School uniform for very small reception twins

[FamilyOfAliens]

We have twin sisters starting in reception at our school in September. They are very small for their age and have just gone into age 2 clothes. I’m working with the parents to try to find school uniform solutions.

The smallest size I’ve found in anything is 2-3 but there isn’t much available and I can’t find summer dresses in that size at all.

Has anyone found that age 2-3 clothes can be easily altered to fit a smaller child? If it was just a question of taking hems up it wouldn’t be a problem but it’s also shoulders, waists and so on.

Any ideas very welcome.

If you provide any information on what children need to have for the Reception start, listing the winter uniform and making it clear that there's no need to buy the summer uniform yet, could help both this family and families struggling with the costs of starting school. Just a small cultural shift.

For trousers for DS' we get M&S extra long trousers so we can size down to fit their waists. I think they do extra long girls trousers too.

What colours are the school uniform? Jojo maman bebe do polo shirts in toddler sizes, my daughter used to wear them with shorts. She definitely had white and navy blue ones.

Maniacal, I’m not sure how I can make this any clearer, but the parents of these twins have told me that if the weather is warm in September they will want to send their girls in in summer dresses. They don’t feel any pressure to do this - it’s what they want to do.

It’s not about the cost of uniform for this family. It’s about finding uniform in very small sizes.

I understand a year one child coming back in summer uniform, but I don't think there were any parents who bought summer uniform for their reception starters when my DS started school!

I had one start reception in 2018 and one in 2019 and practically all the girls started in summer uniform, worn until half term!

Thanks regina, but we don’t have polo tops as part of the uniform, which is a shame really as they’re much easier than shirts.

How about fi dung a local dressmaker, try local fabric shops, sewing groups etc. Presumably this is going to be a bit of an issue for several years and having comfortable clothes that fit you properly it vital for both comfort and self esteem. Many dressmakers would love to help as they are usually keen to use their skills as much as possible

My DD was tiny then she started school and my biggest hassle was shoes! She was a 5E but Clarks didn't start their school range until size 6. ( shes 8 now so no idea if that's still the case)

Start rite came good in the end but it wasn't straight forward, so it might be worth thinking about that too.

My ds was tiny when he started. He had Baby Gap navy blue shorts. They were the only ones I could find small enough.

PMG Schoolwear (online) do uniform from age 2.

Pinafores from age 2

www.schooluniform247.co.uk/Girls-School-Uniform/Girls-School-Pinafores-Dresses/

Polo shirts from age 1

www.schooluniform247.co.uk/School-Polo-T-Shirt-1-13-yrs

My now 4 year old is very narrow - similar size chest and shoulders to my 15 mo and only really growing out of 2-3 because crop tops/capri leggings are a bit draughty at this time of year!

We got away with 2-3 in pinafores/summer dresses. Sainsbury's were fine - we had styles with a tie waist which didn't look too ridiculous if you looped the "belt" around the belt loops then tied at the back. There was about 6 inches spare in the waist.

Pinafores are pretty forgiving and she just never wears school skirts/trousers. Shirts (Aldi mostly) would have survived 2 years in size but for frequent encounters with tomato sauce in school lunches. Pinafores also reduce the impact of colouring pen use on stains!

For jumpers the smallest size at our logo supplier is pretty small and quite a narrow cut. The next size up is a LOT bigger.

Will they not gave grown in 7 months time?

Not necessarily - my twins are 3.5 and 0.4th centile for height, they’ve been the same shoe size for nearly a year, and they’ve just gone up a clothes size after almost a year in the same size. They are growing just very slowly!

Is it a twin thing, then?

Probably more likely to be a ‘health condition’ thing, judging by the OP’s posts. She stated above that she didn’t want to out them by giving the reason.

Ok, sorry. I was confused by SinkGirl’s post.

Won’t it be easier to find grey joggers and white t shirts/polos in baby sizes and get uniform colour sweatshirts made by a tailor /seamstress and the logo applied by a uniform shop. Dresses can also be made as needed.

@74NewStreet

It’s not a twin thing in this family’s case, but I didn’t want to go into more detail because that’s not what my OP is about.

Sorry, Elbeagle, cross post.

My 0.4th centile prem boy started in nursery at 3 in 12-18/18/24 size clothes. We found new age 1-2 grey school trousers on eBay. For girls I would look at adjustable waist skirts or you could try eBay for summer dresses. We find Asda and Matalan can both be small fitting. M&s seems to be a popular suggestion but I've found their summer dresses massive and their slim 2-3 trousers were too big when he was in age 2 clothes. Our school jumpers come up pretty small so 2-3 were ok and have lasted him ages.

My DD was tiny then she started school and my biggest hassle was shoes!

We haven’t even gone there yet - the girls take a size 4!

Marks and Spencers do the smallest. Buy the age 2-3 and then any adjustments should be minimal. (I bought aged 2-3 trousers and hemmed them with wundaweb. Waist was adjustable anyway and was OK)

I’ve had some fantastic suggestions here. The parents of these girls will be thrilled that there are so many people willing to share their tips and experiences - thank you!

M & S usually offer the best range of uniform in June/July around the same time as they have a discount or sale on. Although it was a long time ago, their age 2-3 was fine for my tiny YR girl who had just turned 4 when she started school. They were slightly roomy, but most of the DC were in roomy clothes at that stage!

TU clothing (Sainsbury's) start at age 2-3 and in my experience it comes up smaller than M&S and Next. DD had a red gingham dress as part of her nursery uniform from age 2 - she was just over 2 when she wore the summer dress and had been prem so her regular clothes were mainly 18 months. It was a bit long but not prohibitively large. She had an age 2-3 cardigan too as the official nursery cardigans were too big but they were fine with the adaptation until she got bigger.

I'd suggest polo shirt under a pinafore - again, try TU or any supermarket really, they do tend to size small. If the girls are slim, not just small, then the tabard-style pinnies may be best because you can take in at the sides of the skirt by moving a button, and adjust the straps the same way.