Trendy School Bag

Btw I now have too many designer bags... School was only starting point
Clearly bread I'm not aspirational or academic

Was not cool at school
Was v cool at (separate) sixth form
I have v cool job now so people tell me that pays the bills well
The difference was the point at which I became comfortable with stuff, be it right bag shirt shows etc
Not necessarily the trendy opt but the one I wanted, sometimes v trendy sometime not
If you can do stuff to help dc start secondary school blending in for no other reason than choosing bag a over bag b then do it!

Oh God, I've just been trailing round town with dd (y10) looking for a bag that satisfies us both. She wanted a £35 one from River Island that wasn't quite A4 size, no separate compartments inside and almost certainly not waterproof. I said 'no way.'
She then vetoed every other bag I pointed out.
Eventually, out of weakness, I succumbed to a £9 thing from Primark. We'll be lucky if it lasts her the first week, but at least it won't cost the earth to replace.

quick warning.

if you buy anything off Surfdome.com tick the no emails button.

They send out advertising emails every other day.

they also had DD2s Xmas present in stock when no one else did.

DD (Y9) had a Gola bag last year, which she says is broken She has just upgraded to a Dunlop Gola-style bag. She carries every schoolbook she owns in it every day and takes another bag for her sports kits

DS (Y7) will be taking his NY Gola-style bag, but I'm hoping he will upgrade to one of those huge sports bags!

Dd has said no to a backpack this year. She has chosen a pink and black Paul frank bag. No idea if it's 'in' or not though. Hopefully she won't decide it's not cool enough. Ds has his old Ben 10 back pack but he's only 6.

Dd2 didn't go to school until y9 as she was HE'd till then, so I was fairly paranoid about her school bag, lol! Bought her a cheap one from Paperchase with the promise of a new one when she wanted one. The zip broke on it before Christmas, and she started using her plain navy Nike backpack. She said she had only seen one other girl in her year with a backpack before then, but in the next two terms several girls started using them! She fancies a new bag for y10, but says she definitely wants another backpack.

Just got ds an adidas messenger bag - is a bit bigger than the Gola etc ones which seems useful - as a result of sending him off to look at bags whilst we waited in a long slow SportsDirect queue ...

I've just bought dd a back care backpack as recommended by the school.

OP, I hope you don't think I'm being rude but I take it your dd is 11? And she has to walk a fair bit with a heavy bag? For goodness sake pls get her a backpack and make sure it's a good one. Those messenger bags are terrible for growing children's backs. In my mind looking after your child's back is WAY more important than having the 'right' bag. Yes peer pressure, yes they want to fit in and be like their friends etc....well they can do that in a million different ways rather than compromise their health. And if more parents stood their ground, we wouldn't have the problem of some bags being cool or uncool.

Sorry to say, my 2 are going with the same backpacks they had since Christmas from their Gran, can't remember the make, but they have a variaty of skull designs either in the fabric or embroidered on. If they feel after 1 term they are "uncool" they can choose (within a price bracket) what they want from Gran for christmas this year. With 2 of them, and their uniform, shoes etc coming to almost £200 each, i am not paying out for an uneccesary new school bag when the ones they have are still in good nick! [so there! emoticom]

Record bags are becoming popular in our area.

No Gola/adidas ares till in for boys where i teach.

Warning - Old thread that's been dug up for some reason
Yes so any bags mentioned will be so "yesterday"

Now I know why DS is refusing a backpack that I keep recommending for him!! I see a few trendy looking kids with Superdry messenger bags.

Hubby and I don't like showing our brands (Big ass GAP on our chest) but we like quality goods which some are known names or can be more expensive than others. I bought dd a jacket 3yrs ago and she is still wearing it (I buy clothes slightly bigger and the girls grow really slow). I bought her a backpack (she's 8) when she was 4 and it still looks fab.

I'm not sure what feminism entails but I went to a top academic school (tried to prettied up our uniform via our accessories/book bag/shoes), was one out of two female in a few of my engineering and programming classes, was three out of how many guys in my old IT jobs, paid half the bill and if I have to, I can most likely change oil after watching a few YouTube videos. And I love pretty things (prefers it actually), hand bags included.

As for bags in high school... Kids have all sorts of growing up issues on top of studying and being good kids that the last thing I want to add to that pile is the wrong school bag. If the right £30 bag, or even £100, is going to make my kid blend in and not stand out so she can focus on studying and growing up, I will get her one. I know my kid and buying her a "brand" bag is not going to spoil her or turn her into a brand victim.

