Experienced experts please- School uniforms- buy expensive as it's better?

[schooliscoming]

Posting for traffic!

DC starting school September- my first one and know no one with school age children!

Was talking to a friend the other day who said she's getting all her dc's clothes from next or M&S as it's all so much better than asda/ Sainsbury's etc and will last longer.

Surely if paint stains white shirt from any shop it's for the bin?!

AIBU to think it doesn't matter and they're virtually the same?
Please feel free to correct me if I'm totally wrong!

There’s a pro though to thinner polos- much faster to dry
I bought 5 sets and only washed once a week.

M&S is really good. Sainsburys is a lot less comfy says my little one.

The super expensive organic trousers I bought onlie were crap tho.

It isn’t ‘expensive is best’ it’s ‘m&s are really leading the market on school uniform’. The best trousers we get from m&s cost SIX pounds.

Polos - zero difference between cheap and expensive, in my experience. If your children are anywhere like mine, they look OK only for the first wear, and then stained immediately with some unidentifiable, toxic looking substances that seem to exist only in primary schools.

For shoes, firstrite seem to be the most indestructible of the bunch.

OP - a key skills for your DD to develop this summer will be dressing herself even when all her clothes are inside out. Children should arrive in reception able to dress themselves if possible, but most have parents putting the clothes the right way first. At PE time the clothes all end up inside out and then they struggle to get them the right way round before putting them on.

Thanks everyone for great advice

OP, if you aren't sure about tights/skirts, DD used to wear girls grey shorts/cullottes from M&S. Or trousers when it was cooler. The 'shorts' were in fact almost knee length - similar to the boys shorts that are commonly worn, but cut differently for girls.

Many, many years of experience here, OP.

My children's uniforms have almost all been second hand. If they are well made (which tends to mean 'made in Britain'), they will last several children. The person who buys them new takes the financial hit (as they're not cheap). My children have all, one way or another, made it through the independent system, and the only children who have had new uniform are PFBs or only children. The bits I had to buy new were either sports stuff from the uniform supplier or cheaty prep school trousers from M&S, which were good (the creases stayed put).

If I had to buy from a generic shop, I would avoid the really cheap stuff as you will only end up throwing it away.

As for shoes... girls' shoes are completely hopeless. My DD shredded every pair of shoes she ever owned. The boys' shoes (Clarks) lasted until they outgrew them. Girls' shoes are no use at all for girls who want to be anything other than decorative. Start Rite were marginally better than Clarks, but only in that they lasted about a month, whereas Clarks lasted about a week.

M&S socks and tights are good.

I’m all for you get what you pay for but my DS used to destroy uniform whatever the quality- ripped trousers, stained shirts, lost stuff and he grew like a beanpole. I say start cheap and make your own opinion from there.

This thread has been really helpful. I have a tiny 4yo DS who is currently in 18-24m trousers and I've been wondering where to buy trousers. Planning to order the slim fit trousers from M&S in age 2 when it's the 20% off sale on the 6th July.

Which shop would people recommend for PE pumps? I liked the look of the Asda pumps with the Velcro, but they only start at size 8 junior and DS is currently in size 6 junior. I ordered some pumps from sports direct and they fit lengthwise but were just too wide so kept slipping off.

@BoardingSchoolMater

As for shoes... girls' shoes are completely hopeless. My DD shredded every pair of shoes she ever owned. The boys' shoes (Clarks) lasted until they outgrew them. Girls' shoes are no use at all for girls who want to be anything other than decorative. Start Rite were marginally better than Clarks, but only in that they lasted about a month, whereas Clarks lasted about a week.

M&S socks and tights are good.

If you still have young children try the M&S patent shoes for girls. Bought them out of desperation (the others were crap) and stayed with them. If feet don't grow too quickly, at around £30 a pair they're not too extortionate either.

Do children not cover up their uniform for painting/messy stuff any more? DTs had a smock in kindergarten, long sleeves, velcro at the back, which they wore all morning. When they moved on up the school the smocks were just worn for anything messy. They were hung on pegs and taken home to be washed at the weekend, or more often if you wished. Uniform was never marked with paint etc.

Tesco is my favourite, the navy v neck jumpers are the softest and stay properly navy for ages. Different fits and lengths in the trousers. Asda is ok for trousers and polos but rubbish for jumpers. Quite large made though.
Morrison’s were the best for gym shoes. Asda’s we’re far too wide.
M&S school shoes are pretty good.

*Were not we’re!

I like m&s school trousers as they keep their crease when you tumble them otherwise there isn't much difference between Tesco, asda or sainsburys.

Brought m&s white school shirts and I'm not impressed. Buying supermarket brand next time.

M&s shoes are good iv found and cheaper than other brands

@ObviousNameChage Our fifth and final child is now in the sixth form - but I wish I'd had tried M&S shoes when she was little. I hope your recommendation will be of use to someone with younger children!

@Pottedpalm you have reminded me that mine had smocks for messy stuff when they were in pre-prep. They were fab.

@Bayleaf25 Oh God, the losing stuff, too. And the coming home in a load of things that didn't belong to them, while their own stuff was in some kind of black hole. I remember another child's mother apologising for the fact that her child had gone home in my DS's entire uniform (which my DS hadn't noticed, as he would just pick up whatever was closest to hand - though I hadn't noticed either ). It's all coming back to me now.