Help! Need adjustable waist pants for super skinny, tall 10 year old

[LynnS6]

Ds is just starting to outgrow the only pants that fit him: Old Navy size 12 slims with adjustable waists. He can only wear them if the waist is pulled in as tight as it goes.

He has a 23" waist, and a 26-27" inseam. (For most clothing companies, his waist is about a 10 slim, sometimes an 8; his length is 12 or 14.)

Old Navy doesn't make slims past size 12! He can't/won't wear other slims because he's got sensory issues, and they're too big in the waist. So, I have 2 pairs of Levi jeans size slim (waist 24", length 26"). The waist bothers him and they fall down (he also has no butt and no hips). I can't get him to wear a belt.

Who else makes slims with adjustable waists in sizes 14 and up?

And while I'm at it, any ideas on sweatpants for him? He's currently wearing Gap/Old Navy sweats in a size large. He can do that because we can cinch in the drawstring waist. But he looks a bit clown-like because they are so big in the leg/hips. But like the regular pants, they're getting short on him. I can't imagine going up to a size 14/16 because he's going to drown in them. Hanes sweats are out because they don't have drawstring waists and they literally fall down around his ankles. (Windpants don't work because of his sensory issues.)

He will always choose comfort in the waist over proper length. He got out of the house for his birthday party last year with pants that were seriously 3-6" too short (see below -- they hit him mid calf). Luckily, none of his friends care. But he's headed off to middle school next year, and I'd like to make sure he's got pants that FIT.

[nextcommercial]

Gap does.  http://www.gap.com/browse/product.do?pid=870406&locale=en_US&kwid=1&sem=false&sdReferer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.gap.com%2Fproducts%2Fboys-jeans.jsp

Union bay did at one time, but I don't know if they still do.

[AnnieA]

Lands End has boys slim pants up to size 16 with adjustable waist.

[TiredX2]

We get DS' jeans at Kohl's.  Anyway, they have slim sizes and they've worked so far (you're freaking me out because the last pair I bought was a 12s and I'm just assuming they have 14+).

For sweat pants--- would he be okay with sweats without cuffs on the bottom?  If so, I've noticed the Hanes girls pants (which you can get in red, black, navy just like the boys) are MUCH slimmer cut.  They also don't have cuffs or pockets, though, which is a bummer.  DS doesn't want to wear sweats anymore, so it's not been an issue for a couple years for us.

[Polliwog]

GAP and Lands End are the only slim jeans that are slim enough for my 7 1/2-year-old.

[LynnS6]

I don't know why I didn't think of Gap, since they're a related company. I guess I just assumed they stopped at size 12 too. I'll check Kohl's and Lands End too.
 

Originally Posted by TiredX2 

We get DS' jeans at Kohl's.  Anyway, they have slim sizes and they've worked so far (you're freaking me out because the last pair I bought was a 12s and I'm just assuming they have 14+).

For sweat pants--- would he be okay with sweats without cuffs on the bottom?  If so, I've noticed the Hanes girls pants (which you can get in red, black, navy just like the boys) are MUCH slimmer cut.  They also don't have cuffs or pockets, though, which is a bummer.  DS doesn't want to wear sweats anymore, so it's not been an issue for a couple years for us.

Alas, girls sweats don't work anymore. We did that for a while -- indeed the pants he's wearing in the picture above were a girls size 8/10. However, the girls styles now have flared legs (kind of like yoga pants) and look distinctly 'girly' even if I buy them in grey and navy blue. And even the girls waist sizes are too big for him (the girls 14-16 has a 26" waist, which is the same as the boys). I was looking at him last night at basketball practice. His legs are seriously skinny when compared to a lot of the kids! I wonder how much custom made sweats would cost?

[JBaxter]

Gap/ Old Navy Skinny jeans w/ adjustable waist.   I have a bean pole too.   Just before school they had them for $10/pair.

[karne]

My 9 y/o has the same size waist, and he can only comfortable wear Gap slims.  You might be able to get away with their skinny jeans, if your ds is into that look-they're pretty slim.  I have really good luck with the regular cut, slims, which tend to be pretty skinny as well.   I have found slims at The Children's Place as well, although for lasting wear I prefer Gap.  Sometimes when I'm just looking for "play" quality Gap jeans, I'll buy a lot of slims off of Ebay, but they can be hard to come by.

Nothing to add on the sweatpants-my ds has his sweatpants falling off of him because we can't get the waist small enough.  Track pants, or lined athletic pants seem to have smaller, elastic waists, so we are starting to go with those.  DS will also wear black leggings under sports shorts, so we have (girls) black cotton leggings, and some Under Armour long under wear type leggings, which is definitely a style all it's own, lol.

[reezley]

Elastic-waist sweats - and then have someone (or you, if you can sew) take in the elastic inside?  I'm considering that for my slim 7yo, who loves sweats.

