NOW CLOSED Matalan school uniform testers feedback thread

[NewGirlHelenMumsnet]

This thread is for the 50 MNers who have been testing Matalan school uniform with their child. Thank you for taking part - we'd like you to add feedback twice - once when your child has just started wearing the items you bought, and again in a few weeks time when you've put the uniform through its paces by wearing and washing it lots.

Below are some questions to get you started but please feel free to add other comments too. In a few weeks we'll add some more questions for your second lot of feedback. Everyone who adds 2 lots of feedback on this thread will be entered into a prize draw where one winner will get a £250 high street voucher and two runners-up will get a £50 high street voucher each.

Please state what items of Matalan school uniform you bought and the age and gender of your child in replying.

Q1 What were your first impressions of the uniform? Please think about the fit, quality and cost of the items you bought when you answer.
Q2 How did you find the sizes? Did they fit well?

Q3 What does your child think of their new uniform? Did they find it comfortable? Did they/you think what you had bought was fashionable/stylish (within the limits of school uniform!)?
Q4 Do you think that the items you bought are good value for money? If so, why? If not, why not?
Q5 And how did you find shopping for uniform in store?

Thanks
MNHQ

so we're ok then? [smil] I've added mine already but got a reminder too

you simply can't get the staff...

Yes Maxy - you're ok - you've fallen foul of my mistake too, sorry!

But seriously...can those who haven't added their second lot of feedback yet please do so asap? I'm PMing you all now with another gentle reminder..

1. Has the uniform worn well or not? Would you say it's durable? Have you had to tackle any nasty stains? If so, were they easy to get out or not?

uniform has worn very well

1. How has the uniform coped with being washed repeatedly? And how easy or difficult is it to iron (if applicable!)?

Great

1. Have the items you bought kept their fit and shape well or not? If you bought any items with pleats in, did the pleats stay in or not?

Its kept all shape and skirt is still perfect

1. If your DC found the uniform comfortable to start with, do they still find it so? If they originally found it uncomfortable, have they found it more comfortable with time or not? Its been been fine. i did have to put a tuck in the skirt waistband to fit

1. How would you say the zips, buttons or other fastenings on the items you bought have coped with being used a lot? All fine

1. If it came up in conversation, would you recommend Matalan school uniform to a friend? If so, why? If not, why not? i would, but would comment on the sizing problem that I found and lack of choice

1. Has the uniform worn well or not? Would you say it's durable? Have you had to tackle any nasty stains? If so, were they easy to get out or not?

The hem on DS1's trousers has scuffed really badly at the bottom of every pair of Teflon coated grey trousers, unlike similar trousers I bought and paid more for last year. The trousers for my 4 year old though haven't done the same thing and they were a cheaper pair of the Matalan school trousers.

1. How has the uniform coped with being washed repeatedly? And how easy or difficult is it to iron (if applicable!)?

None of the 5 pairs of grey school trousers I chose have washed especially well, in particular the ones with the Teflon protection, they already have noticeable faded patches on the legs and considering we bought 3 pairs which are rotated they haven't even been washed that much. Grass stains did come out though. I don't iron the school trousers as they fold really neatly straight out of the tumble drier.

1. Have the items you bought kept their fit and shape well or not? If you bought any items with pleats in, did the pleats stay in or not?

Pleats have stayed in and they've all kept their shape well.

1. If your DC found the uniform comfortable to start with, do they still find it so? If they originally found it uncomfortable, have they found it more comfortable with time or not?

Neither DS1 or DS2 have had any complaints about the trousers.

1. How would you say the zips, buttons or other fastenings on the items you bought have coped with being used a lot?

All good with no issues.

1. If it came up in conversation, would you recommend Matalan school uniform to a friend? If so, why? If not, why not?

I may recommend Matalan purely based on the low costs but would suggest to anyone that you buy more pairs of trousers or be prepared to replace them sooner as they seem to show signs of wear quickly.

1. Has the uniform worn well or not? Would you say it's durable? Have you had to tackle any nasty stains? If so, were they easy to get out or not?

No nasty stains, a miracle. Washing fine especially the trousers. Seems very durable, no bobbles.

