School uniform shopping for older boys is just horrendous!

[confusedofengland]

Just got back from shopping with DSes aged 13, 11 & 8 for school shoes, bags & shirts. It was so difficult & expensive!

DS1 has size 9 feet & is about 175+cm. We managed to get him shoes in Clarks outlet but they were £45 😳 I just hope his feet don't grow again, as he has gained 2 sizes over summer! As for shirts- plain white, short-sleeved- I went to 3 physical shops & exhausted online options before finally nabbing the last 2 packs of age 15-16 in Asda!

Ds2 (11) has uniform already, passed down from his brother & friends. His shoes were a real challenge! He takes a tiny size 3 & is narrower than an E in Clarks- which they do not cater for, but they advise putting insoles in. If we are happy to do that, he also needs slip-on shoes, preferably without velcro. I'd be happy with elastic in the place of laces. They had not one pair of shoes like this. Two more shops later & we are finally happy.

Ds3 was fairly straightforward to cater for (for now!) but he is taller than DS1 at the same age, so I can foresee future problems!

And all in all, I am about £150 poorer!

@Fifipop185 as he grows it might be worth looking at getting polo shirts from workwear companies eg xamax

I feel your pain.

My daughter is going into 6th form.

She's 5' tall, wears size 4 clothes and is size 13.5 feet.

It's just been an absolute headache.

I’ve found it a nightmare for years, nothing ever fits right. Luckily we have a fantastic local startrite shoe stockist so she sorts the boys out, but this year DS1 has outgrown the sizes and has had to have a different style. She usually discounts them for buying 2 pairs (one for each son).

I find trousers and shirts an absolute nightmare for DS1, they’re always too baggy and swamp him (tall and super skinny). I find the uniform shop fits the best with their slimline stuff - but obv you pay through the nose for it :(
DS2 is a bit easier as he will currently fit in conventional slimline supermarket stuff, but it won’t be long until we are having the same battle, I suspect!

Girls are not much better. With trousers uniform suppliers can sometimes be a better option as they do a range of waists and lengths - rather than the supermarket one size fits all (they would either be the right length but fall down around her ankles, or fit the waist and barely cover her knees)

Oh and in Tesco a girls 15-16 shirt is a lot smaller than a boys 15-16 shirt as I found out.

@TerrifiedandWorried Thank you very much, I've made a note for next year as he's growing fast.

Youngest ds is entering Y11, so needs uniform for just one more year. 6'2", 34" leg, size 13 feet. Chunky lower half, so needs 36" trousers for his bum and thighs, but slender upper half, so needs a belt to haul those 36" trousers to fit his 32" waist. Slender and tall means shirts and blazers long enough to reach his wrists are hugely baggy.

And he has ASD, so the clothes have to meet his sensory needs.

Roll on 6th form!

Apart from when they start school or change school, I rarely buy new in the summer holidays. It’s not as if that’s the only time of year that they grow!

Shops usually have a good stock in all sizes and good deals on uniform in the second half of the summer term. I tend to buy the next size up then even if it doesn’t end up being needed for another term or so. Once I’d found a range that suited my dc I stuck with it. M&S slim for for dc1, Next standard fit for dc2.

Not all shoes and boots need replacing at the same time as they’ll all be slightly different in size and rugby boots won’t be needed in the summer term for example.

There are ways of making it less stressful and spreading the cost.

You can't take out the stress of finding the impossible or realising you're paying taxes for a primary school child shoes because of big feet.

Someone please tell shoe makers girls grow faster in primary and only go slower than the boys in puberty....

I agree. We don't usually buy much new in September & for DS3 all I bought was shoes.

However, DS2 is moving up to senior school (although he used the trousers & shirts he already has & we were given blazer & PE kit) & DS1 has gone up a couple of sizes in clothes & shoes over the summer 😳 so needs new stuff

For the parents of large-voted children, try Rieker - they say they go up to a 43 in women' s and 47 in men's but they are very generous sizing.

Apart from when they start school or change school, I rarely buy new in the summer holidays. It’s not as if that’s the only time of year that they grow!

The problem is that at my children's school they have a uniform for yrs 7 - 10..

A completely different uniform for year 11 and then another completely different uniform for 6th form.

Shirts are worn for years 7-10; logo'd polo shirts for Yr 11 and 6th form. But differently logo'd so you can't wear a year 11 one in 6th form.

Different coloured jumpers for years 7-10; Yr 11 and then again for 6th form.

