My sons wear them about 2x a year. We get everything from a store called Foreman Mills. There is one in DC and one in PG County. For boys, there is NO BETTER STORE!!! I got blazers, pants and ties. The blazers run about $12. I know that Brooks Brothers carries incredible boys suits online, but I'm not spending $200 for a blazer for a 13 year old.

I have two boys. Never had them and never needed them.

Definitely Value Village. They usually have a good selection of nice pants and blazers. Also think it's half off on holidays if you can bear the crowds. My son went to many bar mitzvahs last year and always looked nice in his VV threads!

You know the school/team best, but if your budget doesn't allow you to buy a jacket right now or you can't find a good sale/shop around before the banquet, he could probably just get away with wearing a shirt and tie without a jacket. You can buy a tie anywhere inexpensively and it's not as much of an investment as a jacket which will be outgrown. At this age, I've seen boys do that -- presumably bc they don't have a coat, when they went to try it on an hr before the event they realized it was too small or didn't bother to show their parents the invite until the last second. I don't think he'd stick out much, if this is a typical school district.

Consignment shops might be a good bet. Also do you have a friend that just would buy something like this, maybe you could borrow. I remember this very fussy attorney we had at my office that said she was always the go to person for having a jacket for her friends.

Target has them.

Mine wore his every month or so in MS. About the same in HS. It may not be often but when you need it you need it. He's worn it for school events (e.g., homecoming), sports banquets, church events (e.g., confirmation), funerals, etc. We got a lot of hand me downs early on. The last one we bought at Brooks Bros during the sale.

Anonymous wrote:kohls is good when on sale and with a coupon -- SYMS is your best bet always always for blue blazer and ties. Each of our boys has 2 -- 1 for school and 1 for family functions. The school one is always shoved in a locker and comes home looking like crap. But yes, your son is definitely old enough to warrant a basic blue blazer and a couple of ties.

Unfortunately Syms is closed so this is not an option anymore. Have to agree with you.It was the best place for cheap blazers and ties.

Try Land's End Overstocks or Target. Also, St. Albans and Landon have used clothing stores that are open one day a week or so, and coats, shirst, ties, pants, etc. for very little. They also take donations.

Ebay. My son wears his about 1 time per month. However, at his age (13) he is growing rapidly and I can't see putting the money into a jacket he may only wear 3-4 times before the sleeves get too short. I have found very nice jackets on ebay that looked brand new.

Yes, my son has one. He probably wears it once a year.

Yes, at this age he needs a coat and tie.

Kohl's, JCPenney, Syms.

Or Value Village.

kohls is good when on sale and with a coupon -- SYMS is your best bet always always for blue blazer and ties. Each of our boys has 2 -- 1 for school and 1 for family functions. The school one is always shoved in a locker and comes home looking like crap. But yes, your son is definitely old enough to warrant a basic blue blazer and a couple of ties.

Kohls

My 12 year old went to a Bar Mitzvah for a child he likes but doesn't know well. He wore a stylish dressy button down shirt, and nice pants. I couldn't see paying for him to buy a coat and tie for a one time event. Now we just received an invite to a team banquet and it said "Coat and tie requested". I'm thinking I should have bought the coat. It's just, for our budget, that's a lot of money.

Any suggestions on where to get a cheap coat and tie?