School uniform buying - what lessons have you learnt?

[LoveBuckets]

Need to get some new kit while sales are on and thought we could pool our experiences re quality, price etc. What are your thoughts on ironing too?

Polo shirts
I've also found Adams better quality than George. But the best polo shirt brand I found is a David Luke one I got 2nd hand - does anyone know where to buy this brand? The fabric stays softer and dries with fewer wrinkles and the colour still looks bright.
I've found that for yellow, it's best to choose the brighter eggy yellow shade rather than the paler yellow which turns grey in the wash fairly quickly.

Summer Dresses
I like the A-line ones with flower buttons from M&S, synthetic so I don't need to iron them.

Knitwear
Not very impressed with the Adams girls' cardigans, still intact but looks faded and droopy. Am I expecting too much?

M&S trousers are great. Don't buy the budget ones though, the ones that are a little more expensive last ages. You don't really need to iron them either so it's a double bonus!!

Matalan polo shirts are better than M & S ones! In fact, last year I bought M&S, Matalan and Ladybird poloshirts and the Ladybird ones have lasted the best - but sadly no longer - and the M&S were the worst!

dont do it.go for second hand instead so if theyre lost,outgrown quickly etc its ok!

M&S polo's are crap. I have found the ones our school sell with the logo are best - more expensive, but don't shrink (the one I got ds has lasted through reception and yr1, we have been through a number of cheaper plain ones. I have now kitted him out with 4 more logo ones), don't need ironing, wear really well.

Tesco boys trousers work for us.

I don't notice that much difference in polo shirts. Tesco, Sainsbury's, M&S, all have lasted fine until the dds outgrew them.

i got ds1 some M&S 7-8 last june, assuming they would last him (then 5) through this year. first wash and they were smaller than the ones I was replacing.

Mine have uniform from M&S, the school shop, Adams, Next and Sainsbury's and all is fine. Just wash the jumpers inside out to keep the colour.

tescos boys trousers rubbish for us - went through at the knees really quickly. M&S much better.

In fact M&S is pretty good for uniform, although Asda polo shirts were good.

m&S have good cotton knitwear which is very cheap. I hate all of the polyester/teflon crap.

M&S polo shirts are on the small side (I ended up with logo'd ones from the schoolwear shop instead). The M&S pinafore and trousers have done well as have the cardigans (I did buy logo jumpers but dd never wears them so wont be buying them again). The cheap 2 pack of skirts from Asda were good as was the pinafore from Tesco. I also got cheap stretchy trousers from Asda which look good and last well too.

Anyone have a brand of knee-length navy socks they can recommend? Preferably with an inbuilt homing chip so that they don't vanish the way DS's current socks all seem to...

M&S

I prefer m&s for uniform (even more so now it's 3 for 2 and free delivery)
agree the polo shirts are definately on the small side.

Don't bother buying long sleeved shirts - the cuffs get so grubby. You'll get more days wear out of short sleeves!

Agree with M&S trousers being the best (the £7 ones) Also their vests and socks are lovely and soft.
But their polo shirts are awful! Ds1 is 4, bought him age 5, but it's now smaller than some of his 4yr t-shirts.

Ds is tall and very skinny and we returned trousers from BHS, M&S & Mothercare as, even with chafing adjustable waistbands, he looked like he was standing in the wind. Tesco's are the only ones to fit him. Mothercare polos take a hot wash very well!

Has anyone had any luck with online suppliers? I need gold/bright yellow polo shirts and M&S ones are paler yellow - the ones we already have have gone quite grey, as someone else suggested they would.

The brand in the school shop is Banner but they don't appear to have an online presence.

I like Adams polo shirts best, but I don't think Adams do schoolwear anymore.
Asda polo shirst are rubbish

Lots of school summer fairs have a second-hand uniform stall. Visit those that have a uniform similar to the one you need. Even better, volunteer to run the second hand uniform stall at your own school's summer fair, and you get first dibs on the decent stuff.

Make friends with mums that have a youngest or (ideally) only child the same sex as yours but two years older, and you are likely to be inundated with offers of outgrown clobber.

Buy a start-rite footgauge from the website and come the last week in August you can measure your kids feet in the comfort of your own home, enter the measurements in the startrite website and they will tell you the size. You can then go to Shoes for Kids and buy startrite shoes for half price without ever needing to set foot in a shoe shop.

frogs absolutely TOP idea re the foot gauge. Genius. Thanks.

Lovebuckets, some of my DDs official kit is David Luke, from a school outfitters type shop. They sell online, this might be the polo you meant (says gold not yellow, no pic)
here but I should jolly well hope they are good quality at £9 each.

I have to say, I got DDs DL crew-neck games shirt huge in reception and it lasted till yr4 when they changed the style so I suppose I can't complain

asda/george trad (not polo) shirts - good.

asda/george trousers - bad.

Summer dresses: M&S striped blue ones were horrid this year, pure impossible-to-iron cotton with synthetic trim. yuk. and only available online. Was anywhere else doing stripes rather than checks this year?

by polo shirts atleast 2 yrs bigger than childs age

they shrink