Can someone please explain why a decent school run dress is so important?

[poshsinglemum]

I do love a good dress but most of the time in this country it's too cold to wear one.
When reading the syle and beauty section it always amuses me when poeple say ''look at this school run dress!''.
Do you put it on just to do the school run? Is it to impress the other mums?
I guess my dd isn't at school yet so I've yet to endure this fashion parade.

it is a dress which you bung on in a hurry in order to look presentable, say when you have been gardening or sunbathing or cleaning the loo. nothing more.

DS goes to a posh private school. 80% of the mums on the school run are wearing exactly what I am. Jeans, t-shirt/long shirt and jacket, trainers.

Some mums work and so are dressed for that and often there is gym gear.

Can't imagine dressing for the school run. Is a weird thought.

Dressing for the school run?- always seemed bizarre.
But I do know a lot of people judge a person by how they dress....hence everyone thinks I am some sort of tramp

It is not. TBH, I'd wonder more why someone was wearing a dress than if they were wearing a pair of jeans. That's if I noticed in the first place, which is unlikely! I go in a tracksuit with fleece.

I did the school run this morning with my nightie tucked into my jeans and one of my DH's huge fleeces slung on top to hide the nightie - classy bird me

Disclaimer I do not and never have shopped in Tesco in my jammies, got to have some standards no?

I have to confess I am a bit of a fashion snob and I do notice when people dress well or badly but I am not exactly Claudia Schiffer and have no cash for designer labels so I am not one to talk.

I don't dress up for very much, and when my kids were at school I definitely didn't dress up for the school run.

I assume that because I look like I've just fallen out of bed, people will think I'm an intellectual.

I more think of needing a good duffle coat or raincoat for the school run.

agree Morloth, at dd and ds indep school, either gym gear or suits it seems, me included.

There is a bunch of mums outside DDs school every morning, perfect hair, perfect make up perfect clothes, they don't work else they woudlnt have time to hang around blocking the school gates gossiping making sure their children are safely in class! it makes me im lucky if i brush my hair some mornings

wow I just wear jeans (or more recently massive stretchy trousers I got off ebay lol) and a top of some kind with my giant green coat and the shoes my husband got me for christmas which dont seem to match anything no matter how pretty they are!. I have NEVER seen a single person turn up in a dress the most "dressed up" I have seen is probably people coming from work but I dont suppose that really counts as thats what they were wearing anyway!

I wore the same clothes as the rest of the day. Taking the kids to school was a minor part of my day (when they were too young to walk alone)

LONG storyto the school run
fishie summed it up
its nto a dress to wear to show off
in fact the opposite
its oen to cover up when lounign au jardin

Still dont get the school run dress malarkey.
Do people really care what people think about them that much?

I really couldn't give a gnats fart what other people think of me - stopped caring yonks ago

In fact not only do people care but shouldnt flatter themselves that people notice either!!
Liking gnats farts!

read the thread
its not aout showing off

people round here don't bother, the less clothes the better (especially the blokes)

The school run dress is an MN institution. I have bought several SRD'sthat have been recommended by other MN-ers...and I don't even do the school run!

and, For Fucks Sake, some of us can't wear fucking jeans...

People who are all ...'oh I wonder why on earth people arn't just wearing jeans' are tossers.

If they really really don't care what people wear then why do they care if I am in a dress!
Put on a fucking tutu and chaps if you want . I don't care what you wear so stop festering over what I do.
It isn't morally superior to wear jeans. It doesn't make you especially laid back. I bet I spend less time getting dressed than most jeans wearers.

pagwatch I hate wearing jeans, and instead have a collection of dresses that I can just throw on with no hassle at all. I get the whole "ooh, look at you making an effort" thing, which I never understood just because I'm not a denim fan.

IT ISN'T A CASE OF SHOWING OFF

It is to disguise the fact that you are wearing shite clothes about your daily business, point being that the perfect dress can just be thrown on. Over a bikini, should the sun be sufficient to sunbathe. Or over underwear I suppose if you are weird enough to wear only that to clean in (i knew a woman who did that)

dresses are far easier to chuck on in a hurry than a pair of jeans I am a convert to dresses

But if you are gardening , decorating etc, why not just wear what you are wearing to go to the school?
Why change?
If you have mud on your jeans, people might think
' oh SFD has been gardening'
They may think nothing at all.
I dont understand all the fuss about haveing to 'dress' or 'change' for the school run regardless of what you change into

The best outfit i ever wore on the school run was a dripping wet through pair of jeans, T and denim jacket festooned with nice green pond weed - I had fell into our fish pond and didn't have time to change