Blazers confuse me

[teaandtoast44]

Sorry this is going to sound very silly.

Ds has just started senior school and has to wear a blazer everyday as standard. School are quite strict about not taking it off, even in the soaring temperatures we had last week.

I'm looking at the other end of the spectrum and wondering what he's meant to wear over it on cold or wet days? The type of puffa jacket type coats he's had in the past would look ridiculous as the blazer would be hanging out underneath. I guess he could take it off and carry it but it's a big bulky thing and would probably end up getting lost that way.

Is there a style etiquette for wearing coats on top of blazers? Do people just not do it or does it mean having a certain style of coat?

🤣🤣

do you have teenagers?

I wore a duffel coat to school but other than on a 60 year old Latin teacher I can't imagine one making an appearance at my children school 😂(no actual Latin is taught, just an example)

I see all kinds of other coats, it doesn't matter if the coat is shorter than the blazer, weating whatever is the current trend is way more important ime

I guess yours don't wear coats then?

My son's primary had a duffel coat as part of the uniform (as well as blazer and tie) and most of the children wore it. His secondary school has compulsory Latin. It remains to be seen what the coat situation will be in the winter!

Same here. Mine have continued wearing their blazers in 32 degrees even though they didn't have to, because they're so useful. (I am now going to have to wash them though!!).

(NB none of their Latin teachers would be seen dead in a duffel coat...l)

A normal coat is fine, if his blazer is hanging out either his blazer is too large or he has picked a cropped coat.

Mine liked the blazers because of all the pockets for their stuff (including the secret internal one with a zip where you could stash a forbidden phone)

School coats should be practical. Not a fashion statement. So it doesn't really matter if his blazer is visible underneath as long as he is warm and dry.

Although to be honest, secondary schools don't tend to wear their coats. Going without a coat in the depths of winter is like a resilience test to them.

Totally agree with this. Blazers should be banned.

They are very expensive
Uncomfortable
Not practical
All the reasons op said, too hot in Summer
Can't wear a coat properly in Winter
Ridiculous, hideous garments

Mine has the classic north face coat that all the 'cool kids' have. Its the only coat he would wear.

I disagree. I think they're smart and practical (pockets), and ours cost 25 quid (not dirt cheap but not outrageous). One of mine refuses to wear a coat, the other just wears a puffer over the top if it's really cold (fine as long as you avoid ones with narrow sleeves). No different from my husband wearing a coat over his jacket in winter. I do too - I often wear a jacket to work but put an overcoat on top if it's cold.

Teacher here. Our school has just introduced blazers - only compulsory for y7/8 to have currently, surprised how many y9s and 10s have chosen get one anyway! Definitely they can take them off whenever they wish, can't imagine what kind of control freaky school wouldn't allow this!

Blazers are ridiculous and out of date. These days there are very few jobs where there is such a strict dress code as in some schools.
Making them wear them in blazing heat is cruel and will actually have a negative impact on their learning. How can you concentrate if you are too hot to be comfortable

Ds usually loses his winter coat by about December. He then just wears his blazer. If kids wear coats, then tend to wear puffy black coats that suck up all the water, because they think it looks like they're not wearing uniform.

Some kids, especially girls, prefer to keep blazers on in hot weather because they're scared of being seen to have sweat patches.

It must be area dependent. I’m also in Scotland - the private schools all wear blazers but the local state high school to us also do. Not sure how strict it is, but I do see them all wearing it on their way to school.

Coats barely worn unless exceptionally cold here. And goes on over the top of the blazer.

What i see much more often is a black hoodie going on under blazer. This is then removed on arrival at school.

OP they weather proof between years 6 and 7 and spend the next five years refusing to wear a coat, ever.

The only people who wear blazers for work are yacht club commodores!

They are ridiculous garments for teenagers. Essentially it is a plastic bag lined with sponge. Looks smart hanging on the coat hanger in the shop. Put a teenager in it and within weeks it turns into an out of shape biohazard and smells like a landfill site.

A lot of schools don't have lockers or have them hidden away in the part of the school no one can find. Cloakrooms are long gone.

My only tip is make sure your DC don't put their phones in the outside pockets. This where the plastic bag aspect of the blazer comes in. The outside pockets can and do fill with rainwater. DD drowned two phones this way.

@TestingTestingWonTooFree one of my DCs goes to a school which insists on plain dark coats. I have raised the road safety point but they won't give in!
OP, both of mine have, and wear, dark ski jacket type things for when it's really cold. And they have lightweight waterproofs for if it's just rainy.

Blazers are horrible but ds does find his useful for storing personal items including bus pass etc.

Summer uniform is shorts allowed and no blazer and he actually found it quite annoying to have to carry his wallet and phone in his bag as school trousers and shorts don't generally have deep enough pockets whereas the blazer absolutely does.

In the winter he is expected to use black or navy coat and generally he makes do with his black knit jumper underneath blazer and a rain mac for wet bus journeys which lives stuffed in the school bag otherwise. He does have a nice thick winter coat but it's such a faff at school and they get left behind so easily.

@TestingTestingWonTooFree @Magpiecomplex and any else interested in the visibility aspect of dark coats, I use a roll of visibility tape and stick in various places on the back rain mac and winter coat and also his school bag. He has a 45 minute wait and an hour's bus journey along rural roads in the evening and the tape actually shows up very well and doesn't fall off in the wash.

Now, if anyone can point me to a large capacity backpack which stands up to schoolbooks, pe kit and trainers or football boots and a lunchbag without having to carry anything on the outside AND doesn't break in approx one term I would be eternally grateful. Those poxy backpacks you see in tesco and the like are absolutely not fit for his use. He currently has an Adidas defender backpack which is big enough but the material around the zip is already fraying and he's only had it since April (so no heavy winter kit in there yet)

Many schools insist on blazers until they give permission for them to be removed. This is a ridiculous rule and would have added yet another layer to my daughter's mental health problems and overall 'what can we do to make life worse' approach that her senior school had. (Forcing her , a chronic asthmatic, to run in a heatwave, forcing her to sit on the top deck of a school bus where pupils were smoking, meaning she had to walk, denying she'd been assaulted when she was knocked unconscious...).
So yeah, it's a thing.

Totally agree. A smart jacket does not signify professional these days, so why do we persist with this nonsense?

I got my DD a really light, black rain coat big enough to go over blazer

@Pascha Thanks, good tip! Re bags, mine have had success with UnderArmour bags, which seem to last pretty well.