Shopping is hard.

[amalnahurriyeh]

Does anyone feel like they have a line on the aesthetic sense of fourteen year old boys? I'm buying my nephew a cell phone case for Christmas (on the request of my sister), and I have no idea what to pick. In terms of clothes, he's a jeans-and-t-shirt dude, and shows no color sense to speak of; he's a Boy Scout, and kind of outdoorsy; and he's in marching band.

My family swears by OtterBox for our cell phone cases. Well, *I* don't have one, but on the nagging of my brother, he, my mother, my wife, and my mother-in-law all do. And I tried one, but I didn't like it. I, on the other hand, have a variation on the Speck Candyshell, which has served me well the past year and a half. In terms of color, I'm thinking something in the green or black family. The blues and reds all seem too femme.

Or, I could go Etsy. I think this wood one but I don't know if the design is too weird. He plays video games, and I like this one a lot. The dot design on this one is pretty cool. And this Sriracha one is pretty hip.

What I am saying here is, halp, plz to be preventing me from being Uncool Aunt.

Comments

[falena]

Is he into tv series/movies/books/superheroes that sort of thing? Because the last phone (well iPod actually, but they do phones too) cases I bought which were really awesome (and fannish, Sherlock and Doctor Who to be precise), I'd bought on Red Bubble. They have such a wide selection. Just type the name of whatever your nephew is interested in the search box.

[sprat]

UK, who is 15, tells me the wooden one is coolest, for what it's worth. I always guess wrong about such things, so I will not try to venture an opinion of my own. *g*

[niqaeli]

I swear by OtterBox for durability, but they're bulky and also boring. I use one even though I don't like the styling because durability is the single most important thing to me in a cell phone case -- I've completely destroyed an OtterBox with dropping my phone to the point where it could no longer hold together. The phone inside? Still unscratched.

So, you know, if that's a concern at all, OtterBox wins hands down. (It's why I picked one in the first place, they're known for incredibly durable cases.) But style-wise, good grief, they're awful.

Of the Etsy cases you linked to: that wood one is definitely the coolest. If you don't feel comfortable with it, though, the dot one would be a pretty safe bet in terms of being neat without being much of a risk. Definitely better than just a basic black case!

(Caveat: I am, admittedly, a 27 year old woman without access to a teenage boy to run this past (my standby for that in years past is, well, no longer a teenage boy himself anymore), so you may take these opinions with however much salt you deem appropriate.)

[elfin]

The three 20yo-ish guys who work for me all like the wooden one best.

[indeliblesasha]

I have an otterbox even though I hate it because I have a four year old and a three year old and I like my phone intact. :D

As far as my knowledge of teenage boys and colors go: unless he has a very specific favorite color or a passion you can find a case for I default to black. It's worked remarkably well for the fanchild.

The wood one is cool though.

[scheherezhad]

I like the dot one and the wood one. My only teenage male cousin no longer lives near me to ask an opinion of him, but I'm pretty certain he'd be into the wood one, too. Something black, otherwise.

[xap]

No 14yo nearby to solicit opinions from. *I* think the wood one is definitely cool looking :) However, as a *gulp* 14 year veteran of scouting (my son passed his Eagle board exactly 1 year ago today) I would be concerned about the durability of that one. I recommend asking lots of questions first if you go with that one.

Otterbox would be good at taking the abuse, but maybe less-so in the 'cool factor'. Not as familiar with the Candyshell, but you are. And if he's that into scouting and outdoor things you may be able to....add cool? Point out that you know it may not be as flashy as some, but you wanted something that would be able to keep up with him and not leave a trail of paint-flakes, etc :) Some of the teens I know would immediately perk up at a thoughtful angle like that (not all though; hopefully you know which category your nephew is more likely to fall in).

That wood one is still rather spiffy though :)

[cathexys]

Ok, asking my 14 year old here (who is not outdoorsy but in marching band and a video game afficionado :), he didn't like any of the Etsy ones and is actually happy with his Otter (bc 14 year old still are clumsy here and there :) He actually used this to ask for a new one, bc his has ripped at the bottom (there are MLP ones, he yells running up the stairs, I'll send you links!)

FWIW he's got the blue one, but then he used to have my old pink phone for two years, so he can take it :D (he picked the blue actually). But in general I agree that black works well...

Oh, I have the Speck Pixelskin (http://www.speckproducts.com/iphone-case/iphone-4-case/pixelskin-hd-for-iphone-4s.html), which I really like, bc it's thinner than the Otter but has a bit more support (and it fits my various plugins, which the otter has issues with)

And now that I'm looking around the Speck site...I think he may not get the My Little Pony case, but I'm seriously tempted by the Clockwork Orange one (he's a 14 year old boy...I loved the book at that age too *embarrassed shrug*) http://www.speckproducts.com/iphone-case/iphone-4-case/out-of-print-for-iphone-4s-4.html

[azurelunatic]

I have an Otterbox and enjoy the butch aesthetic as well as the very necessary ruggedness. (I, um, sort of ran over my phone in the desk chair.)

[thinking_lotus]

I don't know! I bought my 15 year old son an iPhone for Christmas but I am thinking that one of his gifts will be to pick out a case from Amazon (we have Prime). Because I have not the slightest idea what he would like. Though possibly not the one with the bunny ears and tail.