Teen Boy Suit Shopping in US
 

Need a boy-sized off-the-peg suit (matching jacket and pants) that will last approximately 5 minutes because he's growing like a weed. In the UK 20 years ago I would have hit TopMan/Burton if that's any help ;)

I hate the mall. He hates clothes shopping, so knowing in advance which stores to try would reduce pain greatly. I don't even know what Abercrombie, Banana Rep and all those sell because the stench they exude as one passes is so off-putting I've never crossed the threshold.

I made it into a few stores tie-shopping for homecoming in the fall, but didn't notice if they actually sold suits to go with.

Minimum $$ outlay appreciated -it's not for a smart event, just to look a little more dapper than average when "dressing up' for school because the team has a game that night.

TIA

Don't even bother with Abercrombie or Hollister, etc. They don't do suits. Try Macy's or JCPenney for something not too expensive, a one-off in a junior size.

thanks. they're on the list with the other two dept stores in the mall, but is there anywhere a little more "current"? They feel more like places you would shop for a suit for grandpa to be buried in. Maybe I'm just suffering flashbacks from British dept stores of the 80s.....

It's hard to find places to suit/suit a boy who's growing like a weed ... you're pretty much guaranteed to not be overwhelmed unless you choose a custom tailor. Speaking as a mother of 3 boys who needed suits from childhood thru ... (breathes a sigh of relief) adulthood.

Current? We're talking male clothing, Right? Unless you want to go to Carnaby Street, Soho, the style of men's suits change with glacial speed.
If this isn't a "smart event", wouldn't be easier and maybe cheaper to do the sports coat and slacks route?

Men's Wearhouse. They do a ton of wedding rental business, so they have teen sizes (groomsmen, ushers, and whatnot) and they're reasonably priced. And hell, if it's just for one event maybe you can rent it. They do nice dress shoes and ties too, anything you need.

What Clod said, seconded. Back when I wore suits, that is where I bought mine.

We've mostly gotten ours from 2nd hand stores and hand me downs from friends.

But if I was shopping for new, I'd check out JC Penny and Men's Wearhouse. I agree that style doesn't matter much at all. Ties are the only thing that seem to change much.

Thanks, I did look at MW online and didn't see teen/boy so dismissed it. I'll go in and see what they actually have. No, it's not for an event. It's because he'd like one. And he's a good kid so I can be behind it if it doesn't cost me the earth. It's things like this that make me miss the UK of the 80s and 90s. I knew exactly where to go for such things :) hell I worked in those stores for 5 years :lol:

thanks, he's got the ties down, so we could make it work.... I'm surprised suit cuts don't change, (e.g single/double-breast, lots/fewer buttons/pant cut....) They changed pretty much every year when I used to sell them. I guess dress it just more casual overall so fashion doesn't bother with the more formal.

This needs to be new because it's special to him and he's not such a fan of second hand as the rest of the family are. Probably a middle child thing ;)

definitely Men's Wearhouse.

SonofV loves second hand, especially the blazer of mine I gave him, it's twice as old as he is. Was I ever that slender?? Unlikely. Anyhow, MW is a good bet for you as is the local mall anchors, Macy's, JC Penney, etc.

One of the reasons the styles change slowly is we're a bunch of slobs who only dress up to get laid. :haha:

I'm sure the ladies have nothing to do with his desire to look super-dapper..... thought probably never crossed his mind..... :right:

But did your customers know that? If a man who wasn't in fashion or clothing sales started talking about suits at that level of detail, I'd be thinking of Patrick Bateman.

Having been a teenage boy, albeit in a different century, I'd take that bet. . .

you were in a different country as a teen? where?

That's probably your vision thing acting up, monster. He said century, not country.

I'm a frequent shopper at MW. I get coupons EVERY DAY. pm me and I'll email you whatever coupons I get that fits your needs. I also get $25-35 coupons for filling out surveys. I just bought two suits last month, so I'm getting extra emails lately. Oh, and they are in the middle of their clearance sales.

ha you're right, thanks. I'm so stinking tired, there have been some corkers tonight -and that's just the ones I've caught!

cool, thanks, classic. not sure what my needs are but am hoping to go take a look tomorrow (the boy has a second day off for PD. I may make him run there while I drive just to get rid of some of that ENERGY......)

check your PM.

thanks everyone. Didn't manage to take him shopping, Ended up at JC Penney by myself (already there buying more, longer jeans). One style choice, 4 colors. 3 attempts to get the right size jacket/something passable for Mr. Gorilla Arms (started at 14, ended up at 18 (he's 15, about 5'4 and 110lb). He plans to wear it to school tomorrow (they dress up on game days), will try to snap a pic but we all leave hella early and hella hurriedly

All I can say is, it's horrible. I remember being 13 or 14 and my mom taking me to try to get a suit at a downtown department store in my home town. I was too big for the biggest thing in the boy's department, and too small for the smallest thing in the men's department.

I have always had to shop in stores that have Big & tall because l have this huge bucket neck. My collar is a 22 at present . Thing about that. ... when you have a 22 collar . - - the shirt is a tent. If I can find it, the slim or athletic cut mitigates that to a degree ...

l windup having to 'pleat' my shirts when I tuck the back into my pantses .. -

You should look into getting some shirts tailored. It's not the luxury service it sounds like, in our area a ton of Hispanic women do it out of their home and charge very little, especially if you pay cash. You can't tell it's been done, the work will look as good or better than out of the factory.

....and I found a second suit for $1 in the thrift store and he likes it and it fits!!!!!

(yes, $1. After 3 weeks, stuff gets reduced to 50c/piece. This suit was on the men's rack, but so small, no-one wanted it..... :D )

That's awesome. Thrift stores rock!

so..... guess which suit is the suit of choice these days...... :lol:

Today it was finished off with a sky blue water polo cap. I hope beest took a pic as per request

reading back, no wonder he's outgrown that ....guess what we're doing this weekend. Not gonna be able to shop in the kids' dept this time, though....

STD clinic?

huh?

:p:

so this is the new suit. JC Penney Men's Slim Fit section, smallest pants possible (he won't pose for a pic so I'm using the stock photo -imagine a crazed lunatic with a scowl instead of suave model...).

Attachment 58721

Jacket, pants/trousers and vest/waistcoat plus a clearance shirt that I picked at random for him to use just to try on the suit but he likes it and bizarrely it really went well with the suit ...about $160 with all the various sales going on (allegedly about $500 full price). :D

Shall we start a pool on how long before he outgrows it now he's finally started growing? :lol: Just hoping it will get him through this last hockey season and college interviews (he must dress up for games and likes to make a dapper first impression) ...that's about 3 months... will we make it?

But I'm feeling victorious because shopping is not his thing (or mine) but complaining about his suit being small is..... so on our way back from Toledo, Ohio today (taking SAT subject tests) I kidnapped him and forced him to suit shop with the promise of food after....and we have a suit!

50% chance, if you don't feed him. :haha:

I just woke him up from a 7-hour "power-nap" to feed him, Guess I'm doing it wrong . He tried on the suit to show beest, then fell asleep before coming down for food, when it got to 12 hours since he last ate, I figured his belly wouldn't let him continue to sleep through the night, even if we would

(in a 29 waist slim fit at 5'/9" sportsing all day and growing like a weed, it's not like he can miss calories...)

um...

Attachment 58729

Bwahahahahaha!