To think swimwear is a basic year round purchase?

[MangosteenSoda]

I forgot DS’s granny had asked to take him swimming and left the house without his swim shorts. Once I remembered, it was easier to buy a cheap pair than dash back home again… or so I thought.

I tried Asda, Matalan and Morrisons with no luck. He ended up with a wetsuit from the middle of Aldi which was excellent value at £4.99 but is probably going to look a bit odd at the pool (he won’t care about that).

Surely swimming is a year round basic activity, especially for children. I’m really surprised I couldn’t find any swimwear.

Have you only ever been in a Co-op?

Agree OP!

I’m not being silly! No supermarket near me has a clothing section at all. The best you get is a few packs of tights and socks.

Do you live in the uk? Every full size (I.e not a local/express/convenience store) tesco, asda and sainsburys I've ever been to has a clothing section. Quite a few Morrisons do too.

Say what now?

The shop assistant said they carry it, but it was all gone. Clearly the smart parents get in there early.

When DS does swimming at school I just send him in his little holiday bermudas (school don’t have a swimming uniform requirement) so I’ve never tried to buy any before.

I actually find those shiny tight swim pants a bit unappealing at any age (unless swimming competitively), but I would have been happy to find a pair today.

Yes, in the U.K. My nearest is Sainsbury’s, but there’s also Lidl not too far. There used to be a Morrison’s, but it closed down - that didn’t sell clothes either. I’m in London, so maybe the stores just aren’t big enough for clothing sections. I’m not talking about the small convenience-type stores.

ok but have you never....left London?
Honestly nearly all supermarkets have a clothing section.

We had the exact same issue trying to get our baby DD a swimming costume a few days ago - couldn’t find one anywhere so ended up shelling out £20 on one delivered via Prime on Amazon, the fabric for which is about the size of my hand! Madness.

It’s no wonder the high street is dying when you can’t find basics like swimwear on most high streets.

Tbh, this was one of those aibus in which the OP firmly believes she is not bu and no number of people telling me to conjure up a Decathlon out of thin air could have persuaded me otherwise.

But I hadn’t realised the extent of the struggle. Maybe it can be Mumsnet’s next campaign issue: #KeepBritainAfloat

My nearest Sainsbury's doesn't. It sells socks and tights but has no clothing section, as it's quite a small shop (a normal Sainsburys, not a Local one). My nearest Lidl and Waitrose also have no clothes section.

I'm in the UK, not in London, and as I've just posted my nearest Sainsburys does not have a clothing section. It's not a huge shop but not a Sainsburys Local, and just doesn't have the room for a clothing section.

I had this issue last winter. My son had a growth spurt and needed new swim shorts and I went in about 5 or 6 shops before I found any. Really frustrating. Swimming isn't just for holidays!

I don’t think anyone is suggesting that every single supermarket in the realm sells clothes.

Rather that a pp being so surprised that I might reasonably look for an item of clothing in a supermarket is a bit strange because, presumably, most people know that lots of supermarkets sell clothes.

The pp reacted in much the same way as most people would react if I mentioned that I popped into Tesco for a wedding dress and couldn’t understand why I couldn’t find one.

@Malfi I live in London and pretty much all of the 'big four' supermarkets sell clothes. I live near a massive Sainsbury's. I go there more often to buy clothes than I do food 🤣

Om another occasion, if time is not an issue eBay usually has quite a few but you would need to buy-it-now and allow several days for postage. cheap, though.
eg -
www.ebay.co.uk/itm/195043872625?hash=item2d69854f71:g:ocAAAOSwr7Jieu2S&amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAAA4KB0JDpuwUK6V3edw8J4DbugMeKqyMEn9cBlpGoeEYBqjYMS31fRWHLuHmHz2g%2BzhkPbWpCdhfKi6JD8MsWYUIOpwVlcDT0qltWOVufB2XUiFciJPC9%2B6Bn1UPaNQU5JpxxNYHSrMObiPnBkr%2Fv860Mb%2FrmebAZLQqBowJTBIWNnNWNznrEZEA2vx8uJVN9kOOtp0NX6i7hNtkqjQssr17WU3Rpt%2FDMG82yvhJcXZKsledoczT9AHu7z3LYXNFPMkHliXdpawbOoAeL8wYXOYMsIKEWZhOVmUC7EvnvffUiy%7Ctkp%3ABFBMyujjjPdg

Er, where were they going swimming? Didn’t you think to just buy them at the pool? Pretty much every leisure centre I’ve been to sells swimwear.

I had the same issue last week. Realised about an hour before DCs swimming lesson that their costumes had disintegrated after the summer and were see through. Nothing to be found! They did their swimming lesson in their short wetsuits. I ordered some from M&S in the end. The only other options were expensive branded swimsuits or driving 45 minutes to decathlon.

As mentioned upthread, no I didn’t think of that 🤷🏻‍♀️

Partly because I haven’t been to the pool they were going to, partly because I didn’t want my ex-mil to have to stress about sorting swimwear and partly because I’m a bit dim.

In a sports shop, yes. In a supermarket, no.

Most of the supermarkets near me have the basic black / navy kids swimsuits year round in the school uniform section. Although they don’t always have a full range of sizes in.

TBH buying a swimsuit at the leisure centre wouldn’t have occurred to me either, although it seems like an obvious solution now it’s been pointed out.

Although I did go to our local leisure centre looking for a swimming cap when DC was due to start school swimming lessons, and they’d sold out of those, so I’m not sure I’d completely trust that solution. (The letter the school sent out about the swimming lessons recommended buying the swimming caps at the leisure centre. Maybe all the other parents got there first?)

I agree it drives me nuts. They also sell off their summer stock at the start of august so if you want shorts or a bathers at the end of august for a holiday you are screwed!

None of the supermarkets near me are massive, though. They’re not the small ones, but neither are they huge supersized hypermarkets. I can’t see them ever stocking clothes for children or adults. Socks, tights, and some schoolwear in summer is all you get -and that’s only at Sainsbury’s.

I only know because we’re usually at the pool when I realise I’m sans culottes so I’ve made swimwear distress purchases from several pools in my time! They’re usually a bit pricier than supermarket but not crazy otherwise no one would buy them and also usually a decent brand.

YANBU.

DP went into one of the biggest M&S in the Midlands last month to buy some swim shorts for our holiday. They didn’t have a single pair in stock.
When he pointed out to the manager that people do actually go on holiday in September, he was told to order online, which isn’t exactly helpful when you’re flying the next day…
It’s no wonder physical retailers are dying. It’s like they have an actual death wish.