I think I may have mentioned here a time (or twelve) that my least favorite thing about this particular stage of manchild-development is that it’s nearly impossible to find my son shoes that fit. (He’s currently in a men’s 6.5, and most kids’ shoes stop at 6 and most men’s shoes start at 8. Oh, do you wear anything from a 6.5-7.5? Too bad!)
Couple this with his complete refusal to even think about what he might like to wear—but whatever you just got, eh, he doesn’t like those—and shoes have been a challenge, lately, because you know I’m not paying full price just because he wears a hard-to-find size. He mentioned wanting green sneakers and I took it on as my mission.
Well. Success! I found these K-Swiss Clean Laguna sneakers at Amazon in a variety of fun colors, but most importantly: 1) they had green, and 2) green was marked down to just $15. They arrived yesterday and he loves them (hooray!).
You’ll have to scroll through the colors and sizes to figure out which ones are on sale, and note that this is considered a “unisex” shoe, so the sizes are men’s, but run down small enough for most women (and even big kids), too. This is a fairly narrow shoe, too, so if your guy has Fred Flintstone feet, this is not the right sneaker. But if you have a wiry teen boy with skinny feet or want them for a kid or a female (no hate mail about how some women have wide feet, please; you know what I mean) it’s worth checking to see if the color/size combo you want is marked down. I never would’ve paid $50 for these, but for $15 I’m very pleased.
I was just complaining about this very thing last week as we wandered back and forth between the mens’ and boys’ shoe depts. it’s the shoe black hole! Glad to know we’re not the only ones…
hahahaha! I just did this digging myself. No one sells size 6 because no boy will wear it for more than about a month.
My NINE year old just went from a six to a seven over the summer. Sevens aren’t so hard to find. I still miss Stride Rite.
They have maroon and orange! But not for $15 in any size that will fit anyone in my house. BUT I have it on good authority that my kids will continue to grow. Woo hoo!
This has been an issue for my husband since he was 15 years old and his feet stopped growing … at size 7. I took on the problem of searching for men’s size 7 when we got married, mostly because I hated that he constantly wore the ONE pair of dress shoes that actually fit. It is possible to find his size, but over the years I’ve bought far more size 8 (which typically cost $20 to $30 less) and told him to wear thick socks! Based on his shoe size, I’m sure you’ve figured out that my husband is obviously short, so buying jeans with a 29 inch inseam is also an adventure… but that is another story.
Oh, how I remember this fondly. Wait til you get to the mancub size where they wear a 28 or 29 waist with a 32 inseam. THAT is a fun size to find. 6 ft skinny 13 year olds are fun to dress!
Having dressed 2 boys with a 33″ waist / 34-1/2″ inseam who topped off at 6’3″, medium-tall shirts were challenging to find; pants were a little easier.
For tall lanky boys, some online options are Old Navy, JCrew, Lands End and Eddie Bauer, especially on sale.
I’d take your hand-me-downs, and Golden’s too! I have two boys on their way to that size. My husband is a 33×34, Med Tall and we’ve given up on Lands End. Didn’t know JCrew might have them and never had looked at Old Navy. Even Eddie Bauer is online only.
Golden, I have a 6 ft skinny 13 year old! Thank goodness he really only likes wearing shorts, or I would be going crazy right now looking for back to school clothes.
My husband wears a 6.5 — on one foot. The other is a 9.5. For those who are able/willing to go the pricier route, Rockport, Ecco, and ($$$$) Mephisto come in both of those sizes. If, like my husband, your feet are 2 or more sizes apart, Nordstrom will sell the two different sizes at the single pair price. Even on sale. The most anyone else will offer is a 50% discount on the second pair.