1. How has the uniform coped with being washed repeatedly? And how easy or difficult is it to iron (if applicable!)? So far coped fine. Minimal ironing required, or applied!

1. Have the items you bought kept their fit and shape well or not? If you bought any items with pleats in, did the pleats stay in or not?

No pleated items, but cardigan has kept its shape well

1. If your DC found the uniform comfortable to start with, do they still find it so? If they originally found it uncomfortable, have they found it more comfortable with time or not?

Been comfortable with it throughout.

1. How would you say the zips, buttons or other fastenings on the items you bought have coped with being used a lot?

No problems there.

1. If it came up in conversation, would you recommend Matalan school uniform to a friend? If so, why? If not, why not?

Would recommend for choice, and price. So far pleased with purchases, so yes if the conversation came up, would be happy to recommend on basis of my experience.

P.S. Thank you again, the uniform came in v handy.

1. Has the uniform worn well or not? Would you say it's durable? Have you had to tackle any nasty stains? If so, were they easy to get out or not?

DS has only worn the White school shirts and they seem to be fine.

1. How has the uniform coped with being washed repeatedly? And how easy or difficult is it to iron (if applicable!)?

washes well and doesn't get ironed in my house !

1. Have the items you bought kept their fit and shape well or not? If you bought any items with pleats in, did the pleats stay in or not?

White school shirts for 16 year old boy , so have kept shape well.

1. If your DC found the uniform comfortable to start with, do they still find it so? If they originally found it uncomfortable, have they found it more comfortable with time or not?

He refuses to wear the black trousers. Apparently the pockets are wrong , not big enough.

1. How would you say the zips, buttons or other fastenings on the items you bought have coped with being used a lot?

All good ,

1. If it came up in conversation, would you recommend Matalan school uniform to a friend? If so, why? If not, why not?

Would say it's worth a look !

Thanks again for the vouchers, much appreciated.

I did doubt myself as getting so forgetful these days

1. Has the uniform worn well or not? Would you say it's durable? Have you had to tackle any nasty stains? If so, were they easy to get out or not?

The trousers have worn really well. They are very slightly paler at the knees but you have to really look to notice that. The polo shirts aren't as white as they used to be - I wash at 40 degrees with fairy non bio and a scoop of vanish powder. They do have some stains that won't come out - very faint remnants of bolognaise, and very noticeable whiteboard marker pens (but they don't wash out of anything!)

1. How has the uniform coped with being washed repeatedly? And how easy or difficult is it to iron (if applicable!)?

Washing - see above. Ironing - easy peasy.

1. Have the items you bought kept their fit and shape well or not? If you bought any items with pleats in, did the pleats stay in or not?

Trousers - yes. Polo shirt seams are starting to travel sideways. Nothing pleated.

1. If your DC found the uniform comfortable to start with, do they still find it so? If they originally found it uncomfortable, have they found it more comfortable with time or not?

No complaints from small fussy boy = comfortable!

1. How would you say the zips, buttons or other fastenings on the items you bought have coped with being used a lot?

They all still work and nothing has fallen off. So very pleased.

1. If it came up in conversation, would you recommend Matalan school uniform to a friend? If so, why? If not, why not?

I would definately recommend it if they had a Matalan nearby because its well priced, looks smart and has lasted well.

Thanks very much for running this test - its really helped me out.

1. Has the uniform worn well or not? Would you say it's durable? Have you had to tackle any nasty stains? If so, were they easy to get out or not?

The uniform has lasted well, washed well etc and been comparable to more expensive bradns we have such as m&s. We havent had any nasty stains to try and get out.

1. How has the uniform coped with being washed repeatedly? And how easy or difficult is it to iron (if applicable!)?

ironing is a doddle! also most of it can come out of the tumble dryer and be folded with no need to iron. the items we have have not had any bobbling or fading associated with some other brands and repeated washing.

1. Have the items you bought kept their fit and shape well or not? If you bought any items with pleats in, did the pleats stay in or not?

girls pinafore the pleasts have stayed in well, i do iron these in after washing just because i like a nice crips finsih to pleasts but i should imagone lots of people would not bother and they would look fine.

