<p>Blazers and suits. . .sales at Saks Off Fifth and Marshalls; final clearance racks at local departments stores. </p>
<p>Tuxes. . .try to avoid all events where a tux is needed and rent one if you really have to.</p>
<p>Re: size 4 and heading to NH. Ski parkas tend to run small - you will find something that fits. Fleeces are essential, neck warner, boots. If she will be skiing and has no equipment or clothes, ski pants and warm ski socks are important. Whee in NH - you may be able to shop at one of the outlets or via internet. Goves and mittens, warm hat, good ideas.</p>
<p>Pat</p>
<p>As I told wife when son goes off across country: Don't worry, he's a guy. He can were underwear 4 days without changing. Jmmom, if he's coming home for Tday, I'd go light with clothes because he's a guy; cutoffs, Tshirts, and sandals is always thematic. UPS, FEDEX, and LLBean are fast and reliable.</p>
<p>PS: Frosh 15, hits in the first semester/quarter.</p>
<p>Cangel-
Carolina mom here. Sent DS#1 to the frigid world of MN, and used landsend.com for many of the cold winter wear. They have an overstocks page which is filled with petite clothing, begins with a size 2. I, too have a very petite DD, she however is headed to the southwest so her wardrobe will not be changing much.</p>
<p>Tuxes- DS#2 needed a tux for prom this past spring (he was a junior, DATE was a senior). We went to 3 tux/men warehouse places to rent one. I wrote down all the prices, quality and brands and then went shopping online. We ended up purchasing one for 50% less than the cheapest rental price. Ebay, new from the factory. It included the jacket, trousers, shirt, vest, cuff links, button replacments, and tie. He already had a dressy COMFORTABLE pair of shoes. The trousers have a hidden adjustable waist. So he can use them again this coming year for homecoming, winter formal, prom, sports banquets and whatever graduation ceremonies/parties he needs. I wish I had done that with older son, he has needed a tux 4 times this year alone, his freshman year of college.</p>
<p>Hope this helps.</p>
<p>Kat</p>
<p>TSdad - </p>
<p>Lol! 59 cents - you are talking about my son and his wardrobe of t-shirts - many of them free!</p>
<p>I don't think we bought S any new clothes for college, school and home are the same midwestern climate so we had all extremes covered. He did find there were things he wanted/needed, like weird 70's double knits for a Disco Dance, but he figured out how to get them. He has 2 credit cards, one in his name, and his own car on our account for emergencies and large items. This way when he needs something he can always order it on-line. We typically pick up a few things each break as stuff wears out or his taste changes. He's managed to avoid a weight change since he plays soccer.</p>
<p>D is going off in a few weeks. The only clothing item we are planning to get is rubber boots, apparently the campus paths can get quite muddy, but I'm sure she'll come home at Thansgiving with a shopping list.</p>
<p>itstoo -Thanks for the reminder re Freshman 15 - S is actually looking forward to putting on about 10. Hadn't planned a clothes shopping spree, but with that reminder will definitely not, as I'm guessing waist size could go up 1-2"?</p>
<p>katw - liked your tux shopping story. Will just wait and see if S morphs into a tux-needing kind of guy; if so, will hope to have your ebay success.</p>
<p>There are always clothing needs that will pop up that you'll have no idea of in advance..due to the "culture" of the school or kid's EC needs.
A school with formals will require dresses and suits.A school where kids go out dancing will require "club clothes"
A outdoorsey school might require hiking boots,etc.
A school with a popular intermural sport your kid never considered before might bring a call for certain gear.
I would say a music male will definitely be in need of his own tux (if he doesnt own it already!)and will wear it way too many times to make renting economically advantageous. D is a musician and needs varying combinations based on the performing ensemble,mostly combos of black/black and black/white.
