New blazer not wearing well

wealdroam

Could you also talk to the school about the possibility of relaxing the 'no elbow patches' rule?

jrtfan

peachyprice wrote: »

What colour is the blazer? If it's a standard colour that is available else where couldn't you have just cut the badge off the pocket of the old blazer and sewn it on a generic one (which I suspect other parents are probably doing) ? John Lewis have most colours.

That's an excellent thought and thank you for suggesting it, the colour isn't standard though and it's a wool blazer with contrasting braid so I don't hold out too much hope. That said, I'm literally 5mins from a John Lewis and it certainly won't do any harm to pop in there for a look - thanks again!

peachyprice

They do school-specific uniform too. Maybe yours is there? Or something very similar.

http://www.johnlewis.com/baby-child/uniform-by-school/c600002381?rdr=1

pinkshoes

A wool blazer??? Is this a private school?? Ours are polyester and machine washable!

I would either look at getting a cheaper one then transferring the badge, or getting some material and reinforcing the elbows from the inside.

peachyprice

Another suggestion, if you still have the old blazer, you could find a local seamstress/repairer who could patch the elbows in the same fabric that would be hardly noticeable, assuming it's leather/different coloured fabric the school are objecting to.

And if/when you buy the next new blazer take it to a seamstress/repairer to have the elbows reinforced before your son starts wearing it!!!

jrtfan

sheramber wrote: »

Intersting article

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-34537127

Very interesting indeed, thanks for the link.



In a way, I can appreciate the justification they give for wishing to achieve consistency in uniform across all pupils at any given school, although it's not necessarily my own point of view and I don't think it's automatically the most appropriate thing to do for every single last school in the UK.

Suggesting that it benefits the parents to have a sole-supplier arrangement because all uniform items in all sizes can be purchased immediately at any time of year though, is pushing things a bit in my opinion!

It's true that I can walk into our uniform shop any time during opening hours and buy anything I need, on-demand. They certainly do charge enough for this service in the price I have to pay for the clothing.




I think too that with an awful lot of schools - both Primary and Senior - no account at all is taken of parents' best interests when the Heads and Boards of Governors make decisions regarding uniform.

At my son's Primary, all parents had to purchase brand new, standardised PE kit of shorts, joggers, t-shirt and sweatshirt (these last 2 overprinted with the School's badge), costing £35-£50, after a newly-appointed Governor commented on how other local Primaries had branded kit. They felt that our school was let down by the current kit when taking part in inter-school competitions, as the styles, shades and qualities were too varied across the board.

Probably 80% of the children were not sporty and would never be representing their school at sporting events.

Better perhaps to have asked all parents to contribute around £5 towards a range of branded kit across various sizes to be kept at the school, which those representing the school could 'borrow' as and when necessary.

jrtfan

wealdroam wrote: »

Could you also talk to the school about the possibility of relaxing the 'no elbow patches' rule?

I'm not sure, their policy states no exceptions.

jrtfan

peachyprice wrote: »

They do school-specific uniform too. Maybe yours is there? Or something very similar.

http://www.johnlewis.com/baby-child/uniform-by-school/c600002381?rdr=1

Thanks for the link. The school isn't listed, but I will take a look through at all of the others to see if they stock something similar, as you suggest.

jrtfan

pinkshoes wrote: »

A wool blazer??? Is this a private school?? Ours are polyester and machine washable!

I would either look at getting a cheaper one then transferring the badge, or getting some material and reinforcing the elbows from the inside.

Wish this one was machine-washable, but it's dry-clean only (although it can be sponge-cleaned too, to remove areas of soiling).

There is reinforcement behind the elbows already but maybe it needs to be thicker, so that's something I could investigate - thanks for the idea.

jrtfan

peachyprice wrote: »

Another suggestion, if you still have the old blazer, you could find a local seamstress/repairer who could patch the elbows in the same fabric that would be hardly noticeable, assuming it's leather/different coloured fabric the school are objecting to.

And if/when you buy the next new blazer take it to a seamstress/repairer to have the elbows reinforced before your son starts wearing it!!!

You've given me another idea, too. I still have the old blazer which, as mentioned before, is in perfect condition aside from the elbow areas. I wonder if a good seamstress or gentlemen's tailor might be able to cut a couple of new arms from the undamaged material and fit them to the current blazer, if or when the need arises.