High school boy cool stuff

[SusanBAnthony]

My son is a freshman and he has some disabilities. I'm trying to figure out what's "in" so that we don't inadvertently send him to school with something totally uncool. He is not helpful at this. He has no awareness and I don't want him to be teased.

This is brought to you by me realizing his wallet is a little kid wallet 🤦

Here is the offending wallet: www.amazon.com/Stephen-Joseph-Wallet-Blue-Airplane/dp/B00E7M7MQW/ref=mp_s_a_1_5?crid=IXMKZGMIV8NY&keywords=airplane+wallet&qid=1662339719&sprefix=airplane+walle%2Caps%2C134&sr=8-5


So what kind of wallet would a high school boy use?

His birthday is in a couple weeks and he doesn't want anything in particular so I'd like to get him some miscellaneous stuff like water bottle, wallet, etc that are appropriate for an older kid. Maybe some clothes too. I'm open to anything!

For reference: we live in MN, he is into computers, math, science, and nerd stuff, and absolutely not into sports.

What's in?

[snapoutofit]

My son isn’t in high-school yet, just going into 8th grade, but he uses a plain brown leather wallet. As for what’s ‘in’ , the high school kids I see around town are wearing anything from Van’s to Nike Airforce 1s, Nike air Jordan, crocs. I rarely see any high schooler in anything besides sweats or athletic pants.

[VillainV]

I think Hydroflask water bottles are still in? People like to cover them with stickers of places they’ve been and things they’ve done. But you can order packs of stickers like this one: Limited-time deal: Bekayshad Stickers for Water Bottles, 100 Pack/PCS Hydroflask Stickers for Kids Teens Waterproof Cute Vsco Vinyl Stickers Laptop Skateboard Luggage Computer Stickers for Teens Girls Kids a.co/4rXodtl

[HRH Queen Dick I, Orphan]

Mine carries a standard issue black mens wallet, handed down from his father.

He is devoted to Nike Air Force 1s.

I believe Hydro Flask is the marquee name water bottle but he is fine with his Simple Modern.

He insists on actual pants (khakis, cargo) after many years of trackie bottoms and sweats. He just flipped one day.

Sidenote: The rizz is what we would call game. If you have the rizz you can pull women. Very important.

Maybe we should have a support group.

[mysteriouswife]

Hydro flask or yeti are the in bottles of choice. I have seen several of the neighbors friends (jr and sr boys) with the squeezable type.

My nephews are all about the Jordan’s and vans for sneakers. Hey Dudes are popular with 1/2 the kids I have seen.

Any athletic shirt and shorts seem to be the majority of what the kids next door wear. Nephews are required to wear uniforms. On the weekends they are in lounge and athletic.

DD swears the boys smell like a walking axe commercial. So maybe a cologne? will be happy to ask SIL what she buys the boys.

Backpacks are vans, Nike, and Adiddas here.

[jinkies]

I'm not sure that my 9th grader is particularly cool, but he also uses just a plain brown wallet. He wears a lot of hoodies. You can't go wrong with Nikes.

Those are the only things that I would trust his judgement on if you are going for generic freshman vibe.

If you are looking for a sense of clothing or hair trends, spend some time going through last year's yearbook. I generally found that the girls looks like models and the boys looked like they had a muppet on their head.

[devonpow]

Ds1 is 15/starting 10th grade. He refuses to use a wallet and just carries money and his subway pass loose in his pocket (I don’t recommend!). We live in Boston and it’s still all athleisure clothes, Vans and Nike brand for a lot of stuff. Nike Air Force One and Dunks for shoes. All the kids seem to have air pods - they aren’t wearing Beats as much.

I also in no way claim my kid is cool lol. The hierarchy of “cool” seems very different than my high school years

[devonpow]

Oh and hydroflasks are fine but where we are it’s a big no on sticker, for the boys at least. It’s very big to do the stickers with younger/middle school girls. Boys everything is as plain as can be - basic black for everything/no big logos on things like bottles/backpacks/etc. This could be regional!

[cjcouple]

I agree, styles vary.

One thing you could add if he has PE this year is a string bag (thick straps). My son uses a UA one to put his gym clothes, deodorant in. Nike is always a safe bet.

