Winter Coat Shopping with a 12 Year Old Boy, Oh My!!

Last week, during a frantic moment of decluttering, I threw out my oldest son's winter coat. The zipper was broke and in the moment, I made the bad call to throw it instead of fix it. I now regret that decision immensely! With the recent chill in the air, I know it's just a matter of days until he is going to need a winter jacket.

In past years, I have shopped for my sons clothes myself. He would wear pretty much anything I bought without hesitation. Now that he's in junior high, apparently he wants a bit more say in what he wears so last night we headed out to the mall together to find a new winter coat. Three hours later, we still didn't have a winter coat and although I know approximately 400 styles and colours he doesn't like, I still have no idea what he does like or want! He tried on dozens of coats in several different stores but didn't find a single one that both appealed to him and fit. He takes a men's size small now so the selection is not as great as when he was in kids sizes or if he were a medium but still, it shouldn't be this hard! We seem to be having trouble communicating about exactly what it is he's looking for.

The only store we didn't hit (because it wasn't in the mall) is Mark's Work Wearhouse, so we are going to head there this weekend and see if they have anything to offer him. If you have any suggestions about where else to look, let me know. Oh how I wish I could turn back time now and just fix that zipper...