Where is best for school uniforms? 29 June 2022 at 1:35PM in Marriage, relationships & families 12 replies 293 views

ivybois

I'm not sure if this is for here, or in Spending but my LO goes to school in September and I don't know where is best for school uniforms? ty x

Northern_Wanderer

Last year, Tesco had trousers that you can "let down" the hem so I'm hoping that they will actually last for next year too...time will tell. Tesco trousers seemed to be best in terms of wear, Asda trousers went bobbly after one wash. Tesco or asda for shirts. Both had a good selection of styles for a different fit depending on childs build.

I'd recommend to buy uniform as soon as the stocks come in, don't leave it to the last minute or you will be running around all the shops trying to find the right sizes....that's not fun.

ivybois

Northern_Wanderer said:

Last year, Tesco had trousers that you can "let down" the hem so I'm hoping that they will actually last for next year too...time will tell. Tesco trousers seemed to be best in terms of wear, Asda trousers went bobbly after one wash. Tesco or asda for shirts. Both had a good selection of styles for a different fit depending on childs build.

I'd recommend to buy uniform as soon as the stocks come in, don't leave it to the last minute or you will be running around all the shops trying to find the right sizes....that's not fun.

That's such a good idea re: letting the trousers hem down! I'm in Tesco later so I'll see what I can find. ty x

Northern_Wanderer

ivybois said:

That's such a good idea re: letting the trousers hem down! I'm in Tesco later so I'll see what I can find. ty x

I know, I was surprised that Tesco had designed that in to the trousers. It's frustrating that we have to replace these trousers each year just because they are a bit short. I'm not sure what date they get all the school stuff in though, maybe someone else knows?

building_with_lego

M&S do trousers you can let down too, as well as the adjustable elastic waistband- very useful with a teenaged son.

OP, keep an eye on your child's new school newsletters- they may have a uniform sale in the next few weeks where you can buy uniform second hand. It's a good way to get the embroidered bits cheaply.

YBR

My kid's school have a 2nd hand uniform sale 2-3 weeks before the end of term as part of their summer Fayre.
It's supposed to be at least termly but depends on there being enough volunteers. 

DigForVictory

It does depend a bit on the school uniform & its activities. White polo, dark trous, non-logo sweater or sweatshirt, PE kit, swimming costume - the more generic the uniform the more choices you have as Every Supermarket will have something (Tesco, Asda, Morrisons [possibly - not sure how far their 'nutmeg' range goes], Sainsburys plus Matalan, John Lewis (Get a school uniform list quickly?! Sometimes on school website), Peacocks, Primark & whomever else survived covid & can get the containers through from China. 
What with the cost of fuel increase, supplies are going to be a bit twitchier so I'd say where you can afford to buy when you see, grab it & you can always swap or resell later still sealed in bag. (Just do not get socks with patterns on. Sock bingo is not a game you need to play!) In the past M&S have been well respected but children grow, do unspeakable things to clothes & if you have outlaws wanting to help, leave the whole visible layer in their hands. Whilst preparing to check charity shops for coats you can reproof (Nikwax TX!), outgrown dance gear etc  

Ergates

ivybois said:

I'm not sure if this is for here, or in Spending but my LO goes to school in September and I don't know where is best for school uniforms? ty x

For generic uniform stuff (plain shirts, trousers, socks etc), then supermarket stuff is fine and cheaper.  M&S stuff is a bit more expensive but better quality.  In general terms - for younger kids certainly - I wouldn't worry too much about how the uniform looks when you pack them off to school.  By 10 minutes into the first lesson it'll all be untucked and scruffy anyway.

In theory letting down trousers can make them last longer - you might find your kids spends their days scrabbling round on their knees and wrecks them anyway, so whilst it's nice if you get to use the clothes for more than one year, don't count on it.

For school branded stuff, some schools will have a 2nd hand uniform sale - these are by far the cheapest place to get stuff.  Turn up early as they tend to be popular.

Savvy_Sue

Ergates said:

For generic uniform stuff (plain shirts, trousers, socks etc), then supermarket stuff is fine and cheaper.  M&S stuff is a bit more expensive but better quality.  In general terms - for younger kids certainly - I wouldn't worry too much about how the uniform looks when you pack them off to school.  By 10 minutes into the first lesson it'll all be untucked and scruffy anyway.

In theory letting down trousers can make them last longer - you might find your kids spends their days scrabbling round on their knees and wrecks them anyway, so whilst it's nice if you get to use the clothes for more than one year, don't count on it.

I'd second both these points: my view was that school uniform was for wearing at school, and whatever state it got into was fine by me. One of mine chewed the cuffs of his sweatshirts right through, and then when we got to the secondary stage their blazers were still daubed with paint / tippex / baked beans on a regular basis. 

Also if you CAN let the trousers down, you might find that either the bottom of the hem has worn through (particularly if the trousers were plenty long enough to start with), or that they've gone through the knees. So I wouldn't spend extra on let-down-able trousers. But then, I'd be able to take them up if they were too long to begin with. And you'll probably know what kind of child you've got before they get out of Reception - the kind who goes through the knees of their trousers regularly, or the kind who doesn't ... 

Note that those who go through the knees of trousers also seem to be rougher on shoes ... 

Ergates

Savvy_Sue said:

Ergates said:

For generic uniform stuff (plain shirts, trousers, socks etc), then supermarket stuff is fine and cheaper.  M&S stuff is a bit more expensive but better quality.  In general terms - for younger kids certainly - I wouldn't worry too much about how the uniform looks when you pack them off to school.  By 10 minutes into the first lesson it'll all be untucked and scruffy anyway.

In theory letting down trousers can make them last longer - you might find your kids spends their days scrabbling round on their knees and wrecks them anyway, so whilst it's nice if you get to use the clothes for more than one year, don't count on it.

I'd second both these points: my view was that school uniform was for wearing at school, and whatever state it got into was fine by me. One of mine chewed the cuffs of his sweatshirts right through, and then when we got to the secondary stage their blazers were still daubed with paint / tippex / baked beans on a regular basis. 

Also if you CAN let the trousers down, you might find that either the bottom of the hem has worn through (particularly if the trousers were plenty long enough to start with), or that they've gone through the knees. So I wouldn't spend extra on let-down-able trousers. But then, I'd be able to take them up if they were too long to begin with. And you'll probably know what kind of child you've got before they get out of Reception - the kind who goes through the knees of their trousers regularly, or the kind who doesn't ... 

Note that those who go through the knees of trousers also seem to be rougher on shoes ... 

My son's uniform includes a woollen sweater - he's gone through the elbows of 3 of them this year - holes too large to be repaired.  He's also gone through the knees of 2 pairs of trousers.

Savvy_Sue

Ergates said:

My son's uniform includes a woollen sweater - he's gone through the elbows of 3 of them this year - holes too large to be repaired.  He's also gone through the knees of 2 pairs of trousers.

can you put patches on the sweaters before he starts wearing them? Either re-inforce on the inside using old sweaters, or leather-look patches on the outside? 

Also WundaWeb patches inside the trouser knees before he wears them, again from old pairs?