Kind of OT: What clothes are cool for a 9 year old boy?

Every year I "adopt" a child/family to give Christmas gifts to. This year, I have adopted a nine year old boy, who has included clothing (tops and bottoms) among the things he would like. I went to the store and realized I no longer have any idea what kids that age are wearing. Since it seems like he might be on the larger side for a 9 year old (he is size 12 in pants and 14 in tops), I don't want to get him slim fit jeans or anything like that. Do any of you have sons or nephews around that age? I don't want to get him clothes that look totally dorky! What types of shirts do they wear? Sweatshirts? Pullovers? Not button-downs, right? Are plaid shirts in style right now? I saw a bunch on a sale rack, then figured they might be on sale because they AREN'T in style. What kinds of pants do boys that age wear other than jeans? At that age, my brother lived in sweats. Do boys still do that?

I did already buy him a winter coat, which was also on his list, but that was easy. I stuck with a coat that was black and gray, because unless boys have really changed since my brother was a kid, dark colors that blend in with everyone else are always good.

13 years ago

Isabel

Veteran

I have a 9 year old son...but first let me say what a wonderful thing you are doing !!!

Cargos are really in where my son goes to school and they are in most of my friends' children's schools.

http://www.gap.com/browse/prod.....pid=786141

Camo pants are everywhere. Sweat pants are ok as long as they don't have the gathered bottoms and they look more like a sport pant :

http://www.gap.com/browse/prod.....=806902012

http://www.gap.com/browse/prod.....=767272042

Anything polar fleece. Tshirts that are short sleeve on the outside, but long sleeve underneath :

http://www.gap.com/browse/prod.....=786329062

and ANYTHING sports - not necessarily a specific team - but just a sport. Extreme sports are particularly popular :

http://www.gap.com/browse/prod.....=786404022

Flannel shirts are really in too. These things seem to be true though at least middle school, so I think he will fit right in despite his size !

target always has some good selections. I just used the Gap because they had good examples of everything....Kmart also had some great stuff for the holidays.

I hope it all comes back to you 10 fold !

Astrid

Well, I can't really help you much, but I can say that my brother (he's 14 now) didn't want any imprints on his shirts since he was seven or eigth. Not even "cool" ones. He just wouldn't wear it! So I would say, as a precaution, nothing with an eye-catching imprint or pattern. And colors like black, grey, blue, dark green or dark red. My sister (she's 12) loves these straigth leg cotton pants where you can zip the leg at the knee off.Two pairs in one! And she's half boy anyway. I think it's naturally important to buy nothing dated, but I would worry more about the practical side of things. And then stay on middle ground. No slim fit jeans but straight leg. No extrem cuts, colors, fabrics. I think you're on the safe side then.

elpgal

My nine year old cousin mostly wears loosely fitted jeans and cargo pants for bottoms. For tops, I'd stick with basics like long-sleeved thermal tees/polos with graphic tees to layer on top.

A lot of his wardrobe is stuff like this: http://www.gap.com/browse/prod.....pid=767250

Christie

Active Member

My son is 10. Cargo pants, baseball-styled long sleeve Ts (contrasting sleeves), hoodies, Ts with his favorite sports' teams logos (his fave items), Keen shoes.

Joy

I teach children that age and jeans or cargo pants are popular. I don't see any plaid flannel shirts, but if you get one, get a short sleeved tee in a color that will blend with the plaid but not be matchy-matchy (grey is good) so that the plaid shirt can be worn over it as a jacket. Boys even that age can be very picky about an imprint because it can cause teasing. I'd avoid them unless it's the logo of a local professional team.

Maya

Steph, unless you know more about the boy you're helping, I would avoid anything sports-related. Not all boys are into sports, and there is no way to know what sports he is into--if any. I'd keep things as non-specific as possible.

Otherwise I wish I could help, but I have absolutely no wisdom on anything related to children's clothing.

Queen Mum

my kids are living in plaid shirts these days...
I'm sure what is 'cool" varies depending on the region though.

chewyspaghetti

Skate/Surf/Snowboard looks are popular here for boys, and also anything 'punk'- skulls, tattoo art etc. Shirts either look layered or they wear them layered with jeans and beanie type of hats and chunky skater tennis shoes.

Steph

First off, thanks to all of you for the help! Your answers were pretty uniform across the board, so that made me feel much more confident when I went shopping today.

In case anyone was wondering, I ended up getting him two pairs of cargo pants in dark green and dark greyish brown (http://oldnavy.gap.com/browse/.....=797282002), three long-sleeved tee shirts--one solid dark grey, one solid navy, and one with navy that is navy heathered in the body with navy sleeves (http://oldnavy.gap.com/browse/.....=774990052), a black winter coat with a hood that zips off (http://www.amazon.com/Protecti.....B003ZYP0QW). But the fun part was the toys: he wanted wrestling action figures, so I got him five of those (I had to ask someone shopping in the store which wrestlers were cool, because I haven't watched wrestling since I was a kid!), and he wanted a football, so I got him that too. I hope he likes everything!

I felt very accomplished when I finished today. Of course, I ended up seeing the wishlists of some other kids, and ended up taking two more and getting them gifts as well. But they were older kids (16 and 18), so they weren't asking for clothing. Phew!

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