Where have people had the best luck finding a good assortment and sizes that fit 9th grade boys? Was thinking maybe Nordstrom Rack but wasn't sure if that would be hit or miss. Also, how many do you typically purchase for the school year? 2? TIA! |
Check out Amazon, and go cheap -- the chance it will be lost/thrashed/outgrown before XMAS is high. Lands End can be good, too. It's maddening how quickly biys go through these things... |
My son has a brooks brothers sport coat I bought secondhand and that thing has held up so well despite rough treatment, being stuffed in backpacks, etc. it’s pretty easy to find used blazers because boys grow so fast and many are purchased for an occasion and then donated or sold. |
Depends on how fancy you want to go.
Most schools have a used clothing shop. If yours doesn’t, Lands End has a decent blazer for relatively cheap, during their summer sales. DS did not like it because he said the fabric is scratchy and stiff but many boys have no probs with them. Macys will also have 4th of July sales on blazers. DS preferred Vineyard Vines bc they stretch but it gets pricey to replace when the boys lose them. For older boys they’re now $500 a pop. Make sure your son’s blazer is labeled. The boys consider them communal property and will pick up and take any blazer that fits. First year my DS lost 2 VV blazers that got swapped out for frayed polyester ones. |
Your school's used clothing shop for sure. The blazer usually gets stuffed in a locker, stains on it, torn. |
I got one at Target after several nice ones from Nordstrom kept getting lost. I never told my son where I got it from and he didn’t think to care. And he never lost it this year so I take the win. |
Macys always had good sales. DS wears a blazer every day and has two—one is Tommy H and the other is RL. I think they were maybe $60 each. Used uniform can be a goldmine if your school does that. |
By 9th grade, DS was in men's sizes but growing like a week. He got his blazer from Zara. It was not my favorite, but it certainly worked. And it survived being crumpled into his backpack and locker.
10th grade and above we went to J Crew Factory. They had a line that worked nicely for my kid, who was tall and thin but had a muscular neck/shoulders from swimming. If he can wear any oxford shirts, the JCrew Factory shirts area also good. Affordable but easy enough to iron. They don't have a no-iron line. |
Amazon Essentials |
Oh, i'm the Zara/J Crew Factory poster. My older kid typically had two blazers. One that we bought new for the year and one that he usually acquired from the lost and found for $3. That one looked ridiculous, but kept him out of trouble.
In my experience, the blazer does not come home for cleaning without a specific parental request/reminder. When it does come home unsolicited, it is probably coated in mud, mac and cheese, paint and torn. It will not have any buttons. God bless JoAnn's. Wherever will I buy replacment buttons now?? |
Amazon |
+1 All-boy HS where they could care less the brand or quality. I had 2 boys so the outgrown ones got handed to younger one…at one point the sides were totally split. I did buy one JCrew factory - but it was very heavy/wool so so hot in the Fall—August-September and in April/May. The cheapo thin fabric Amazon blazers were great at that time. |
Thrift store |
DS has one from J Crew that is combo wool/cotton and he says 1000% more comfortable than the back-up, which is from Lands End. |
lands end - they have a few sale a year with 40% off buy 2 one a size up as well when they have the sale Not sure which school your son is at but STA has a community second hand store where they have blazers etc.. for sale as well that families have donated when they no longer need them. |