1. If your DC found the uniform comfortable to start with, do they still find it so? If they originally found it uncomfortable, have they found it more comfortable with time or not?

nothinhg other than the usual moans about wearing uniform, but noting to do with the quality of fabrics etc

1. How would you say the zips, buttons or other fastenings on the items you bought have coped with being used a lot?

the zips and trims have stayed put, better than sainsburys uniform whihc after first wash of a pinafore the buckle came off and the zip pull!

1. If it came up in conversation, would you recommend Matalan school uniform to a friend? If so, why? If not, why not?

yes i would recommend matalan uniform, been pleasantly surprised, if only my local store offered a bigger selection and was tidier i would shop there more often.

1. Has the uniform worn well or not? Would you say it's durable? Have you had to tackle any nasty stains? If so, were they easy to get out or not?

Unfortunately the polo shirts have been binned, they dried like cardboard and are impossible to keep white, they have also gathered around the stitching for the seems. The pinafore dress is looking ok, but I have had to replace a button, the tights have gone in the bin also as they laddered quite early on.

1. How has the uniform coped with being washed repeatedly? And how easy or difficult is it to iron (if applicable!)?

The pinafore has washed well, I have hung it to dry so it hasn't needed ironing.

1. Have the items you bought kept their fit and shape well or not? If you bought any items with pleats in, did the pleats stay in or not?

polo shirts, absolutely not!! The pinafore has retained it shape pretty well and DD will continue to wear it.

1. If your DC found the uniform comfortable to start with, do they still find it so? If they originally found it uncomfortable, have they found it more comfortable with time or not?

DD complained about the polo shirts, especially the embroidered flower on the front, she said it was itchy, she likes the pinafore

1. How would you say the zips, buttons or other fastenings on the items you bought have coped with being used a lot?

As previously mentioned, I have had to sew the button back onto the pinafore

1. If it came up in conversation, would you recommend Matalan school uniform to a friend? If so, why? If not, why not?

Not on the current experience, if I had paid for the polo shirts I would have taken them back to the shop and complained about them

1. Has the uniform worn well or not? Would you say it's durable? Have you had to tackle any nasty stains? If so, were they easy to get out or not?

yes the uniform has worn well. I ahve found the polo shirts have lost a bit of shape but they all do that. Nos stains so far dd is a very clean eater. got yogurt stains off easily.

1. How has the uniform coped with being washed repeatedly? And how easy or difficult is it to iron (if applicable!)?

I don't iron uniform and it doesn't seem yo need it!( in my humble opinion!)
repeated washing has caused the polo shirts to loose their shape a little but that really does happen with all polo shirts . They don't appear to have shrunk like the m & s and tesco ones do.

1. Have the items you bought kept their fit and shape well or not? If you bought any items with pleats in, did the pleats stay in or not?

yes all items appeared to have retained their shape fit and pleats

1. If your DC found the uniform comfortable to start with, do they still find it so? If they originally found it uncomfortable, have they found it more comfortable with time or not?

yes my dd loves wearing it and doesn't complain about being uncomfortable. she probably fimds it more comfortable now it has been washed and worn

1. How would you say the zips, buttons or other fastenings on the items you bought have coped with being used a lot?

no problems at all

1. If it came up in conversation, would you recommend Matalan school uniform to a friend? If so, why? If not, why not?

yes I would but no more than m &s, tesco and sainsburys but it is a good alternative.I have to say i was suprosed by the amount of kids clothes matalan had so would definiltey reccomend them generally for kids clothes.

Apologies for not adding feedback on the first round, for some reason I have missed messages and also not really been on here much for the past few weeks.

So here goes.......feedback to both sets of questions!

Q1 What were your first impressions of the uniform? Please think about the fit, quality and cost of the items you bought when you answer.

I was buying items for my dd aged 7. We managed to get trousers, white shirts, grey skirts in her size. The impressions of the uniform were good but there was not very much stock available in her size.

Q2 How did you find the sizes? Did they fit well?

I always have to size up as dd is tall and with a long body but the uniform sizes seemed true to and fitted very well.