DD2 has a addidas messenger bag to start with.

DD1 has a totally uncool plain, practical back back. I've no idea if she gets teased for it. Unfortunately DD1 gets teased for breathing and has long since given up worrying.

WOW - I never knew that school bags could cause such emotion. It is so funny.

I got my son an ADIDAS Messenger Bag as that is what all the kids at his school use.

No problems, everyone is happy.

I love this thread. I suffered complete capitulation at start of GCSE year this september in a new school when my gorgeous clever girl announced that the only bag that could possibly pass muster was a ridiculous (and IMO hideous and vaguely old lady) handbag from Top Shop. It may be relatively capacious but it is most definitely a handbag, and totally unsuitable. Sometimes you just have to roll with it. My only protest was to refuse to buy it and force her to beg her father to order it online.

Hi there
This is Carrot's daughter writing.
bread-I understand what you are saying about the fact that you don't want your DD(?) to have a designer (though PB isn't really full-on designer) bag just so she can be cool and have "the right bag" as you say just so that she can fit in but you are allowed to have a nice bag. A lot of people seem to be thinking (including you) that people only want to buy expensive bags for exactly that; the expense. But you are wrong. It is possible for people to buy an expensive bag because they LIKE the BAG and not just like THE LABEL. A lot of people at my school do not have very expensive bags but the people that do have expensive bags don't look down on them in any way. Also, I am confused as to what you are saying about your DD's (?) secondary school having a school bag. I haven't heard of any that do have a specific school bag even though I do realise that you have already made it clear that it is not a neccesity. And, if you are saying that your DD(?)'s friends all have the school crested bag then why don't you get your daughter to take it as well? If you want something based wholly on practicality then surely that would be the best decision, because presumably the school would be the most focused on that aspect?

bread - the point of feminism is that women should be allowed to make their OWN in all aspects of their lives - and that includes being able to enjoy fashion if they so choose. Or not if they don't want to.

Sorry if that offends you but actually i don't care that much what you think - I feel free to make my own choices in life and am bringing up my duaghter likewise.

And I find it offensive that you are calling my daughter a slapper just because she wants to have a fashionable handbag.

I hate to break it to you, but the ones who go off the rails are often those who have parents who insist on controlling every aspect of their lives even going so far as to dictate their tastes. They will definitely rebel in a BIG way.

Sorry, but my dd has the triple advantages of natural beauty (smug but weird genetics emoticon - certainly not from me), a rather gorgeous bag which I would happily use if she tires of it, and no 'slapper' set in sight at her school.

Are there really schools with 'slapper' sets at age 11??!

V V V glad my dd is not at a school like that. All her friends seem lovely. The fact that c 50% of the school is Asian may be a factor, I wonder? - maybe less of a 'slapper' ethic going on there?

Don't know - certainly, most of her friends have the regulation school rucksack with crest - as far removed from either trendy or slapperish as can be. Though undeniably v practical.

Since reading this thread, I've also looked at older girls on the bus. Distinct lack of brands there too.

I know some people may find it hard to imagine, but there are schools where having the 'right' bag isn't actually the denoter of one's social position, number of friends or 'cool' quotient. I know this because I went to one like that. We then chose a school for my dd that felt the same - I think going through adolescence is hard enough without overwhelming peer pressure about brands etc.

Re the really peculiar comment about feminism above - is the point of feminism that we we could be free to wear brands?? Really??

Why do some posters on this forum seem to equate beauty and fashion? They can be the same but need not be; I'd argue they can often be at opposite ends of the spectrum. Nowhere have I stated that my dd should or does have a hideous bag - it's rather elegant and beautiful. But she chose it based on her tastes, not on a straw poll of what every girl in the year had.

If feminism statated that women should renounce their right to individuality and instead become branded clones, following the fashion no matter how daft/overpriced/wear labels for their own sake, I must have missed that bit.

I imagined feminism was about having confidence in the beautiful woman you are, rather than sucking up everything corporate marketing departments can throw at you. But what do i know. Clearly, when y dd is ignored by the slappers and left out of all the slapper parties I shall be weeping into my downtrodden hanky. For what more could I aspire to for my 11-year-old daughter than that she hangs out with a slapper crowd.

Ahem.

Are there really people who want this for their dds??

Yikes.

Wot no op?