Author Topic: Ugh. I think I need to go in a store. Where to buy SLIM children's pants?  (Read 3240 times)

SomedayStache

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Guys - I need some help.  In 7 years of parenting I have purchased children's clothes only at a twice yearly local consignment sale (JBF).  This has worked great, until now, and I'm afraid I'm going to have to venture into retail territory and I'm sceered. =)

My oldest is a 7 year-old string bean.  He fits size 5 around his waist but a size 8 in length.  I'm having no luck with thrift stores or consignment sales in my area to find pants for him.  Are any of you well-versed in shopping for kids at actual stores?  Can you point me in a direction?  What is a reasonable price to pay for a pair of pants? (I'm guessing the $3 upper limit I've had in the past won't quite cut it in any store).

justajane

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Ha - I'm encountering the opposite in size 7. All the clearance pants I bought for my 7 1/2 year old won't fit over his hips! So to husky I go, although I don't think my son looks husky. I did some shopping yesterday, and Children's Place sells slim pants, as does Target. Another mom who has a bean pole said Crazy 8 sells the smallest slim, but you might want to have him try those on, because apparently they are VERY slim. Crazy 8 is ca. $13. I just paid $12 at Children's Place. Circo brand was $9. It goes against my religion to pay this much, but you do what you gotta do.

On the plus (or should I say minus?) side, slim pants are often on deep clearance at stores. I would buy ahead if he stays this skinny.

justajane

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You could also search "slim boy pants lot size 8" on Ebay and see if you can strike pay dirt. Maybe someone is unloading a ton for cheap. Also try Craigslist.

SomedayStache

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I've never heard of crazy8 but there's one not too far away.

Maybe I"ll take him to Target first since that seems the lowest price and see what we find.  It's new territory for me to take a child shopping and I may regret letting him realize that the store is filled with cool character clothing that we don't normally buy.  This might be Pandora's box.

justajane

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I've never heard of crazy8 but there's one not too far away.

Maybe I"ll take him to Target first since that seems the lowest price and see what we find.  It's new territory for me to take a child shopping and I may regret letting him realize that the store is filled with cool character clothing that we don't normally buy.  This might be Pandora's box.

Conversely, you could buy them and take them home to try them on. That's what I did. You just have to be willing to return it if it doesn't work. Happily I just had success with my "loose" jeans! Too bad it's the $12 Children's Place one's that fit best, though.

TrMama

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I have a similarly sized 7yo bean pole. I can only buy her pants that have the adjustable buttonhole elastic waist. She cannot wear normal elastic waist pants (like leggings or yoga pants) at all because they just fall down. Try Old Navy, Gap outlet or something similar. The key is the adjustable waist. Cinch it tight. And feed him ice cream.

My 9yo OTOH is shaped more like Justajane's kid. She already has hips, a behind and has inherited my thick waist and short legs. She only needs an 8 in length, but those won't go over her hips. I've been buying pants in 10/12 and hemming them 6". I don't cut off the extra length so YDD can hopefully wear them in 4 years when she fills out enough to hold them up. Thank goodness my mom taught me to sew. I'm making sure ODD learns how to hem her own pants. She'll need it!

MayDay

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My 8 year old has pants issues (he isn't thin but he has no butt). 

I found a ton of slims at a children's consignment store this year.  I don't even know where to buy them in real stores, except that I can tell you the labels in our used ones were Gap, Levis, and Osh Kosh.  Probably none of those are cheap, though. 

TVRodriguez

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I've never heard of crazy8 but there's one not too far away.

Maybe I"ll take him to Target first since that seems the lowest price and see what we find.  It's new territory for me to take a child shopping and I may regret letting him realize that the store is filled with cool character clothing that we don't normally buy.  This might be Pandora's box.

Conversely, you could buy them and take them home to try them on. That's what I did. You just have to be willing to return it if it doesn't work. Happily I just had success with my "loose" jeans! Too bad it's the $12 Children's Place one's that fit best, though.

I've bought clothes and brought them home for the kid to try on and just returned the 'wrong' sizes.  That helps.  And I second Target's pants -- some of them do have the adjustable waistband, which is great for my thin kids. 

It's also not a bad thing to just set limits with the kid and tell him that you're only there to buy pants.  I tell my kids that if they think they might want to buy something else, they can bring their own money.

elaine amj

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My son is a string bean too (he was still wearing sz 4 shorts at 7 years old).

I found plenty of adjustable waist stuff at thrift stores and consignment sales. I started bringing a current pair of pants that fit along with me so I could measure the waist and length. (made such a big difference!!).

For brands, Children's Place and Old Navy were usually OK. For Old Navy, it wasn't good when he was younger, but once he got older (around 7/8), their pants started fitting. Not all, but at least their sweatpants. I don't remember having great luck with Target and Circo was hit/miss.

It may not get better for a while. He's almost 13 and I recently bought a pair from Walmart that *looked* right, but are now hanging in his closet because they are too big. No more adjustable waist stuff at this age *sigh*

Good luck! I had to bite the bullet and start paying $5-10 for pants (hate that). These days, with my picky 14 year old daughter, I paid $15 for a pair of shorts *gasp*.

jeninco

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When the 13-year old gets very slightly bigger (or maybe even now) and/or when he begins to care what he's wearing, try H&M. They're not too expensive, and the men's clothes are so slim I don't see how they can sell to adult men. Which, probably, they don't, except for the very skinny.

justajane

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Re: Ugh. I think I need to go in a store. Where to buy SLIM children's pants?
« Reply #10 on: October 09, 2015, 03:00:38 PM »
When the 13-year old gets very slightly bigger (or maybe even now) and/or when he begins to care what he's wearing, try H&M. They're not too expensive, and the men's clothes are so slim I don't see how they can sell to adult men. Which, probably, they don't, except for the very skinny.

It's true. H&M runs very small and very slim. They sell kids clothes in some stores and online.

La Bibliotecaria Feroz

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Re: Ugh. I think I need to go in a store. Where to buy SLIM children's pants?
« Reply #11 on: October 09, 2015, 03:36:38 PM »
Once you find a brand that works, you can try Schoola to get them used. I hear that they are not super-cheap--way more than Goodwill, comparable to an Old Navy sale--but if the best brand you find is kinda pricey, there could be some savings.

I have the opposite problem. I'm always having to shorten the boys' pants. (Since I never want to cut them, I just turn them under and use Stitch Witchery.)

genealogist

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Re: Ugh. I think I need to go in a store. Where to buy SLIM children's pants?
« Reply #12 on: October 09, 2015, 06:23:13 PM »
My son is the same way. Finding nice jeans at consignments shops at his size is hard enough, much less when he's so slim. We ended up going to Kohl's and buying Lee brand (dungarees) jeans - adjustable waist, nice look, and well fitting for slim figures.

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!