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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Why does my daughter have to have butterfly or heart zipper pulls on her school uniform?

282 replies

MsMotherOfDragons · 30/08/2018 13:15

Just that, really.

Why do the school uniform options for girls not have things like rocket or dinosaur charms? And why don't they have pockets?!! It drives me wild.

I've looked at several of the main supermarkets and they all seem to have the same problem. Eventually I went for the Sainsbury's ones on the basis of price and quality, so we're stuck with butterflies on everything.

Can I replace them with something else... does anyone know where to get rocket charms or similar? Can anyone recommend a better supplier? I'm kind of appalled that all the gender nonsense starts so early. It's so unnecessary.

OP posts:
Magnussen · 30/08/2018 13:21

Joust cut them off? They aren't necessary anyway. Not something I can get that worked up about tbh

Fatted · 30/08/2018 13:23

Buy boys uniforms then? Then she can do without the frills on polo shirts and cardigans as well. And not have to wear a dress or skirt.

Ohhbollix · 30/08/2018 13:23

You sound like you're trying too hard TBH. It's a zip!

aNutAboveTheBreast · 30/08/2018 13:23

Try Etsy:

Rockets

Dinosaur

OutPinked · 30/08/2018 13:23

Agreed, even some of the girls trousers have hearts embroidered on them Hmm. I also don’t like it.

mickeymacca · 30/08/2018 13:24

what a complete non issue

NationalShiteDay · 30/08/2018 13:25

YANBU. I'm glad they don't have pockets tho otherwise I'd just be washing handfuls of gravel and beautiful leaves all the time

mumprincess12 · 30/08/2018 13:26

What does your daughter want? Mine would go for butterflies or hearts any day. She would hate rockets or dinosaurs. Manufacturers will manufacture to the majority I'm afraid!

GlitterGlassEye · 30/08/2018 13:27

I think you’re making an issue from nothing. You can get plenty of stuff without hearts and flowers, and what if they do? What’s the big deal?

minisoksmakehardwork · 30/08/2018 13:27

#subtlebuteveryday

FWIW op I agree with you. Its unnecessary. They don't put rockets or dogs or shapes on the zips for boys clothes, or embroider them on the fabric so why they need to do it for girls is beyond me.

See also; boys trousers with reinforced knees. Girls are not marketed the same and are just as likely to go through the knees, especially in the early years of free play.

Tiredtomybones · 30/08/2018 13:27

Can't bring myself to worry about this. They usually break off within a few weeks anyway.

ThanksForAllTheFish · 30/08/2018 13:27

Marks and Spencer and John Lewis tend to sell plain girls trousers etc without the hearts/bows/grills/butterflies. You can even find plenty of options with pockets.

xJessica · 30/08/2018 13:28

I really can't see the issue! It's a pinafore. Does it really matter? I hardly even notice what they have, I just get a style I like that washes well and wears well. Just buy trousers and boys' polo shirts if you feel that strongly.

UrbaneSprawl · 30/08/2018 13:29

That’s really crap. Would these do to replace the butterflies?

MTBMummy · 30/08/2018 13:30

We've gone for M&S boys trousers, and they actually fit DD better as she's bean pole thin and really tall.

And they have awesome pockets! (not jealous at all)

implantsandaDyson · 30/08/2018 13:30

My 7 year old is away to school in a grey pinafore with pockets and an unadorned zip - Tesco £8

IncyWincyGrownUp · 30/08/2018 13:30

Pockets, or more the lack of, used to drive my daughter bonkers. She’s fifteen now, and has been in ladies trousers for a while. We’re shopping the teen boy section this year as she needs pockets and even ladies trousers don’t provide.

Clothes manufacturers are, quite frankly, arseholes.

Girlwiththearabstrap · 30/08/2018 13:31

Why do so many people always dismiss this as a non issue? If you dont care about it then fine, but you can't pretend it's meaningless.
Being told that things are for girls and boys at a young age is a message that can stick, despite what kids are told at home. Then later on in life it suddenly becomes "X kind of career is male dominated". And then it's normalised to have the "boys and girls" mentality. This kind of insidious gender stereotyping isn't ok, even if it is over something which at first glance seems trivial. And the "girls" stuff is more often than not "pretty" rather than "interesting".

Thingsthatgo · 30/08/2018 13:31

This really winds me up. I think it looks tacky and just reinforces the idea that girls are there to look cute and pretty.

Thingsthatgo · 30/08/2018 13:32

I love those urbane!

noeffingidea · 30/08/2018 13:35

My daughter's always worn pull up lycra trousers for school. She does have special needs though. Sometimes they had bows or sparkly things on them, sometimes they didn't.
I really have no interest in pockets in clothes either for myself or my kids and don't understand why people on mumsnet bang on about them.

CrochetBelle · 30/08/2018 13:36

This makes me laugh. Don't complain about the gender-conforming nature of the design of 'girls clothes' whilst making it clear you are only willing to buy clothing labelled 'for girls'.

Ohhbollix · 30/08/2018 13:36

Equally why are some of you trying to make girls feel like over made up china dolls for liking a charm on a pinafore dress? My daughter knows her own mind; she rejected one style of pinafore I got her because she thought it was babyish (she is 6 and going into year 2) but she likes the little butterfly charm on the pinafore. I'm hardly turning her into a child beauty queen and rejecting all mention of a career in science and medicine by letting her have one

BringOnTheScience · 30/08/2018 13:42

Fabulous find there Urban.!

I used to just take the flowers, hearts, dangly gems, etc off. A pair of pliers will open the rings easily.

[Goes off to investigate more STEM-themed charms for a Brownies craft ... ]

SlipperySlipper · 30/08/2018 13:46

I think it's a fair point that clothing for girls seems to be designed to be decorative rather than practical. DD (7) picked school shoes from the boys' section last year because they were the only ones that actually covered her feet properly.

I looked in Sainsburys today for some white school socks for her. There was a choice between ankle socks with frills, ankle socks with hearts and ribbons, or longer ones with glittery threads in them.