S (rising HS senior) had a dramatic change in his clothing needs this past year when elected to a state wide office in a national service organization.He needs to wear business attire on many occasions and has needed two new suits and dress pants and ties and shoes,etc.</p>
<p>About tuxes - the guys in our hs music ensembles are required to have tuxes from 9th grade on (!). This has always seemed like overkill to me, though they do look great when they perform. We have a parents support organization for the performing arts, which runs a tux recycling project and fundraises to offset some costs, as well. One major problem with requiring tuxes is that guys can change sizes so dramatically over 4 years of high school. I have three girls, and it's always seemed unfair that we only have to provide a floor length black skirt and dressy blouse - about which there's plenty of controversy already, as in, what's dressy enough/why can't they wear dressy black trousers (the cellists actually do)/other stuff girls like to complain about, etc.</p>
<p>Consignment clothing stores are great places to shop for tuxes, expecially for kids who are still growing and may only be able to fit into them 1 or 2 years. Men's formal styles change very little, so even a 10 yr. old tux is usually passable. And if the style's a little too retro, a good tailor can change lapel and leg widths at a reasonable charge. I also noticed during prom season that JC Penney had nice looking tuxes in the store for $99, which I thought was a good price.</p>
<p>Ebay--</p>
<p>We have to beg him to go to Old Navy to get something to wear without holes. In LA you don't need much. His wardrobe at USC consists of shorts and tees from his old secondary school, a variety of shirts that I buy him from the University of Wisconsin, and free stuff I pick up for him at events here in Madison.</p>
<p>When he came to Madison last Thanksgiving I did manage to get him to let me buy him some nice sweaters at the Landsend outlet store here. They were the first pieces of clothing he has owned as an adolescent that needed to be dry cleaned. I wonder how that worked out?</p>
<p>As for tuxes; what the h---- are you folks talking about? In the two plus years in LA I have only known him to wear a tie and jacket one time; when he served as a place holder at the American Music Awards.</p>
<p>Some of you people are frightening me.</p>
<p>DS is going NE from TN, and I have already determined that when he finally has to give up the flip-flops (say December 15) I will start sending socks and more socks. Trying to imagine him getting to the laundry and eventually back to his room with ANY socks is almost impossible. And they will all be the exact same style, in hopes he will have at least one pair left by March when the flip flops will be back.</p>
<p>D moved from the deep south to Connecticut. She and her suite-mates had a ball visiting area thrift shops and D picked up all her winter coats there (except the one we sent her with).</p>
<p>Momofthree-don't count on your S surrendering those flip-flops. We have a picture of D playing guitar outside in January...wearing those flip-flops. And yes, I DID send socks long before that.</p>
<p>wishingandhoping,</p>
<p>Wow, sounds like your D is wonderfully adaptable! I am impressed!</p>
<p>Re: tuxes for music students--I did some exploring on my son's college website, and they list tux rental: $25/year. That sounds better to me than buying one! Especially since we wouldn't know exactly what kind would be required.</p>
<p>In high school the top band wore tuxes, but the school provided them. My son used that tux as an all purpose tux--for youth orchestra, and even for prom, supplemented by renting a shirt, tie, and vest, if he really wanted to impress the girl. (Some times he just wore the band tux straight...)</p>
<p>Clothing costs depend so much on the kid, don't they? My son used to like nice things and was willing to save up for them. Now he uses any extra money to buy sheet music or CD's of music he is learning on the trumpet or a new mute... What he wears doesn't matter much anymore. He just wants to make sure he has enough underwear and socks to last several days! Pants and shirts can be worn a while before washing... Of course, if he meets a nice girl, that attitude might change...</p>
<p>He did mention after coming home from his Orientation at Indiana that everyone was wearing flip flops, so he wants to get another pair of those...</p>
<p>
[quote]
As for tuxes; what the h---- are you folks talking about? In the two plus years in LA I have only known him to wear a tie and jacket one time; when he served as a place holder at the American Music Awards.</p>
<p>Some of you people are frightening me.
[/quote]
I'm with you, tsdad. But I can see how the music performances could mean a tux, in some environments. S is a musician - rock, jazz and concert. But in hs here, thank our lucky stars, dress shirt and tie (no jacket) is as formal as they get. I'm astounded at tuxes starting in 9th grade for growing boys!</p>
<p>Since S won't be continuing with the concert-level music, I'm putting my head squarely in the sand re tuxes. If he ends up going to formal parties, etc., I'll eat my virtual hat here on cc and tsdad can bring me an Alka Seltzer in Sinner's Alley.</p>
<p>Aahhh, just wait Jmmom, he's gonna come back saying Ya'll and drinking sweet tea, eating red beans and rice, and wearing Maahhdee Graw beads (you know they actually have special chains of beads to wear with your tail coat or formal dress?). He'll be fine, he may even like the weather!</p>
<p>cangel - In the hs Yearbook "Predictions" section, they already have him getting into the Guiness Book of World Records for amassing the largest collection of MardiGras beads. And the list of kids planning to visit him for the occasion is rawther large - hope he has the accommodating roommate.</p>
<p>And, as for red beans and rice, he's there! This foodie will not be focusing on pb&j or chicken fingers. His choices on his overnight ran to catfish and crawfish etouffe.</p>