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Original poster

What’s the mum “uniform” in your area?

417 replies

GrinAndBear · 14/11/2024 14:27

Is there a mum “uniform” - aka what you’d typically see someone in the playground or at the school gates wearing - in your area, and if so what is it?

I recently moved from Highgate to Finchley Central and it’s pretty different, despite being just two tube stops apart

CE / Highgate mums seemed to all wear Birkenstocks, hiking boots, straight cut jeans, parkas or Patagonia fleeces and fair isle or cashmere jumpers with hair in a messy bun.

Finchley Central mums are all in floral dresses Chelsea boots, blowdries, make up and proper coats and look at my scuffed old Blundstones as though I was living rough in a caravan… Not that I’m going to do anything about it mind, I’m very attached to my boots and fleece, but it’s odd how different it is

OP posts:
Cocolapew · 14/11/2024 21:13

Also as an aside I only found out a few weeks ago that lululemon wasn't pronounced lulu le mon, I thought it was a posh french brand 😄

SummertoAutumntoWinter · 14/11/2024 21:13

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This reply has been hidden until the MNHQ team can have a look at it.

Cocolapew · 14/11/2024 21:12

I'm long past school runs but work in a special school, dry robes are malking an in due to standing about for buses, playground duty etc. Long puffas are still out ranking them though. Lots of workout legging with socks pulled up. New Balance is still king of the trainers.
Colder weather with bring skinny jeans and DMs.

Suzuki76 · 14/11/2024 21:11

I know this is not S&B but I do find it annoying when people imply you must be vacuous or have too much time on your hands if you recognise logos and brands. I'm a financial adviser: I can still be intelligent whilst being able to tell you that a mum standing next to me is carrying a Longchamp bag and wearing a Balfour leather jacket from AllSaints.

BiscuitDreams · 14/11/2024 21:07

Haha I keep seeing a mum with one of those Babboe things and until now I thought it was just something she had made herself and called it Babbage. 🤣 I guess it's a good way to transport your kids if you don't drive.

I haven't really paid attention to what the local mums wear but I've noticed a few camo dry robes around and it's always on the people with the double prams and lots of dogs because I feel like I'm always stuck behind them. 😑

And Frenchies. Everyone has one of those light gray Frenchies and I can't tell them apart. I'm guessing they have excellent personalities because they're so popular?

GertrudePerkinsPaperyThing · 14/11/2024 21:06

How weird all the Lucy and Yak hate! Just a comfortable, sustainable brand. I don’t wear it personally but my dd does.

I live in Croydon and anything goes at the school gates here. The only thing I can say is definitely a thing is a big padded coat, but that’s everywhere. Jeans and a jumper probably or something else very ordinary.

exitstrategyideas · 14/11/2024 21:04

Planesmistakenforstars · 14/11/2024 14:50

Pyjamas, dry robes, pit bull accessories.

sorry not the point of this thread but your username takes me RIGHT back to hardcore punk in the early noughties 😭

In our affluent suburb it’s mostly office wear or gym stuff. I do the school run on my days off in leggings, trainers & a fleece - my football mum look. I go to the gym straight after drop off

Original poster
GrinAndBear · 14/11/2024 21:04

I think anyone who says they are surprised that people dress in ways that signal class / status / belonging or says they can’t believe that others have the time to notice this is being a bit naive.

Humans are a tribal species, for the entirety of our history we’ve been using dress, emblems, symbols, tattoos, face paint, piercings, jewellery etc to signal that we are part of this group and not that - it’s innate.

If you’re saying you don’t notice this stuff, or you just wear practical clothes and have better things to do with your time etc. that’s just you signalling to us that you belong in the, “too busy or unique to bother with this frippery”, tribe.

