Boys - not just Gap jeans anymore

I don't have anything against Gap jeans.  In fact, I've been really impressed with the cut on the 1969 jeans.  They're very cute.  But you don't need me to tell you how to go to the Gap or Old Navy and buy your son some jeans.  That's the uniform.  I can't count the number of times, on the other hand, that I've heard moms and store owners complain that there are no cute pants out there for boys besides this uniform.  It's something of a mantra among moms.  While it's true that the options for boys are more limited than those for girls, I still feel like there are some fun options out there.

I'm all for getting truly funky with boys' pants, but I'll save that for the next post.  The reality is, parents tend to be more conservative when shopping for their sons.  So let's start with the basics.  Color has become the watchword for basics of all sorts recently, and boys pants are no exception.  If you feel most comfortable with your little man in jeans or cords, you can still play with color.  I am blown away by the amazing and rich colors of cords available.

My absolute favorite pants for boys are Appaman's carpenter cords.  The corduroy is phenomenally soft, the cut is adorable, and the green ... come on ... shut the front door.  The more teal green of JCrew's slim fit cords is also really nice, without being too out there for a boy to feel comfortable in them.  If your budget doesn't allow for $42-46 cords, my favorite fall back, as always, is Zara.  Zara's 5-pocket cords have a great fit, and are only $29.90.  I don't love the fit of H&M's cords quite as much as Zara's, but they're even less expensive and the colors are really fun.

Who says color is only for cords?  If you -- or your son -- are feeling a little more daring, Zara also has twill trousers in some pretty great colors.  The blue is an incredible shade.  For a break from Gap jeans, Zara is a terrific resource for jeans in general.  The slim cut jeans are particularly cute.  Lately my littlest one has not been a big fan of skinny jeans, but if your child will wear them, Zara's jeans are absolutely rock star!  Not to be forgotten, I've seen a big resurgence among the boys lately of good old Levi's.  For something really out there - and it's all the rage with the teen boys - Levi's has skinny jeans in absolutely outrageous colors (think bright purple).

So step away from the Gap -- there really are other choices out there.