[LaughingHyena]

Elastic-waist sweats - and then have someone (or you, if you can sew) take in the elastic inside?  I'm considering that for my slim 7yo, who loves sweats.

If you want to do this take a close look at the waistband before buying. I've found that in a lot of them the elastic is sewn in and can't be easily adjusted. The type with a single channel for the elastic are easiest. Even if the elastic is sewn ito the seam you can thread a new piece through the channel. The type which have several smaller channels for the elastic are a nightmare. It's usually one wide piece of elastic sewn in three places so it's very difficult to remove and the channels are a bit small to get a new piece through, and to get it looking right you need to thread elastic through all three channels.

[pianojazzgirl]

Originally Posted by LaughingHyena 

If you want to do this take a close look at the waistband before buying. I've found that in a lot of them the elastic is sewn in and can't be easily adjusted. The type with a single channel for the elastic are easiest. Even if the elastic is sewn ito the seam you can thread a new piece through the channel. The type which have several smaller channels for the elastic are a nightmare. It's usually one wide piece of elastic sewn in three places so it's very difficult to remove and the channels are a bit small to get a new piece through, and to get it looking right you need to thread elastic through all three channels.

Yes!  This happened to me just last month when I bought dd a black skirt for her winter school concert.  I thought it would be an easy job to just open the casing and shorten the elastic, but it turned into a huge job (I could have just sewed the whole thing from scratch!).

[LynnS6]

Well, I don't sew, so it's a moot point. I'm strongly considering commissioning someone to make some sweats for him, if I could just figure out when his next growth spurt would be. I thought it was coming because he increased the amount he ate for about 3 days, but then he went back to normal.

[stinkerbell00]

Kohls has slim pants with adjustable waists for boys up to size 18. My 12 year old is tall (5'6-7") but is a beanpole. He needs size 18 for the length but has probably as size 10-12 waist. Kohls has Union Bay and Tony Hawk brands and both are reasonably priced.

[LynnS6]

Thanks -- I didn't realize the Union Bay and the Tony Hawk pants had adjustable waists. If they go up to size 18, we'll be set for a few more years!

[Bekka]

I have taken pants for multiple of my slim children and put elastic in the *front* part of the waistband when just the back was elasticized.  This let me make use of "hand-me-down" skirts and jeans for my girls.  I had bought slims for my 11 year old for a long, long time, and she got a butt this year, and I had to send the ON slims back and exchange for 12 reg. which is perfect.  She does NOT like skinny jeans at all and just wants "regular" jeans.  The fit she likes best is cargo-cut actually, but I find it hard to find girl's cargo jeans I'm willing to pay for.  I like to keep it under $15/pr.

So yeah, I get how it can be hard.  But you don't have to be able to sew to be able to add elastic to sweats.  Buy what you like and make sure there's a casing, then use a safety pin to draw the elastic through and then hand sew.

[reezley]

Originally Posted by Bekka 

I have taken pants for multiple of my slim children and put elastic in the *front* part of the waistband when just the back was elasticized.  This let me make use of "hand-me-down" skirts and jeans for my girls.  I had bought slims for my 11 year old for a long, long time, and she got a butt this year, and I had to send the ON slims back and exchange for 12 reg. which is perfect.  She does NOT like skinny jeans at all and just wants "regular" jeans.  The fit she likes best is cargo-cut actually, but I find it hard to find girl's cargo jeans I'm willing to pay for.  I like to keep it under $15/pr.

So yeah, I get how it can be hard.  But you don't have to be able to sew to be able to add elastic to sweats.  Buy what you like and make sure there's a casing, then use a safety pin to draw the elastic through and then hand sew.

Oh.... so I could buy drawstring sweats, and add an elastic, and hand-sew (which is the only sewing I do!)...  I might try that!!

[LynnS6]

Originally Posted by Bekka 

I have taken pants for multiple of my slim children and put elastic in the *front* part of the waistband when just the back was elasticized.  This let me make use of "hand-me-down" skirts and jeans for my girls.  I had bought slims for my 11 year old for a long, long time, and she got a butt this year, and I had to send the ON slims back and exchange for 12 reg. which is perfect.  She does NOT like skinny jeans at all and just wants "regular" jeans.  The fit she likes best is cargo-cut actually, but I find it hard to find girl's cargo jeans I'm willing to pay for.  I like to keep it under $15/pr.

So yeah, I get how it can be hard.  But you don't have to be able to sew to be able to add elastic to sweats.  Buy what you like and make sure there's a casing, then use a safety pin to draw the elastic through and then hand sew.

The problem isn't so much the waist, because we can get drawstrings to go narrow enough. It's the LEGS. The style is a little baggy and when you put "a little baggy" size 12/14 on a very skinny kid, he looks like Bozo the Clown (doubly so because his feet are a men's size 9!)