School uniform and identical twins

[alphadaydreamer]

How best to approach school uniform and secondary school with two very identical Boys, who refuse to wear anything similar to one another and have very distinct personal styles?
I think the idea of dressing alike will be very difficult for them. Any advice?

[PenelopePitstops]

what did they do in primary?

[overthehill]

Send them to different schools??? A bit drastic, I know....

[alphadaydreamer]

They didn't have a uniform in primary, different schools is not the answer.

[fortyplus]

Ask for them to go into different forms - maybe the school has a different tie for each house?

[PenelopePitstops]

they are old enough to understand they have to wear it tbh

[alphadaydreamer]

They understand no question of that, its just having to go through the whole 'which one are you' thing, which they have never enjoyed, hence enforcing a visual identity through clothes and style.

[giraffescantdancethetango]

What is the uniform? If it is all the same jumpers etc then they will just have to get used to it and have different bags/hair

If it is shirt, tie and black jumper. Then different styles of jumper?

[fortyplus]

Talk to the school - presumably the teachers will be keen to know which is which. If they can't have different ties then maybe lapel badges or something? The school will help you handle it.

[alphadaydreamer]

Yes will talk to the school, dressing twins identically albeit in school uniform, is a strange one.

[fortyplus]

I suppose you could look at it another way - they may find that they enjoy being in an environment where suddenly EVERYONE looks more or less the same?

[fortyplus]

Or one of them dye theirs pink?

[alphadaydreamer]

Hair is a better way forward, because the uniform code is strict, but again with 11 year old Boys there isn't too much scope unlike girls of this age.

[twentypence]

I teach at a primary with a very strict and very grey uniform and strict policies regarding hair. I have a devil of a time telling any of them apart!

I taught identical twins in another school and the mother put them in exactly the same - right down to socks and shoes (which she had a choice about). Thank goodness one had a strategic facial mole.

[alphadaydreamer]

yes its all true, but dressing identical Boys the same is always going to be strange, even if it is a uniform.

[overthehill]

Sorry, I was being a bit facetious when I suggested different schools. I always think it's odd when parents choose to dress twins, identical or not, in the same clothes. My ds is in a non-uniform primary school and there's a huge range of hair styles amongst the boys eg his is very long Mini Boden style, as are lots of others, but some have very short hair and there are all sorts of in-between lengths. I know in some parts of the country boys just don't have long hair, in which case it wouldn't really work, but it's certainly common round here.

I don't know if your lads are very conformist, but I have heard stories of twins taking advantage of their 'identicality' (if there's such a word) to confuse teachers...

[Littlefish]

Overthehill - I taught one of two very identical twins. They did indeed swap classes on occasion, just because they could!

My identical twin nephews have very different haircuts which really helps people outside the family.

[tkband3]

Not sure how helpful this is, as my identical girl girls are rather younger than yours (3.5), but they have just started at the school nursery and are wearing uniform. To help the teachers tell them apart, they have different school shoes - they do have other identifying characteristics, and once you know them, they do look different, but I wanted there to be something that people could look at without it being too obvious they were 'checking' IYSWIM. They don't have much hair, so different hairstyles is not the answer at the moment for us either .

[alphadaydreamer]

tkband3 your right its the 'checking' which frustrates them and the thought of fairly constantly being mistaken for each other. They have been lucky so far and haven't had to wear uniform throughout primary.

[coochybottom]

At secondary they are likely to be in different houses perhaps? That is the case here where my older DS goes. My id twins currently wear uniform at primary and are in one class. Their classmates know them quite well and the teacher just has to get to know them in her own way too. Fact of life being an id twin imo.

[alphadaydreamer]

I don't think they operate a house system in this state school, we will have to find out what different classes they are in as they have very similar abilities and the school in my understanding places children according to ability.
Its an inevitability but just doesn't feel right having spent 10 years enforcing their individuality especially supporting them in developing their own dress sense and style.
Dressing identical twins the same albeit in a uniform just feels odd.

[Tortington]

all teenagers think they are unique they wear odd socks - fat tie, thin tie, different shoes, hair cuts

seriously they won't look the same

[singyswife]

Cant one of them wear a badge (not a name badge but maybe a team badge or an angel or something). Or maybe one can wear a jumper and one can wear a tie, that kind of thing, I have 2 dd's (not twins so not the same thing) but my eldest dd was worried when the younger one started school that they would look the same so I make sure that if one is wearing a skirt and jumper that the other has a dress and cardi, this saves them being the same but they still conform to uniform. hth.

[hullygully]

Get one of them a spiderweb tatooed on his forehead, and a couple of piercings. That'll do it.