Why is going back to school items so expensive?!

[yoodledoodle]

I have 2 Dd's, one of 8 and one of 11. Oldest DD is starting senior school. It has honestly cost me an absolute fortune.
£200 at the school uniform shop on necessary 'logo' items
£50 in M & S on shirts/tights/socks etc
£30 school bag
£15 lunch bag
£10 water bottle
£50 school shoes
£85 trainers
£20 pencil case and stationary
£50 new school coat (plain black no logo)

Plus I have younger DD who I have also spent around £200 on to cover her new school uniform and new bits that she needs.

In total over £700 on school stuff!! Plus I have ended up buying little odds and ends! I know this sounds excessive but the majority of her friends and some of it could have been bought a bit cheaper but I don't think anything was particularly excessive?!

I feel so sorry for the pressure it puts on parents who can't afford it. I don't know what the answer is but it honestly can't be to spend this amount of money on uniform

£50 on shirts & tights to me is high but not stupid. I've bought loads of white M&S NO iron shirts. I rarely do a white wash, so bought & shirts to last the week and more

Yabu.

My dd water bottle was £5 as was her new lunchbox. Her rucksack was £12. My ds needed new school trousers...I got some for less than a tenner on eBay. Due to lockdown there's lots of people selling kids school stuff that has barely been worn

[quote Porcupineintherough]@PalmarisLongus how old is your dd? And how old are the people who make her clothes?[/quote]
How would I know how old the factory workers are? What an odd question.

Aside from the logo school uniform that you have to buy from specific uniform shops, you could’ve bought the other items for less than you paid. Eg. School shirts, tights, socks from a supermarket that isn’t M&S. Ditto for school shoes, thus avoiding spending £50. £85 is a LOT for trainers. There are plenty of trainers (branded) that do not cost nearly as much as that. You could have sourced a school bag, lunch bag, coat and stationary elsewhere.

@daisypond

honestly, most girls her age all have expensive ones

No, honestly, they don’t.

Absolutely. My 14 year old DD the most we’ve spent on trainers is £40 and that was an emergency damage replacement and needed next day deal. She’s not one of the ‘super popular’ kids but has never had a problem with a pair of basic £30 nikes from sportsdirect. As for the basic uniform bits, nobody is yanking each other’s collars to check it’s M&S or Aldi!

Really?

School uniform can be pricy. We’ve just had a big hit as 3 need new uniform and 2 of these are in independent schools with some compulsory kit with logos. having moved areas we don’t know parents of older children (there is plenty of exchanging used informally, and we will pass on the stuff we’ve bought new to friends we’ve made with younger children). However, anything we don’t need official we have got from Marks & Spencer on the 3 for 2 deal, or Declathon. £85 trainers? We’ve just got plain white ones from Tesco.