Formal wear for 15 year old son

[jerseybeachmom]

I am cruising for the first time with my 3 kids- a 16 yr. old girl, and 15 yr. old boy/girl twins. My girls have dressess from sweet 16 parties, but my son has nothing. What is appropriate for a 15 yr. old surfer boy to wear on formal night?

[Andee]

When we took our teenage son on a cruise, I bought him a suit. If you don't want to spend lots of money, try consignment shops.

[househunter]

The dress code is the same for teenagers as it is for adults. If it turns out the kids will even still be eating in the dining room by formal night (instead of meeting other kids and eating in the Windgammer) they should at a minumum wear dress slacks and a button down shirt with or without a tie.

[David V]

A navy blazer will cover all the bases a 15 year old boy will need till prom.

[Lucky Granny]

My teenage grandsons have always worn chinos, long-sleeved button front shirt and a tie. He could skip the tie if it's really a problem. Our guys were always there for the food and met friends later. He will not be refused entry as long as he is avoiding shorts, tank top and flip flops.

[cb at sea]

A suit is appropriate, or a tux, if you wanted to rent one....

[sunandsnow]

We sailed with our 16 yr. old twin sons on RCCL Liberty in March. First time my DH or my children have not worn suits or blazers on formal night. They all wore dress pants, button down shirts with ties. It was so much easier than packing suits (which have to all be taken to the dry cleaners when we get home). We were sitting at a table of four for our family only. There were many on our cruise who were not in suits or tuxes. Children outgrow clothing fast - if your son will not wear the suit again I would not invest the money in it. A shirt and tie will work for formal night.

[libertylover]

My son was 13 when we cruised last August. I stressed over formal night for him, too. I knew I wanted him to have a suit but I didn't want to spend $100+. I just happen to find one on JC Penney's CLEARANCE rack for (no lie) $20. It was an awesome black pinstripe that fit him perfect with some growing room! I think I spent more money on a new shirt to go with it than the suit. So my suggestion is ... hit the clearance racks!

[jerseybeachmom]

Thanks everyone. We are cruising on RCCL and this has helped alot.

[workinmom3]

My son was 13 on his first cruise. He wore khakis, a long sleeved shirt, tie, & a navy blazer. I also didn't want to spend lots of money on a jacket, so I purchased one on ebay for around $10. It was a great find. We are cruising again in July & he is now almost 16. I am again looking on ebay for a new navy blazer as he has outgrown the old one. With 2 formal nights this time he will probably wear khakis both nights & will just switch the shirt & tie. He enjoyed dressing up & first time & I had no complaints since I had talked about it a lot & he knew it was just part of the cruise.

[SeaBlu]

We will be cruising with our grandchildren in June, our granddaughter (12) was no problem her Mom got her 2 Jr. Bridesmaid dressed, on sale, from www.davidsbridal.com . For our grandson (10) his Mom was going to do what many of you do, chinos, shirt, tie and look for a navy blazer on ebay. But then, he asked what Grandpa was wearing, and I told him that Grandpa always wears his tuxedo. So grandson asked why he could not wear a tux. THAT was it! Grandpa said "get him a tux"! He is still growing so fast that I did not want to buy him one, so we are renting him one in Ft. Lauderdale. I searched on the internet for a Formal Shop near the Port and called 3 of them, I chose the one that rents good quality tuxes plus the best service. Our cruise returns on a Sunday and because the Formal Shop is closed, one of the men at the Shop has agreed to meet me, so that we can return the tux and not have to stay overnight. We are happy and more important our grandson is happy. AND he is learning the proper dress for formal nights.

 

I do think that as a child it would have been acceptable to wear a dark suit or gray dress trousers and a navy blazer. But I am very happy that our grandson wants to wear a tux. If that is what he wants I will find the money somewhere!

[janabm81]

SeaBlu...if he really wants a tux and you're willing to rent one just rent it off the ship...that's what we did last year and it actually was pretty low cost. We were going to rent the boys tuxes for our upcoming wedding here on land and it was twice as much as on ship last year so we're now buying them inexpensive suits and nice vests. :)

[Happy ks]

When my son was 13 I purchased him a black sportscoat, khaki slacks and a nice shirt, shoes plus a couple ties for a cruise, all on sale. I too thought I'd be wasting money, since he was still growing (or I thought, he was already 6'3"). Fast forward a few years and he wore out the sportscoat.

 

A lot of people assume you only have a couple places to wear a suit or sportscoat, we found out different. He wore it to several school events, the next 2 cruises and it finally found a home in his video class. Since he was the only kid with a sportscoat, he did the am announcements over the feed to all the classrooms.

 

He's now 22 and has a new sportscoat, slacks, a number of dress shirts, ties, shoes, socks, etc... and is able to dress for any event. He also owns a tuxedo. My takeaway from the experience is that it's never too soon to teach a young man how to dress well. And...every man should have a nice suit or sportscoat/slacks in their wardrobe.