to have not bought a new outfit for a school trip

[Getmoveon14]

DD went a school history trip which involved dressing up. Teacher told them not to buy anything especially for it. Great, I thought and DD came up with a good outfit using things she and I already had. So, we got to school and found most of the girls dressed almost identically - they'd clearly all bought an outfit. DD got teased for wearing clothes from her wardrobe. I know that if I had bought something it would probably have only been worn once and from experience it's not that easy to pass outfits on. So many people would rather spend a few pounds buying something new on Amazon. AIBU to not have bought a new outfit?

YANBU for not buying a new outfit, but neither are those who have done.

Totally not being unreasonable. Totally wasteful to buy something for a one-off. We always reused clothes we had, borrowed from a friend or charity shopped. DD sometimes looked as though we had bought specifically, but as she has been in lots of dancing shows and amassed lots of specific costumes she had a bank to draw on - and we lent these out to as many friends with younger children as possible!

YANBU
You only have to read a few articles on textile waste to see how much these kind of cheap one-off items are adding to the environmental load and don't get me started on all the crap bought for Halloween that is landfill by the following week

YANBU and the planet will thank you, but also spare a thought for stressed out working parents with lots on their plate who couldn't face cobbling something together! Shitty of their kids to be mean to your DD though :(

YANBU at all.
There's enough waste in this world without people buying cheap tatty dressing up costumes.

I think the teacher should have praised her for being original and resourceful, plus a mention of saving the planet!
For our drama productions, we always recommended using something they already had, checking out the drama cupboard, or upcycling something from a charity shop. (Including the memorable year when the plot involved an all-femaie pirate crew - all boys school)

My dd always went in stuff from home. I have a lot of dressing up stuff. She made comments about her friends having the correct stuff aka cheap shit from amazon, when the stuff I gave to dd was more authentic and homemade. I used to sew a lot. Dd is now in secondary and I’m not able to get away with this anymore and has refused to wear a decent costume for Halloween in favour of some cheap crap, which will be delivered today.

I forgot to add, that’s really unkind of the other girls. And yes, the teachers should be praising. They generally rustled stuff up without buying things when dd was in primary.

It may be easier to buy than cobble. If they were supposed to be a Victorian child Or Ww2 evacuee and they only own jeans/leggings, sportswear and tops then you may aswell buy a ready made outfit off amazon.

YANBU, but I hate dressing up days in general where you are told to wear what you already have and you don't have anything remotely suitable. Give me a full week's notice so I can ask around or get to a charity shop at least, or keep the options as open as possible. Not 'wear the spotty clothing you already have'.

No-one's unreasonable in this situation

Except the kids doing the teasing, obviously.

On the contrary, you get mummy points for being creative and following teacher's guidance! It will all be forgotten in 48 hours anyway.

Any classmate who says something unpleasant is actually helping DD whittle down the people in her set who are worth cultivating as friends.

The teacher should have addressed the teasing.

But yanbu to use what you have. Likewise it wasn't unreasonable for others to buy an outfit. Everyone has their own reasons.

Not unreasonable at all, in fact my dd had an Egyptian dress up day recently and I was only told the night before. We made something up and she got a few nasty comments from other kids, teacher gave her an award for most creative, whilst almost other 30 parents had

Posted too soon! Other parents all had obviously been on amazon as all outfits were almost identical. I felt virtu

Not unreasonable at all. I used an old sheet and a baggy white shirt to make all sorts of outfits for DS, Victorian, pirate, Bollywood, you name it we made it!

Not unreasonable, however I think some people do just need the convenience sometimes when they're busy and have a lot on.

I don't look forward to dress up days when DS goes to primary school.

I know you didn't realise that would happen and YANBU but I would do anything to make sure my child didn't get teased but that's my issues from school, and it will probably backfire on me at some point.

It’s not as simple as people are making out though, every piece of cheap tat is made by someone who relies on their wages to put food on the table.

It’s not as simple as people are making out though, every piece of cheap tat is made by someone who relies on their wages to put food on the table
Of course, buying mass produced fancy dress costumes to wear once and then discard is the height of ethical shopping.
I'm sure the people living in huts on the banks of a polluted river somewhere in Asia are really grateful that a class of parents have provided them with their evening meal.

Thanks for the replies. It's given me some perspective on it. In the absence of praise from the teachers I've praised DD for coming up with the idea of using her existing clothes - much better for the environment. I've also pointed out that not everyone would have had something suitable in their wardrobes.

How do you know all the other kids bought their outfits?

Some parents said they'd bought them and a lot of other children had the same costume. It's on Amazon, but at least you can buy it second-hand as well.

You and your daughter sound awesome OP.