I'd get some solid colored name brand dry fit shirts and the shorter shorts for PE (my son has like 5 black pairs in various fabrics from thin to sweatpant material. These are really IN right now in my area.

Are there any parents locally you can also ask as well? I mention because my son is very sporty so his style may differ from others. I truly think most styles are acceptable. (Hollister, AE, Old Navy, DSG for Nike, adidas, Northface etc).

Some wear chains (necklace) but not all so if he wouldnt like it, don't waste your money. Air pods of course. Clear phone case. A bunch of the boys had art work under their phone cases but this may have been a local trend. A kid on my sons football team made graffiti art with their nicknames to fit right under the case.

I'd definitely ask around your area though if you can.

[cjcouple]

Sept 4, 2022 20:54:05 GMT -5 devonpow said:

Oh and hydroflasks are fine but where we are it’s a big no on sticker, for the boys at least. It’s very big to do the stickers with younger/middle school girls. Boys everything is as plain as can be - basic black for everything/no big logos on things like bottles/backpacks/etc. This could be regional!

Yes, Lots of solid white, cream and black in my house.

[formerlyak]

My son is a Junior. He likes board shorts or golf shirts and t-shirts. The shorts he likes are either from his school (like spirit wear) or college shirts mostly. Car culture shirts are also big here. Vans shoes. JanSport backpack.

[silvercrayon]

Nike AF1 Shoes and for high school, a man's wallet (simple brown or black).

Jeans from American Eagle or Levi's. Hoodies or t-shirs with Nike or local teams.

[mysteriouswife]

Sept 4, 2022 21:18:33 GMT -5 cjcouple said:

Sept 4, 2022 20:54:05 GMT -5 devonpow said:

Oh and hydroflasks are fine but where we are it’s a big no on sticker, for the boys at least. It’s very big to do the stickers with younger/middle school girls. Boys everything is as plain as can be - basic black for everything/no big logos on things like bottles/backpacks/etc. This could be regional!

Yes, Lots of solid white, cream and black in my house.

Same with my DD and two nieces. I haven’t paid that much attention to my nephews and color.

[lostlenore]

My son is a freshman and turned 15 last week. He wears a uniform to school, so clothes aren’t as important around here.

He doesn’t use a wallet; he has one of those sticky things on his phone to hold his debit card and a bit of cash and he seems to really like that.

For his birthday, I got him AirPods, which he was super excited about.

[skidunks]

My son is 14 and a freshman. He rarely uses his wallet but it’s made out of duct tape and he bought it from market day in 4th grade. I think we should probably get him a new one.
He wears Nikes and Crocs. All athletics shorts, pullover hoodies, dry fit t shirts, spirit wear from his school. He wears his football jersey on game days with khakis or jeans but that’s the only time he wears bottoms like that. He keeps his hair short.

[rosiebear]

This thread is heartbreaking.

[latte]

I know nothing about what is cool in teenage boy land, but I just wanted to say that you are a good mom. ❤️

[firedancer10288]

I don’t have a boy (my DD is starting 9th grade) but I teach middle
School. From what I can see, none of the kids around here carry wallets. They either stick cash inside their phone case or they have something like this on a lanyard/key chain- this is mostly the older kids that drive.

[georgeglass]

Ditto to the good mom!

My son is a senior and I work in a kind of fancy private school, so grain of salt. Yetis for water bottle - I rarely see stickers on boys' bottles. I see a variety of shoes - my son wears All Birds, but I definitely see a lot of Nikes. They have a dress code, but if they didn't, it would be pretty basic athletic wear. For jeans, a bunch of them actually like the Target Goodfellow brand. My son carries a basic brown leather wallet.

[af1212]

You’re a good mom.

I have a middle school daughter with some quirks and I know how it feels to feel like you are creating opportunities for them to be teased by giving them the “wrong stuff”.

Kids can be so mean - and I feel like the “cool stuff” is so much more $$$$ now than it was when I was that age.

[jlt19]

I just looked at my sisters post of the first day of school (K, Freshman, Sophomore and CC Freshman) don’t ask how she convinced them all - probably to help get the K on the bus…

HS boys had on athletic shorts, black socks and black sneakers (couldn’t tell brand). Both had on hats, but one has the “muppet” hair. Lucky for him he has great hair.

Long sleeve T-shirt and a hoodie. Couldn’t tell backpacks, but I’m sure they’re unassuming. I imagine wallets to be the same.

