Best place for school uniform???

Lyndsay_21

My DD starts school in september and was going to start stocking up on uniform now rather than leaving it and it being a mad rush, but not really sure where's the best place to get it???
I was looking on the m&s website and they've got 3for2 on school uniform at the moment or should i just go for cheap and cheerful at asda/tesco or sainsburys????

also how much uniform will i actually need???

sticher

I think M & S uniform is great - wears really well and is nice quality. Depends on your daughter though - at that age my boys were always putting the knees through on trousers so I bought the cheaper ones then.

Tesco (and even Primark) do white polo shirts/blouses that wash up nicely and they do very well priced uniform that does last.

Is your daughter likely to get paint on her clothes? - If so, not worth paying M&S prices until that is less likely - IMO.

karren

asda uniforms are fine, the trousers are £1.75 and jumpers £2.00 you cant go wrong

squashy

In my experience M&S is just as cheap as most of the other high street retailers, eg a pack of 2 cotton shirts for £4. So now they are on 3 for 2 I will be there like a shot getting my sizes for next year. Our school need proper shirts and blouses, theirs have boned collars so look immaculate without ironing them (as long as you don't leave them sat in the washer for days of course!). Other bonuses, the trousers come with a spare patch of fabric for reapirs and again the creases stay in them wash after wash with no ironing, they don't bobble, shrink etc.... they also do things like black and navy knee socks which are really smart. I have got paint on M&S pinafore dresses etc and it has always come out fine as they are stain resistant/teflon coated.

Savvy_Sue

It is a good idea to get it now because they often go out of stock in late August, but it's a finely judged thing to know how much they'll grow, although it's easier to take up a hem on a skirt if you buy too long IMO! If you take trousers off they sometimes wear the hem down anyway, so you can't then let them down.

Also worth seeing if the school runs a secondhand shop - ours does.

I swear by BHS for blazers: the first one I bought there lasted five years (on two different boys!) I didn't think I could reasonably pass it on to the youngest as it did look a little 'tired', but it was still in one piece and I didn't think it owed us anything by then.

filigree_2

I spotted some "Basics" school shirts and blouses in Sainsburys the other day, I can't remember the price but it was pretty cheap.

How much you spend probably depends on your family - are there younger siblings to hand down uniform to? In that case it would be worth getting reasonable quality. However if you've got an only child like mine, who grows out of everything every five minutes, then cheap stuff is fine because it only needs to last a short time.

You could also approach the school and see if the PTA hold sales of second hand uniforms. I did this with my son at primary school, unfortunately his secondary school doesn't have uniform sales.

bestpud

Personally I'd go for cheap and cheerful at her age.

Tesco skirts are great value I think. DD has gone up two sizes since she started last september so I'm glad I didn't pay more.

Cheap blouses/polos can look a bit thin after a while but at this age they outgrow them anyway.

I would say you need two skirts, two jumpers/cardi's and at least three tops. If you don't do a wash load every day, you may be better with 5 tops as these tend to get the most dirty.

They do get better though as we were having to change dd's uniform every day when she first started - now she has a new top every day but her two cardis and skirts last her all week (usually change them Wednesday or Thursday).

Lyndsay_21

well i've been given 2 of the school jumpers anyway so i'm gonna buy 1 or 2 new ones as i think its nice to have new ones as well.

I think i'm gonna have a look around maybe buy cheaper skirts and trousers as these dont tend to get as dirty and maybe better quality polo shirts the ones in m&s had some kind of stain repellant thing maybe see if the other shops do these as well.

I will probably buy 5 polo shirts as although i do a load everyday i will seperate hers and just do them with other whites which i do about once a week.

It just seems so scary she's starting school nearly and then i'm worrying as my DS starts school next year and i'll have an empty nest!!!

Elliesmum

Sainsburys do very good uniforms. My little one's just gone though summer with their cotton check dresses (which were the cheapest out of the supermarkets for dresses) and they have washed wonderfully and still look like new - no bobbling.

I bought Adams last year for the winter stuff but that was with nectar points. They were again very good quality but they are more expensive. My advice - buy pinafore dresses not skirts, it a piece of advice I followed off a forum somewhere and I'm glad I did.

The thinking behind it is that it is easier to wash a grubby dress (which is not so noticeable) and not so grubby polo shirt then have a really grubby polo shirt (especially if it's a paler colour one!) and a skirt/trousers.

My little one started on only afternoons last year and had 4 polo shirts (pale blue), 3 grey pinafores and 2 cardigans. Now she's starting full time, I'm going to get a couple more dresses and another school cardigan and hope that will be ok for a while.

HTH

EM xx

milkydrink

M&S everytime :-)

ailuro2

Just got dd's uniform for next year- one skirt,one cardigan,two blouses.From M&S.Her cardi from last year still looks like new. Tesco and Asda are fine too, I didn't like Adams cardi- it went out of shape and shrunk too much for my liking.

DD also has more uniform in the wardrobe that's a bit on the big side- bought in a sale for about £2 a pinafore-I know she will grow into it (someday)