mom force her son into girl jeans or anything. It's just that at his height, most adult jeans will not break properly below the knee as it begins to taper. He'll end up with the equivalent of straight leg jeans. If he wants straight leg jeans, awesome, they are timeless. If he wants skinny low rise jeans, as many kids do, girl cuts and boy cuts are almost totally indistinguishable from one another. H&M sell them as unisex for this very reason.

Anyway, apologies for the novel on the subject, but I still think 510's are a good option. And they are mens jeans, nominally, lest anyone think I want the poor kid to get beaten in the gym or whatever.
posted by last night a dj saved my life at 6:30 AM on September 25, 2012