I feel like boys like to not stand out. The plainer the better?

[expectantsteelerfan]

Any plain man's wallet should be fine. My favorite place to shop for those is TJ Maxx. The one near me always has a good selection in nice gift boxes, but Kohls and department stores will also have them along with of course Amazon.

[rooster222]

Sept 4, 2022 20:47:06 GMT -5 jinkies said:

I'm not sure that my 9th grader is particularly cool, but he also uses just a plain brown wallet. He wears a lot of hoodies. You can't go wrong with Nikes.

Those are the only things that I would trust his judgement on if you are going for generic freshman vibe.

If you are looking for a sense of clothing or hair trends, spend some time going through last year's yearbook. I generally found that the girls looks like models and the boys looked like they had a muppet on their head.

Muppet on their head is the perfect description!!

[formerlyak]

Sept 5, 2022 6:43:57 GMT -5 georgeglass said:

Ditto to the good mom!

My son is a senior and I work in a kind of fancy private school, so grain of salt. Yetis for water bottle - I rarely see stickers on boys' bottles. I see a variety of shoes - my son wears All Birds, but I definitely see a lot of Nikes. They have a dress code, but if they didn't, it would be pretty basic athletic wear. For jeans, a bunch of them actually like the Target Goodfellow brand. My son carries a basic brown leather wallet.

My 16 year old DS LOVES the solid color Goodfellow t-shirts. He has about 5 colors. I love that they are $6.

[mysteriouswife]

Sept 4, 2022 23:11:22 GMT -5 rosiebear said:

This thread is heartbreaking.

[bmay I ask how?

[mcmel]

I would also recommend some t-shirts or hoodies that represent his interests. NASA t-shirts are pretty universal but you could also get some shirts that have classic video games, bands, or movies.

It seems like older things are coming back around so maybe something to do with classic Nintendo or an older Zelda logo or something.

[rosiebear]

Sept 5, 2022 9:18:07 GMT -5 mysteriouswife said:

Sept 4, 2022 23:11:22 GMT -5 rosiebear said:

This thread is heartbreaking.

[bmay I ask how?

It’s just bringing back all the angst and anxiety of high school and drives home how, even though I truly believe kids are so much better at acceptance and letting other kids be themselves, there is still so much pressure to conform and not be seen as “weird” or uncool. And how it’s still dangerous to be perceived that way in high school. It does break my heart.

[cjcouple]

Sept 5, 2022 6:52:05 GMT -5 af1212 said:

You’re a good mom.

Kids can be so mean - and I feel like the “cool stuff” is so much more $$$$ now than it was when I was that age.

Yeah. I shop sales/clearance tacks a lot,TJ Maxx, I get higher ticketed items for things like birthdays and Christmas. I also have to say no sometimes. Things he really wants that are $$$, he pitches in for. And he had some no name brand items mixed in. Black shorts and pants, Ts.

PDQ (will delete): My husband works for a large sporting goods chain and gets 25% off almost everything which is huge at this point in time. Because he is there 5 days a week. he can check clearance racks which is very helpful. We also don't do large shopping trips anymore. It's more grab an outfit and a hoodie.

Hollister and Aero had huge sales last November and we grabbed each of the boys a couple hoodies and sweats and some T's for $15-20 each. AE outlet we found some long sleeve Ts for them each.

My youngest (13) loves anime/manga and that stuff can be a lot too. He wants to work at BAM when he is 16 so he can get a discount 🤣

[mysteriouswife]

Sept 5, 2022 9:30:05 GMT -5 rosiebear said:

Sept 5, 2022 9:18:07 GMT -5 mysteriouswife said:

[bmay I ask how?

It’s just bringing back all the angst and anxiety of high school and drives home how, even though I truly believe kids are so much better at acceptance and letting other kids be themselves, there is still so much pressure to conform and not be seen as “weird” or uncool. And how it’s still dangerous to be perceived that way in high school. It does break my heart.

I agree fully! Thank you for sharing your perspective.

DS has a pair of knock-off vans. Mainly for playing. He has been wearing them to school. Even at 7 a kid made a comment.

[mcmel]

You could also consider a smart watch. Not sure what he would do with it but I’m sure he’d think it was cool if he’s into computer kind of stuff.