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!

I've just spent £176 on shoes, shirts, socks, trainers, one pair of trousers, one sweater and some logo'd running leggings (DS is in the track team).

Apart from the price, trousers are a nightmare. DS is a skinnybits. He has a 24" waist and 31.5" inside leg. I've had to buy 30" waist school trousers and leggings to get them long enough.

Finally got that lot home, and he went to pack them all away, came downstairs and announced he can't get his rugby boots on. Noooo 😱

Thank goodness we already had blazer, tie, and the rest of his sports kit.

Because they keep growing. Ds is an inch taller now than he was in June. He's away with his dad this week and half expecting him to have grown again by next weekend. He's like a flippin' beanstalk at the moment 😀

Yes, as you can see from this chart, 6ft is above the +4SD line for any Y6 age male and well above line saying children plotting above this line should usually be under specialist review.

@MintJulia you could get smaller than a 30” waist by buying M&S extra long trousers.

@Legofigure yes, but not in dark navy, only grey or black, which the school won't allow.

School uniform is like some kind of weird brain challenge set by schools and the industry each year to reduce any parent with a non-standard shaped child to exhaustion. 😁

@MintJulia I think M&S do navy trousers in the long version, rather than extra long, which still might give you a smaller waist than 30”.

With so many of us in agreement about this, you would think that shops might cotton on & do something about it!

My skinny child in particular will always struggle, there seems to be a lot more choice for plus size DC nowadays.

It’s a blooming nightmare even with Primary aged DC (side eyes DS1 who at 8 had size 4.5E shoes…I will resent paying VAT when he hits a size 5 aged 9 and is no longer classed as a child for shoes).

ASDA long length trousers have been great though (and do do teen sizes, although whether teens are allowed to be 6 ft I’m not sure). Means that DS1 (age 11 length, age 7 waist) doesn’t have to wear a belt any more.

Perhaps we should make a list of demands like...

Being able to claim back vat on three pairs of shoes a year for every teen - trainers' shoes and rugby boots.

manufacturers who do long trousers in skinny sizes and leave the hems unfinished so we can finish to fit.

what else?

Awful for older teenaged girls too. It’s as if most shops think only young children go to school. They seem to ignore the fact that many girls are fully through puberty by early secondary and need different shaped shirts, skirts etc.

Oh and pleated skirts can’t be easily hemmed.

Yes the solution to different body shapes as a result of puberty is an adjustable waist..

Just what a girl needs. To look like she's got a nappy on.

Check with the school, they may have an elasticated tie. DS always struggled with ties, the elasticated ones were a Godsend.

I meant large-footed

@honkeytonkwoman38, teice I've bought school uniform in July, twice I've had to take it back and swap for larger sizes at the end of August. All of it, including shoes.

Because my 10 year old daughter was a shoe size 6 at the start of summer and is now a very comfortable size 7. 6 weeks later.

This has been the case most years.
She could wear an 8-10 shirt at summer start and barely fits into a 10-12 now. I'm aware I might have to shop again at October half term. I'm hopeful her growth will even out during puberty.

We shop for her shoes in the women's and men's sections but she's 10. In primary school. She wants to wear the same things as her friends.

I only have one DS - but he went into size 15 shoes at 15. He always has to have rugby boots at least a size larger than his normal shoes as they seem to make them very narrow - we can only get shoes, trainers and rugby boots etc on-line which means he can't try anything first - mind you there's hardly any choice either. And of course the price is ridiculous.

Dd is starting secondary tomorrow and her blazer is hanging off her! She is really slender and I bought the smallest size and it's huge! Fingers crossed for a growth spurt.

All the best for everyone's dc starting or have started school.

We have similar issues with girls. 13 year old has been in ladies clothes since last year. She has a 36C bust. School shirts don’t seem to cater for busts these days and she’s now in the biggest size aged so not sure what happens the next few years - unless she stops growing. She’s a 12 petite in ladies trousers so that’s doubled the price now from kids. Asda have now added ladies sizes to their senior girls uniform but seem to stick with certain styles (skinny fit) which just aren’t suitable or permanently out of stock. She’s has hips and prefers high waisted. John Lewis are better for skirts as have managed to buy by the inch width rather than generic size, just means length is often a bit dodgy.

Ive not bought shoes. I’m hoping the ones bought at Easter for younger dd still fit. Struggle with older dd as she’s in H width and they tend not to have those in the style we need. Holding out for an ankle boot now when they start getting those in stock. Again, we might end up in ladies at twice the price (prefer a Clark’s fit from outlets). She’s not big footed (size 5 with an orthotic in) it’s the width we struggle with.

I think uniform in general is really badly sized and designed. School logo sweatshirts - we’ve had to buy adult large, again due to bust. A 13 year old girl isn’t the same as a 13 year old boy around the chest but they are unisex!!

I bought Clark’s shoes for the first few years, then the growth in DS feet over a couple of years meant I bought cheap shoes because he needed new ones multiple times . He was 13 by then so could absolutely let me know how they felt. He is thankfully a size 12 unlike his Father who is a 13 who has issues getting shoes.

I've had real issues getting shoes this year. First up the appointments were fully booked up for ages. Then the stock selection was pretty poor. Both dds have high insteps. Dd1 I've had to buy emergency ankle boots she needs to hide under her trousers as there was literally nothing that fitted

Dd2 has ended up with a pair that won't last 5 mins on her purchased simply because I had to have something.

In my 10 years of buying school shoes I've never had this issue before
Wtf is going on

Absolutely. Body conscious curvy short 15yr old is an absolute nightmare. The skirts are not designed for any curve or height difference and impossible to alter. Feel so sorry for her.

Yup. 15 yr old with bust that squeezes into largest school logo shirt available - but she never removes her jumper so have bought non logo version for this year.
She also will mot wear skirts so has always worn navy trousers as is permitted but now she cannot fit into the age 15/16 ones and I have been waiting 4 mths for the sized waist ones to come back into stock in M and S and John Lewis as she can't wear stretchy trousers. All that is also available are often 'slim fit' which are not feasible with her body shape. Local school outfitters had 1 pr that just fit her at £24 for flimsy thin polyester.
No size 14 available that suit the style fir navy school trousers anywhere else, but am waiting for delivery from a month ago from an online shop who took the order but when I asked say they are waiting on the supplier
I might try the link someone shared for workwear as they have some slimfit navy in her size - but again over £20 a pair and unlikely to fit as slim fit. We have tried them from workweek places before and they were awful.
She's super self conscious about her weight and we are working on it, bit this doesn't help.

Decathlon for sports type shoes. DS isn’t given to labels eg Nike. Bought him football studs from Decathlon last year for 20 quid. He said they were the comfiest he’s ever had. Bought the same this year. Loads of PE trainers for around the same price.

DS has to wear brown shoes for his new secondary school. Found gorgeous brogues for 22 quid from River Island. They look as gorgeous as my 200 quid Grensons.