Tween
Saturday, April 13, 2013 at 10:13AM Okay, what gives?! I took Noah to look for sandals for the summer yesterday (after an email about a sandal sale at our favorite local shoe store...). We had planned to just get another pair of Keens, as we usually do. (Remember, this is the boy who generally just gets *exactly the same thing* but in the next size. Has for years.) But. The boy no longer fits the kid size. And the store's selection of Keens in the appropriate men's size included only one pair. And they were powder blue. Obviously, that didn't work, lol. So, here are my questions:
How did the boy's feet suddenly get so much bigger? Seriously. His last pair of Keens were a size 4 (kids), and they fit last summer/fall. He now needs a size 8.5 (men's). What?!!
(Incidentally, this also led to the discovery that, duh, his shoes (which were a couple sizes bigger, having been purchased in the fall rather than last spring) don't fit either. No idea how he's been stuffing his feet in them without complaint, lol.)
Why doesn't Keen standardly stock plain black as a choice in every style? At the store, not a single pair of black Keens for boys or men were to be found. (And it was not for lack of choices. There were at least a dozen different colors for men. I made him try on the black women's Keens but they didn't fit right.) Honestly, though, practically all the rest of the men's shoes are black. Why wasn't there a single black option in the Keens?
(Okay. I looked. Keen does make black. (Whew!) But, then, why doesn't the store stock it?)
Why does the boy insist still on wearing only black? (Okay, don't answer that, lol.)
What's the deal with this apparent gap Noah's in...too big for kid sizes and too small for the sizes generally stocked for men? I know we can do some online shopping but it's annoying for this most, um, discriminating son who is quite particular about what fits and is comfortable...who generally needs to try things on.
And, while I'm at it, we seem to be in the same gap for everything else, too. Kid size tops are too small; men's are too big. He'll be in the same predicament for pants soon, as well. What gives? Why isn't there some sort of juniors section for boys? There are entire stores just for junior sizes for girls! It's a conspiracy, I tell you! ;)
Sigh. Off now to try to take the boy shopping again. Wish us luck! ;)
Reader Comments (2)
We've been dealing with this gap as well for about a year. I wonder why retailers seem to forget about awkward boys and their weird bodies. HELLO. Don't discriminate. Weirdo teen boys need clothes TOO. In black, for the record. Because most boys at this age feel WEIRD. They look weird, is it a huge stretch to imagine they feel weird too?!? They need some black to hide and blanket themselves. Unless they are Noah, who does it because black is just cool, or Gabe who thinks pink is the new black.
Good luck!
Our REI store has a nice selection of Keens, but thankfully my boys are still in kid sizes (for now...). It wont be long now and I'll be in the same place.