Every item is branded inc skirts (but not trousers) to reflect either by colour or logo what year they are in. You're only permitted to wear the previous years uniform for the first couple of weeks Of a new year. After that, the kids get detentions.

It's ridiculous.

@ALockOfYourHair I agree. That is ridiculous. Parents should revolt. (or complain to the governors).

My kids take after me (sadly for them) and are small for their age which means uniform shopping is easier and less frequent. I bought DS blazer and PE kit (in the smallest size the shop sold) 5 months before he started at secondary, to spread out the cost of uniform. I buy shoes from M and S, he's nearly 13 and currently shoe size 2
However now DD is in 6th form and wearing smart clothes, but not uniform, it's a pain to find things to fit.

The most frustrating part is that we've had to have skirts specially ordered for our daughter in previous years because she didn't fit into their smallest size whereas m&s ones fitted perfectly.

This year, the smallest 6th form polo shirt is small - which is huge on her - half way down her thighs in length and the shoulder seams are halfway down her upper arms. They do year 11 polo's in xxs and xs. The xxs one fits her perfectly.

If you're going to be so restrictive about uniform, at least make sure you can buy stuff in their size!

I did actually rebel a bit this year and bought her a year 11 polo shirt. It is a school logo in the same colours as the 6th form but is just missing the 6th form bit. Tough. She's 16. She's not going to grow into a poloshirt 2 sizes too big for her! And I'm not buying her one that is.

Shops usually have a good stock in all sizes and good deals on uniform in the second half of the summer term. I tend to buy the next size up then even if it doesn’t end up being needed for another term or so. Once I’d found a range that suited my dc I stuck with it. M&S slim for for dc1, Next standard fit for dc2.

I try to buy shirts when M and S have offers but our school uniform supplier never ever has sales or offers.

@confusedofengland my son is also autistic and hypermobile and is about to start year 7, he is also super skinny and small! With his tie, we bought 2 school ties and has one made into an elastic tie for P.E days. He also wears verlco shirts for days when he has to get changed for any reason. If the tie pattern is a fairly common one you can buy pre made elastic ties off ebay or amazon, just Google elastic tie and the colours. If it's a bit more unusual any good sewing shop will be able to convert a tie into an elastic one. He wears a normal tie on non p.e days and we keep going over how to tie it in the hope one day he will get it! Mind you, he's been wearing and shirt and tie since year 3 and hasn't got it yet!

In m&s keeps section yesterday buying suit trousers and shirts as non of school range fit my son going into yr 10. He is fully grown man size now and bigger than me. I'm not sure how well they will last though if he plays football.... Material didn't seem to be designed for that but no chinos etc allowed

I get my tall and skinny teens trousers from marks and Spencer. They do three leg lengths, regular long and extra long. You do need to be quick around this time of year though as they do sell out.

Really?
DH was. So was his uncle.
Judging by the ancient school photos we’ve seen, so was his grandfather.
All between 6’6 and 6’9 as adults.

Why leave it so late to sort school uniform when you know it's a nightmare?

School uniform doesn't seem to fit any child! My DD is in Y9 and has size 8 feet and a bust... school shoes are impossible and I am still to find a school blouse with darts. She's currently wearing boys age 17-18 shirts as they're bigger across the chest that than a girls 17-18 blouse. DD is 13. Not sure what happens if she grows any more.

DS2 is starting High School. His uniform is navy polo shirt and navy jumper which have to be purchased from school supplier. He is really slim and all DS1’s stuff (he is 17) which I’ve kept is at least 3 sizes too big for him. We’ve got the smallest size polo shirts which only just fit, they are quite snug but the next size up absolutely drowns him (and fits me and I’m a size 14), honestly it comes down to his knees and the short sleeves are down to his wrists so goodness knows what we will do if he grows at all.

This. DS is a 9. We buy shoes from TK Maxx or a store called Boundary Mill, in the men's dept.

@sparklecement - this time last year DS (very nearly 14) was a size 9 shoe. I know, because he wore my trainers! Now he's a 13. The growth spurt is real. 😬

A few weeks ago, in a similar thread, someone suggested Alexandra, the work uniform/PPE people for adult size "school" uniform.
trouserss*
shirts and blouses

Obviously doesn't work if you need school crests on.

Because these pesky children keep growing! 2 shoe & clothes sizes over summer, for DS1. If I had done it sooner, the clothes would not fit him now, let alone in another few months!