The Giants

The establishments listed below are the pillars of the retail industry: department stores, fast fashion chains, mono- brand giants, multi-brand online monsters, they are either completely kids-centric or have kids’ departments. Some of them are true trendsetters carrying the torch of boys’ fashion high; some of them follow the familiar path of the safe designs. Spread along the price range from high to low-end, these stores present endless opportunities for the frugalicious stylistas.  There are cool finds to be discovered out there at every price level and endless style opportunities for creative mixing of high and low.

The best approach for shopping the boys’ clothes selection offered by the following GIANTS should be “Seek and You Shall Be Rewarded”.

The Giants

The establishments listed below are the pillars of the retail industry: department stores, fast fashion chains, mono- brand giants, multi-brand online monsters, they are either completely kids-centric or have kids’ departments. Some of them are true trendsetters carrying the torch of boys’ fashion high; some of them follow the familiar path of the safe designs. Spread along the price range from high to low-end, these stores present endless opportunities for the frugalicious stylistas.  There are cool finds to be discovered out there at every price level and endless style opportunities for creative mixing of high and low.

The best approach for shopping the boys’ clothes selection offered by the following GIANTS should be “Seek and You Shall Be Rewarded”.

77KIDS

Print PDF

77kids_logoVery laid back surfer chic, Venice Beach style kiddy extension of an American Eagle. They run very generous promotions and have truly, deeply worthy sales, so we will include some of their most stylish and cheapest duds in our selections.

AMAZON.COM

Print PDF

amazon_logoNever forget the founding fathers of the online shopping. Amazon.com still remains an enormous retail force to reckon with and a resource to go to for almost anything. You just have to know where and how to find the coolest and greatest stuff.

BLOOMINGDALES

Print PDF

BloomingdalesWith all due respect, but 39$ for the lame t-shirt or 195$ for the cable knit cashmere sweater, even by Ralf Lauren is not our idea of thrifty shopping, but if you get a kick out of it and moreover, have no problem to shell out a hundred bucks for the pair of jeans, we are only happy for you! Really! However, there are some rare deals we can still find if we look hard, but the taxes and shipping charges (at least $10!) would definitely make those deals less attractive, if you don’t have an access to the actual store. During the sales seasons even BD runs hefty discounts and offers free shipping on orders of $100 or $150. You can do a lot better than this Bloomy! Just try!

CRAZY 8

Print PDF

Crazy_8_Logo Hip little sister of Gymboree. We applaud Gymboree top brains for conceiving and introducing this extremely affordable, hip line. The relaxed, laid back attitude allows endless experiments with prints, patterns; colors and cuts making this line a treasure trove for the stylish boys’ parents on a strict budget. They do justify their name running completely crazy sales almost every other week, constantly introducing new collections and styles. Their baby clothes are drool inducing adorable! I highly recommend this site as a number one resource for the standout baby-shower gifts.

Pros: Lots of basic, dirt cheap pants, shorts and chinos that you can CIY. (Coolify It Yourself)

Cons: It’s a hard call to maintain the cool integrity on a budget; therefore the quality tends to suffer occasionally! This might be upsetting but hey, you didn’t shell out half of your weekly groceries budget on this shirt, so if you get a full season worth out its humble $10 price tag, it’s still a pretty good deal!

CREWCUTS/ J. CREW

Print PDF

JCrewThe recent very cool makeover of J.Crew engineered by the genius Jenna Lyons, Creative Director and now CEO had turned this bastion of frozen preppyness into the house of style. Refined simplicity with a French flair, quiet elegance with a touch of hipness, exceptional quality and hefty price tags. Sales make the dreams come true with generous sales. Kind of 30% off the final sale items, plus free shipping on orders of $150. This is our go to place when styling expensive high-end French brands outfits. Bravo, J.Crew!

GAP

Print PDF

Gap had been ruling the kids’ clothing market with an iron hand and almost ultimate authority for many years, shifting from openly boring and mediocre into creative and absolutely awesome. GAP had seriously cleaned up its act shelling out one cool collection after another; offering amazingly stylish pieces, which definitely make hip wardrobe staples. Some true revelations, such as patchwork jackets and vests, truly deserve their place in boys fashion Hall of Fame. The place to go to for the fabulous cable knit sweaters and cardigans, creative denim pieces, cool jackets and parkas, preppy chic stripy and plaid shirts, awesome fedoras etc.

Cons:  Due to the high demand only some sizes hit the sales.  Therefore, we should be extremely vigilant, quick and invest wisely into pieces where our limited bucks would go a thousand extra miles.

The cool and hip factor amped up in babies and toddlers departments loses its style zest in the big boys’ clothes sliding into tired and overused skating and surfing oblivion. You’ve got to step up, GAP!

GYMBOREE

Print PDF

Gymboree Fluffy heaven filled with the cutest baby boy clothes on Earth! I actually used to stock up on almost everything Gymboree when my little hipster was a baby. The “cute as a button” approach takes on a conservative, boring turn when it comes to the older boys’ clothes. American consumers are considered quite conservative among the European manufacturers when it comes to the boys’ clothes, following rigid “gender appropriate” color, patterns, fits and decorative elements rules. Gymboree follows the suit religiously, providing its loyal customers with the regurgitated collections of beautifully crafted, high quality pieces, with the overwhelming style déjà vu.

Pros: Great quality! Look for the cute pants and shorts with tiny embroideries all over (Gymboree started the trend and everyone jumped in), bold contrast stitching, cute PJ’s, adorable 7 days underwear packs and preppy chic quilted coats.

Cons: The prices tend to be on an expensive side, but the frequent sales and GYMBUCK$ specials make quite comfortable room for the frugalicious shoppers.

H&M

Print PDF

HM_logoI honestly want to induct this remarkable retailer into the Hall of Fame of BBCC or budget fashionistas (Coming Soon!)

My heart doesn’t beat this hard when I surf Gilt.com sales, well, just as hardMoney mouth when I step into the boys’ section of H&M store. Absolutely, resolutely, insanely cool selection of boys’ Must Haves: groovy jeans (skinny jeans for the 1 year old! The BEST!), hip jackets, colorful shorts, genius t-shirts,  fitted crew neck long sleeve soft t-shirts in all conceivable colors and stripes, basically – BASICS of numerous outfits, for layering with shirts and t-shirts, jackets and hoodies.

Pros: Very reasonable prices, ever changing collections. The best value (style & coolness) for money.

Cons: Not Available Online! Well, available if you happened to live in one of a few lucky European countries (Serious vice!), generally NOT widely available, very limited selection in particular stores. Note to H&M: Perhaps, an artificially created scarcity is a great marketing strategy but please, please, hear us out! We need more of you! Much more!