There is a huge difference in quality...

...depending on where you purchase this. Well before the Giants won the last Superbowl, he was a huge Giants fan. My husband and his entire side of the family are positively *rabid* when it comes to the Giants. We're talking that when my son was a baby, he had a Giants snowsuit. And he, to this day, likes to wear quite a bit of Giants apparel.

He's actually gone through 2 Eli Manning jerseys in the last 2 years. It wasn't due to his growth, no, it was due to an accidental of throwing the first (cheap quality, purchased at K-Mart) into the dryer. The number and name appliques were damaged badly. It looked horrible. I couldn't even bring myself to donate it to the local thrift shop, it was that bad.

The next one came from a higher-end sports store. At first glance, it looks no different from the cheap one. Why should it? Giants colors don't vary (unless you're buying their white jerseys) and Manning is Manning (unless you accidentally buy your young Eli fan a Peyton jersey. And yes, I did that once. Oops. But I like Peyton, it fits me, and it's all good.)

The higher-end one has a difference in feel. It was also about $25 more. I haven't repeated my mistake with putting it in the dryer, because I'm sure that the appliques could be damaged just as easily.

Now, my husband has 2 Giants jerseys (Strahan and I think Shockey, who's no longer with the Giants.) His jerseys are actually more of a satiny feel, whereas the Manning jersey feels more mesh-y. I believe the ones my husband has are more of the replica variety, and were much more expensive. They were gifts from his parents, so at least my wallet didn't take the hit. Also, it's not like buying jerseys for a growing boy (if my husband outgrows these, then he has a problem, lol! They're enormous as it is, and once you pass a certain age, you don't grow -up- anymore. You just grow -out- if you don't watch!)

So while the Reebok licensed NY Giants Eli Manning jersey my son wears isn't the quality of a replica, it is perfectly fine and good to wear to school or to hang out with his friends. It's been good with resisting stains; any time it gets dirty, I just add a little OxiClean to the regular wash and it's fine. That hasn't been the case with his white #31 Aaron Ross jersey, and it's the -last- time I'll buy him a white one.

My son wears this all year long. In winter, he'll wear a black long-sleeved shirt or his black long-sleeved UnderArmor underneath it. In spring and fall, he'll wear a red T-shirt. In the summer, he'll wear the jersey by itself, nothing underneath.

My recommendation is that you stick with the blue, if you purchase one. The white will eventually get wrecked, especially if you have an active kid wearing it. You can fight stains only so hard before you eventually lose the battle. And don't forget to HANG THESE TO DRY. Otherwise, your money just went in the garbage.

This gets a lot of wear, and even though I've had to buy two, it doesn't just sit in the closet. We definitely got our money's worth out of this.