FashBlog.com

by Christina VanGinkel

Clothing is one of those things you either give a lot of thought to or not much at all. As a mother keeping a growing twelve year old in fashionable clothes without going broke in the process, clothing is on my mind more than ever in the recent past.

My son has always been big. Born at nine pounds fourteen ounces, he is now five feet seven inches tall and weighs approximately one hundred and eighty pounds. Some would immediately assume that he is overweight, but I would beg to differ. He is in all actuality one of the most active twelve years olds I have ever known. He plays catcher for his Little League team, center on offense and nose guard and tackle on defense for the youth football team, snowboards all winter, and rides motocross on his Kawasaki KX 100 whenever he has a spare minute. Any other free time is spent working for his father in the tool shop and piling logs. With an active schedule like this, I am not only trying to keep him in well fitting, good looking school and day to day clothes, but also in all the protective gear and uniforms needed for him to participate in his favorite sports.

His Little League coach got a taste of his habit of outgrowing clothes when the new season started this year, and he realized he had to special order my son a uniform in adult size. He got off easy! In six weeks time my son outgrew almost every article of clothing in his closet, save for a few pairs of jogging pants and a couple of oversized sweatshirts.

Living rurally as we do, this meant driving to the nearest town with a mall that includes all the basics, including a JC Penneys. Thankfully, my son is easygoing about clothes shopping in general. As long as the clothes moderately resemble what his friends are wearing, he is good to go. This helps immensely when we happenchance upon a sale. Name brands such as U.S. Polo, Arizona, or Levi, are preferred, but more for the fit than the name. He has always been a hot person, so clothes that are favorites are loose fitting and breathable.

The one area of clothing that he can be particular about is anything to do with snowboarding. He has his favorites for everything from his pants and jackets, to the gloves he wears. Again, this is more of a comfort issue than trying to fit in with the crowd.

Motocross pants are also an issue, as he needs them when he rides to protect his legs from any possibly wipeouts. A pair a friend picked up at Christmas at deep discount had to be altered this month for the start of season because he had already outgrown them. Thankfully, they were made in a way that the waist could have an extension put in without being very noticeable. No such luck with the jean shorts I purchased around the same time of year. At least I can pass them down to his little brother. Make that his twenty three year old brother, who may be older, but is definitely smaller!