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→ What to Do After School
→ Back to School 2.0: Gadgets for Students
→ Great First Day Clothes for Girls
→ Great First Day Clothes for Boys
→ Spicing Up Brown Bag Lunches
→ Getting In To Top Colleges

Boys of all ages should get miles out of eye-catching sneakers that blend seamlessly with a wardrobe full of trusty basics. To find the hottest kicks and trendiest clothes, we scoured the racks at area stores to find back-to-school clothes that’ll impress on the first day and continue to work well into fall. Check below for age-appropriate outfit suggestions, shopping advice, and tips on how to wear new gear when the cold weather hits.

The shoe: Nike ‘Encore Jr.’ sneaker, $50, Nordstrom

The rest:
• Junk Food Transformer Graphic T-shirt, $22.50, Gap Kids
• Multitask Aztec Gold Backpack, $39.50, Lands End
• Rangeley Chinos, $24.50, L.L. Bean

This sneak’s gray base will keep recess kickball dirt from showing, and the multiple accent colors (blues! green! reds!) are guaranteed to go with the shirts and pants already in his closet. A Transformers-character T-shirt—dressed up with a vintage wash and controlled colored palette—will appease his action-figure appetite without looking cheap, and classic khakis can be worn to school and for more formal occasions. To top it all off, we picked a yellow padded backpack. The bright choice will make him easy to spot in kiss-and-drive line.

>> Next page: Middle school fashion