It was only when I had teenagers that I appreciated how relatively easy it is to clothe smaller kids.
Up to a certain age, my boys have never seemed to care too much what they’re wearing, so if their pants were a little short or their shirts a little big, it was no big deal. Also, up to a certain age, the sizes are straightforward — if you’re an average-sized eight-year-old, then size 8-10 will fit you. If you’re a bigger eight-year-old, then maybe 10-12 is better. You go up or down a size as needed, and when you have a bunch of siblings, there’s usually plenty to choose from.
Once they get out of the kids’ sizes, though, things are different! When my big boys started needing man-size pants and I had to deal with waist size and inseam size I had to turn to my husband for help, since it was all unfamiliar to me. I’ve sent him out many times to help the boys get pants and shirts and suit jackets that fit.
Things have recently taken an interesting turn, as I now have a boy who doesn’t fit the standard measurements. My tallest boy has a 32-inch-waist and a 36-inch-inseam, which, I have discovered, is a size that baffles even the sellers with a wide array of sizing options. The problem seems to be that it’s assumed that if one has an extra-long inseam, that one also has a larger waist size. From what I’ve seen, the Big & Tall Sizes don’t take into account “Big OR Tall.”
It took me several months to realize that my boy needed new pants, since he’s lived in shorts since the spring. The first time this fall that I told him he absolutely could not wear shorts to wherever we were going was the eye-opening moment — he didn’t have any pants to wear other than the paint-splattered, grass-stained jeans he wears for work! Nothing fit him, everything was far, far too short.
That night, I got on the computer. I do the vast majority of my shopping online, as getting out to the store is often difficult. Generally, I’ve found the options online to be more extensive — I’m usually able to find exactly what I need easier and more quickly online than browsing through a store. I figured it would be no big deal to find 32-waist-36-inseam pants.
I was shocked at how wrong I was! I searched in my tried-and-true online stores, and I did general google searches, but I either found *nothing* or the selections were weird in terms of color and cut. And expensive! It makes sense that more fabric would mean higher cost, but wow! I couldn’t understand why I was having such a hard time — my boy is extremely low-maintenance when it comes to fashion, and my standards are only a bit higher than his.
Finally, I found something that would work! (SCR SPORTSWEAR Men’s Sweatpants from Amazon, in case anyone else is having the same struggles.) I ordered them right away and when my boy put them on a few days later, I couldn’t stop gushing over how good he looked! The pants fit him perfectly! The length is perfect! The waist is perfect! I even took a few photos when he wasn’t looking while we were out and about that day, because I was so pleased at how great he looked in his new pants.
The second time he wore the new pants, he and his brothers played football in a field, and the new pants ended up covered in grass stains.
I was so mad! After years of trying and failing to get grass stains out of baseball pants, I was not at all confident that I’d be able to get the stains out of the new pants. Turns out the Spray ‘n Wash did a better job on the new pants than it ever has on the baseball pants, so it’s not a total loss, but I did jump back online and buy him another couple pairs of those pants so he’ll always have pants to wear this winter. He put on a pair of the new ones when they came, and I felt that same sense of satisfaction I’d felt with the first pair. Look at my boy! In pants that fit! He looks so great!
What lesson or bit of wisdom can I impart to you all through this story? I have no idea. Maybe: don’t wait until the cold weather to discover that your child doesn’t have pants that fit? Maybe: keep searching until you find what you’re looking for, because it’s surely out there somewhere? Maybe: boys will find a way to get grass stains on new pants? Maybe: be grateful while you can for straightforward sizing for little ones? I hope something here is helpful for you as we enter the Deep Freeze of our northeast winter, and if nothing else, I hope it gives you a laugh! A huge thank you to all veterans on this Veterans Day, with a special shout-out to those in my own family, and happy Thanksgiving to you all!
Kate and her husband have seven sons ages 18, 16, 14, 12, 10, 8, and 4. Email her at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