Q3 What does your child think of their new uniform? Did they find it comfortable? Did they/you think what you had bought was fashionable/stylish (within the limits of school uniform!)?
My child was pleased with her uniform, she is quite fussy with styles but these seemd to fit the bill and were fashionable to her. I felt that the white shirts were a bit boxy and boyish for girls but she likes them

Q4 Do you think that the items you bought are good value for money? If so, why? If not, why not?
Yes good value for money and compared well to other brands of uniform.

Q5 And how did you find shopping for uniform in store?
The uniform area in my local store was small, there wasn't much on offer in my childs size but this may have been because we were shopping quite close to the beginning of term. Otherwise very convenient to shop there.

1. Has the uniform worn well or not? Would you say it's durable? Have you had to tackle any nasty stains? If so, were they easy to get out or not?

It seems to have worn well so far but no tricky stains to deal with as yet.

1. How has the uniform coped with being washed repeatedly? And how easy or difficult is it to iron (if applicable!)?

It does get washed quite frequently and seems to be standing up well to that. I have to admit that I don't really iron uniform but one thing in Mataln's favour is that it doesn't seem to need it either!

1. Have the items you bought kept their fit and shape well or not? If you bought any items with pleats in, did the pleats stay in or not?

The skirts haven't been worn as much as other items but the pleats have stayed in well. Everything else has also kept its shape well.

1. If your DC found the uniform comfortable to start with, do they still find it so? If they originally found it uncomfortable, have they found it more comfortable with time or not?

No complaints as yet. The most common complaint we sometimes have is that labels are itchy and uncomfortable but she hasn't mentioned this at all. The shirts were very stiff when first worn but they have softened over time.

1. How would you say the zips, buttons or other fastenings on the items you bought have coped with being used a lot?

I don't feel we have really used them for long enough to comment on this yet.

1. If it came up in conversation, would you recommend Matalan school uniform to a friend? If so, why? If not, why not?

Yes I would recommend Matalan uniform to others as it seems as good as supermarket brands.

1 it's worn fine, no particular stainage

2 it's washed fine as well, um, I don't iron it I tumble dry and hope for the best - which actually it's been ok for.

3 Nothing's shrunk, but to be fair it's mostly shirts I have.

4 They were fine to start with

5 Buttons and zips all still working

6 no, I probably wouldn't - purely because of how hard it was to find anything that fit either of my DC

Apologies for the delay.

1. Has the uniform worn well or not? Would you say it's durable? Have you had to tackle any nasty stains? If so, were they easy to get out or not? Shirts, polo shirts and PE shirts are all washing well. My children are quite tidy so haven't needed to tackle any stains.

1. How has the uniform coped with being washed repeatedly? And how easy or difficult is it to iron (if applicable!)? Weekly washing seems fine. I don't iron.

1. Have the items you bought kept their fit and shape well or not? If you bought any items with pleats in, did the pleats stay in or not? Polo shirts have held their shape well - even after tumble drying. Shirts and PE shorts still look fine.

1. If your DC found the uniform comfortable to start with, do they still find it so? If they originally found it uncomfortable, have they found it more comfortable with time or not? Polo shirts have become really soft - so DS2 is liking these even more - he has eczema and loves soft clothing. Shirts and PE shorts haven't really altered.

1. How would you say the zips, buttons or other fastenings on the items you bought have coped with being used a lot? all still attached

1. If it came up in conversation, would you recommend Matalan school uniform to a friend? If so, why? If not, why not? Probably in terms of quality - but the lack of choice in our local store would put me off recommending it.

A quick amendment to my previous post(s)...

One of my comments was about the adjustable waist elastic not being sewn into the trousers and therefore being easy to lose when you are trying to change it (invariably in a hurry, so it slips and chaos ensues).

I've got two different styles of trousers for ds1 - one cargo style and one plain. Looking at them more closely, seems the cargo style has the adjustable waist elastic unattached whilst the plain trousers have it attached. So you're half way there Matalan - please can all trousers have this elastic attached!

Sorry not to have realised this for my other feedback posts

Just wondering who won the High Street Vouchers in the draw for this?

Congrats! but

Sorry - posted these on Winners corner but forgot to add it here - winners were:

Susiey - £250 high street voucher
tabulahrasa - £50 high street voucher
treetrunkthighs - £50 high street voucher

Congratulations all!