Buying new school uniform

[Notyouraveragecliche]

Is it reasonable to buy school uniform despite the last year's still fitting or do you think it's unreasonable to reuse old uniform?

Boring question but me and my partner have different opinions.

I only replace what’s outgrown or worn out

I only buy new when DS has outgrown his uniform and only when needed. Shops sell uniform all year round, so although DS has outgrown trousers and jumper, I won't buy til it's cold enough. Until then he'll be in new shorts, last year's polos and boots.

I only replace whats been grown out of, and/or is in poor condition and needs replacing.

Also use hand me downs as I have 2 dds and also not averse to buying from the school pre loved sale.

Have noticed drop in quality though so less and less is fit for reuse.

I bought all new for year 7 as DD moved to secondary school but, thereafter, only when is was either too small or worn out. Why would your DP buy new for the sake of it seems a total waste of money.

I think our most spectacular example was the games shorts I got from the second hand shop when my son started reception. At only just 4 he still had a bit of toddler stoutness, so I may have got away with them being a little big. He was still using them in year 6!

If it fits and isn't stained we use it again

Absolute madness to replace things that fit and are in good condition just because it’s September! And terrible for the planet! What happens if you buy new in the summer and they have a growth spurt and it no longer fits by Christmas?

Replace just the stuff that no longer fits or is worn out/stained/ripped. Donate or sell the outgrown stuff.

The only new things we are getting are grey socks because the sock monster has eaten them all and white socks because another sock monster has turned them grey, but not grey enough to pass as grey socks and they have to be worn all day as PE kit rather than for an hour or two when no one will notice if they are half grey/half pink.

Maybe you can sit down and cost out how much dh's plan would cost, then suggest something much more fun to do with the cash. Or multiply it across all the years of school. I am guessing this is primary. You would have to be truly bonkers to do that with secondary uniform, about £200+ around here.

I’ve bought a few new bits but last years was hardly worn. I’ve replaced all the shirts for both of mine and my son has new shoes but my daughter onLy had new Shoes in March so she’ll wear those.

DD still has her Y7 PE hoodie 6 years later
DD 2 still has her and her PE shorts
DS on his second pair of shorts in 5 years only had one Rugby shirt, still have various PE socks,
DDs skirts are fine, blazer is OK as well, DS needed a new one as he’s grown and it’s a bit tight.
DS has shoes, DDs are worn out.

No new ties
No new shirts
No new trousers or skirts
PE kit fine but new socks if I go to town

None need new bags, some new stationary as the pens were half price in Tesco.

If it was £150 per primary year and £250 for secondary (fairly conservative estimates if logoed and including shoes etc.) that would be about £3000 per child. If you just replace every other year you can save £1500, if you hand down clothes to siblings you can save thousands.

My dd had the same skirt all through secondary school. 🤷‍♀️

Please don’t buy more if you don’t need to. The planet can’t cope with it. We need to be buying less, reusing as much as possible and reducing our waste. Our kids and grandkids are the ones that will suffer otherwise.

not buying new dd's uniform fits still so not wasting money buying new when it doesn't need replacing. She does have new shoes and socks

I only replace outgrown or damaged. My younger son will be mainly wearing his elder brother's outgrown uniform except he is getting a new blazer as we don't have one in good enough condition to pass down. Oh and new PE kit because irritatingly it has recently changed, so my cupboard full of still perfectly serviceable stuff in larger sizes is now no use. Plus he needs extra as he will have to wear PE kit all day for several days a week and I'm not prepared to keep trying to wash and dry it overnight. But I'm definitely not buying new shirts and trousers for no good reason.

Dc1 is getting a new blazer this year as he has outgrown his.
Dc2 is wearing his uniform from last year as it still fits. Blazer, tie and shoes were new last year, everything else (apart from bag, stationary etc) were cast offs from dc1.
dc3, dc4 and dc5 are still wearing dc1's outgrown clothes although dc3 and dc4 will need new shoes and dc4 needs new trousers.

Outgrown or worn out uniform gets replaced. That's it. It's wasteful and sends the wrong message to children about the environmental impact to buy new kit for no reason.

I've bought new shoes and skirts this year because they were outgrown but jumpers, shirts and PE stuff still fit - new trainers and football boots though thanks to growing feet. Also new coats because the last ones have done 2 years and are now outgrown. We keep using what still fits and buy what's been outgrown, and donate outgrown things to friends if they can use them, if not then the school for their uniform sales.

I only bought one new (Tesco) jumper each. The rest are last year's or hand me downs. All in perfect condition. I took the hem down of a few pairs of trousers to last longer. Madness to buy all new.

Only “new” if its outgrown or destroyed. second choice is secondhand uniform sale, new is last resort. Younger one gets his older brothers outgrown uniform.

I haven't bought my DD any new uniform, I used to get new each term but realised that she was still wearing the old uniform well into the spring term and the new uniform was always huge!

All she realistically needs is shoes and socks! I might get some extra cardigans/jumpers as she did lose a few before lockdown but that's it.

Each term should say each year! I definitely did not buy each term, unless she damaged or lost any!

Only people with money to burn replace uniform before replacement is needed.

I've never had the income to fall into that category.

I've found this thread really interesting OP. I have to say I am with your dp and everyone I know does exactly the same, there was a thread the other day where lots of posters said they donate all dcs usable uniform to school swop shops etc ... but if everyone is keeping uniform until its falling apart I don't see how this is possible? I buy all new every year because I can, however everything from the previous tear gets donated if suitable and binned if not. At dds school you really have no option they change uniform completely after yr7/8 and again at y10

"they donate all dcs usable uniform to school swop shops etc ... but if everyone is keeping uniform until its falling apart I don't see how this is possible?"

Because DC sometimes outgrow uniform before they trash it.

Second hand sales are a very good thing!