I swear, I just blogged about this in April when Jack grew out of all his size 6 pants. Which was just 7 months after he grew out of all his size 5 pants. At the time, Jack’s pants were suddenly a few inches too short… but since it was only April, I had to buy the next size since it was a month or so until shorts weather.
I had high hopes that after wearing his size 7 pants for a month, I could squeak a little more wear out of them in the fall.
Yeah, that didn’t happen.
We had our first week of cool weather and the kid grew out of his dang pants again.
But now we have a new problem. I usually stock up on Nike and Under Armour track pants at TJ Maxx and Marshalls, but after a size 7 there is no size 8. Instead the sizes transition into small, medium and large.
Well, you may be thinking that I should just go with smalls. Yeah, me too. But while the smalls are consistent with an 8 in length, they are much larger in the waist. And my kid is super slim with really long legs. So, to get the pants to fit in the length, you have to tie the waist really tight and they are still falling down on him!
Also, apparently size small isn’t popular. Or maybe it’s too popular. I went to 3 Marshall’s stores and 1 TJ Maxx store and found just TWO pairs of potential pants in a size small. They had plenty of the thicker sweatpants, but the sporty trackpants where nowhere to be found. I also found a pair of Adidas trackpants in a 7x, so I figured I’d throw them into my pile too.
Then, I went to Kohls because I heard they have a good sporty boy’s section. After searching the entire section, I found a total of 6 pairs of size small pants that ranged in price from $25 – $40. I’m used to Marshalls pricing of $17 for a pair… so there was some super sticker shock happening!
So, that gives us a total of 8 pairs of size small pants and 1 pair of a 7x size. We had a little try-on session at home in the living room and I made three piles: fits just right, fits good but a little big (and he will grow into them), or way too big around the waist (and he will grow too tall before he fits them in the waist).
The one pair of 7x pants were perfection. The same size around the waist as a normal 7, but with a few extra inches of length! EXACTLY what I needed.
The two pairs from Marshalls that were a size small were okay. The length was good and there was a little extra space around the waist, but Jack could jump up and down and not worry about them falling to his knees. The prices were right, so I may pack these away for a few months to see if they fit better in the winter.
As for the six pairs from Kohls, only one pair worked at all. Every single pair was great when it came to length, but holy hell were they wide at the waist and butt area! I picked up a mix of Under Armour and Nike, so I was shocked that they went from a slim size 7 to a husky size small. SHOCKED!
Out of all 9 pairs, we ended up with 2 that can fit right now and 2 that may fit better in a few months. That’s it! I packed the Kohl’s pants back up in the bag to return and went to bed defeated.
And then I had a thought. Maybe I can find some more of those Adidas 7x pants somewhere! I did some googling around and found them on Amazon with Prime shipping! They have two versions with 7x as an option, the Adidas Boys Tapered Trainer pant for $19.20 and the Adidas Boys Tricot Jogger pants for $18. I ordered three more pairs and crossed my fingers that they’d fit consistent with the pair we had.
And they do! Jack now has 5 pairs of pants that actually fit him and 2 pairs waiting for him to gain a little weight in the tummy. I wish I had that problem with my pants…
If you also have a tall, thin kid that keeps growing out of pants, you may find the fact that there are a few 7x’s out in the world helpful!
Disclaimer: This post contains Amazon affiliate links. This means that clicking on a link may help me earn a small commission at no cost to you.
Parker is tall and slim too so i can relate. Lately we have been a big fan of cat & jack jogger pants by target. They also make jeans in slim that fit him well too.
Thanks for the tip! Jack only wears jeans when I force him to dress up, so we really need a pair on hand for the holidays. I’ll check out Target. =)
Thanks for this! My second grade, 7 year old boy has the exact same issue and finding pants to fit his height and skinny waist has been the bane of my existence!!
Maybe you could have some of the pants tailored. It sounds expensive, but usually to have something taken in here and there, isn’t that much. So, if the only thing wrong with a few of them is the waist and bottom,(and you need them now – not waiting until later) you could have that taken in. Hey, you sew!so,maybe think of it as a craft project!?
Just an idea. It sounds like you have a good amount of pants. It’s good you jumped on it, and got it done. Jack has a very good mommy.
My kid is very similar, tall, lanky and has growth spurts every time I turn around! Well, I haven’t really found a brand that I stick to; I just buy what looks good and feels good for him. Always nice to see a proactive mommy like yourself, Joules!