Kian has had a bit of a growth spurt in recent months – his shoe size has shot up by two whole sizes and his trousers were arguing with his ankles so it was apparent we needed to do some clothes shopping.
Like most 14 year old boys he was quite happy to lounge around the house in his ankle swingers and the thought of shopping for clothes filled him with horror – losing precious gaming time to be dragged around shops is certainly not a teenagers idea of fun.
I find shopping for kids clothes fun. The clothes for them are gorgeous and their wardrobes are packed full of clothes that are far nicer than some of my own, but then they hit that awkward age where they are not yet an adult, but clothes aimed at children either:
- Don’t come in big enough sizes
- Are too childish
Thankfully Kian is not yet into designer labels that cost a fortune like his older brother (yet), but he does have an idea of what he likes now, but it is finding it in sizes that actually fit him that is the problem.
I have scoured our local supermarket clothing ranges but they go up to age 13 which isn’t big enough for Kian. Living in Bournemouth we don’t have access to some of the larger clothing shops that might otherwise cater for his age. I tried H&M, Matalan, Primark and Gap but they don’t go beyond age 13 in our local stores, it is so frustrating.
Thankfully Next has a range of clothing for older boys which goes up to age 16 and has been my saviour. I let Kian loose and challenged him to find his own outfit and I think he has done a brilliant job – he is definitely developing his own style.
He chose the Indigo Dip-Dye Hoodie, Festival Scene T-shirt and a pair of Skinny Dye Chino Trousers.
I was very impressed with his choice and the whole outfit came in at £50, which is very reasonable. With Next you can choose next day delivery to your home or have it delivered to your local store free of charge, which is my prefered method.
He has lived in his new outfit since it arrived and I have had to sneak it away to be washed a few times already. As you would expect from Next, it is excellent quality and washes well so I am confident it will look as good at the end of the summer as it does now.
Do you have any tips on clothes shopping for teenage boys, I would love to hear them!
I have no tips, but feel your pain! At 14 they’re not little boys any more, but not quite young men either! At 14 I found kids clothes too childish, and would have to buy men’s smalls, some of which felt too old. I think we got through the year with minimal clothing buying!
He has great taste, fab outfit. I love Next, its one of my fav shops. My boys were football mad at that age and would live in their footie shirts & trackies. I remember it being an awkward age for clothing because they are starting to make their own choices x
My big bro is 12 and actually likes clothes shopping! Matalan are quite good for him, at the moment he loves all the Marvel / SuperHero stuff x
My son is a tall 12 year -old and lives in trackies and football shirts. He detests going clothes shopping. We haven’t tried Next but we did find a few things that he liked and that fitted him in the Tesco F&F range when we were shopping for school uniform.
love love love his choice … i have a 14 year old girls that is a nightmare of epic proportions to find things to buy ..grrr
I don’t have any tips I’m afraid but I’m really impressed by the cost of NEXT, I do like their clothes but always imagine them to cost more than that.