OP posts:
VegTrug · 14/11/2024 21:03

U13579 · 14/11/2024 18:30

You sound lovely

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🤣🤣🤣🤣

Isitfridayyetsophie · 14/11/2024 21:01

Whatkindof · 14/11/2024 20:52

Wtaf?? Thank you for enlightening me, honestly that's so funny! I'm pretty rural so all that is just completely alien 🤣

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Ha ha! Tbh I wish I didn’t know what a babboe was 😬

Cravingtoffeeapples · 14/11/2024 21:00

@Whatkindof I mean weird as in, I assumed would be similar in the uk, Lucy and yak etc isn’t something I expected

Isitfridayyetsophie · 14/11/2024 20:59

Had to google Lucy and yak, it’s what the Hartbeeps teachers all seem to wear!

JadedVeryJaded · 14/11/2024 20:59

TheKoalaWhoCould · 14/11/2024 20:46

South Coast here. A lot of passenger fleeces and dry robes. Lucy & Yak everywhere you look. Ubiquitous nose piercings.

Got to be Brighton. Lucy & Yak is yuck 🤮

Whatkindof · 14/11/2024 20:57

Cravingtoffeeapples · 14/11/2024 20:54

Uk is so different to where I am, so weird

Not weird, just fashion

Cravingtoffeeapples · 14/11/2024 20:54

Uk is so different to where I am, so weird

VanillaPlanifolia · 14/11/2024 20:53

I thought Lucy & Yak had died a death.. it's so cliche

Whatkindof · 14/11/2024 20:52

Isitfridayyetsophie · 14/11/2024 20:07

It’s really a brand https://www.babboe.co.uk/big there’s normally at least 5 taking up the whole pavement by the school and filling up people’s front gardens! Everything I mentioned is a real brand, it wasn’t a piss take post 🤣

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Wtaf?? Thank you for enlightening me, honestly that's so funny! I'm pretty rural so all that is just completely alien 🤣

Guardian12 · 14/11/2024 20:50

SE London, have noticed Lucy and Yak dungarees or baggy trousers, chunky knits, black Doc Marten style boots or Birkenstocks (Arizona or Bostons) depending on the season. Lots of athleisure, usual brands seem to be Sweaty Betty, Lululemon and Adanola.

PinkTonic · 14/11/2024 20:48

ishouldnthavesaiddat · 14/11/2024 15:59

The weirdness is how the tribes change despite being in close proximity to each other.

it’s also realllly interesting!

Can one of the Highgate crew please link me a fairisle cardigan? Sounds lovely!

https://www.broraonline.com/uk/cashmere-fair-isle-cardigan-clay-wqc2404hm8406

Red Cashmere Fair Isle Cardigan | Women's Knitwear | Brora

Blending traditional Fair isle print with modern colour palettes, our women's cashmere Fair isle cardigan in clay is a staple for your AW wardrobe.

https://www.broraonline.com/uk/cashmere-fair-isle-cardigan-clay-wqc2404hm8406

TheKoalaWhoCould · 14/11/2024 20:46

South Coast here. A lot of passenger fleeces and dry robes. Lucy & Yak everywhere you look. Ubiquitous nose piercings.

MamaorBruh · 14/11/2024 20:43

Cheshire: Sweaty Betty leggings, Adanola sweater, new balance trainers with sports socks pulled up over them.
Long puffa type jacket when cold.
I dont fit in with my whatever I've grabbed off the floor and half brushed teeth look going on...

iloveshetlandponies · 14/11/2024 20:42

@Apollo365 it is! It's so cosy

Toptops · 14/11/2024 20:42

Btw, no I am mostly not at the school gates these days but when I was, don't think there was a 'uniform' beyond the everyday jeans and tops....

VanillaPlanifolia · 14/11/2024 20:41

Toptops · 14/11/2024 20:40

Um, am I the only person reading this who thinks it weird?
How do you even know the makes of clothes they are wearing?!

No I have no idea of the brands. I once admired a mum's warm coat and a dad wore a "zany" shirt once but that's it. Everyone else is too busy rushing to pick up their kid after work

Skyview7 · 14/11/2024 20:41

Move to Hull