Is M&S uniform worth it?

[AlltheFs]

Straw poll, is M&S uniform (pinafores, skirts and trousers) worth the additional cost over supermarket if you aren’t on a tight budget?

We are about to buy reception uniform for September, not on a budget really so could get the M&S if it is worth it over Asda/Sainsbury’s. Do they wash better/last longer or not? I’m more interested in value over price and prefer to not throw clothes away. But equally I know it will get trashed at school.

Polo’s and cardigans/jumpers are cheap from school (the logo ones are inexpensive and really last, they do 50p secondhand) so we already have those covered as also have cast offs from neighbour. They are royal blue, not white polo’s fortunately!

DD is average height but long limbed, very slightly built.

My son is the most incredibly wild and maybe a little bit feral child 🤣 and his M&S uniforms are still standing. For reference he can rip a pair of Zara, H&M or next pants within a few hours. I can’t believe the uniforms we bought in M&S in January are still going and look perfect!

They always used to be way better but that was several years ago so I can't say for sure atm. I can tell you that Tesco/Asda trousers didn't even last 1 school year (one pair of Tesco's lasted 3 months). But M&S were often worn by DS2 after DS1 had grown out of them. And when they were older and had mostly stopped growing, we never needed to replace them at all - only turn up the odd hem if it came down.

I usually bought unifrom from M&S and found it lasted well and washed well too.

Also they do a range of styles for example in trousers, slim fit, longer length etc - suited my tall skinny boy and my shorter, muscular boy.

I recall once buying trousers from Asda and they didn;t wear well tho that's just one anecdote, clearly.

DD's summer dresses tho were from Sainsbury's as they were only worn for about 8 weeks! She liked the ones like a long polo shirt with a zip and little collar.

Interesting range of opinion here tho! tbf my intel is a bit old (DC in 20s) so things may have changed.

M and s or next every time.

I'm having the same conundrum as my daughter starts school in September too. I've priced up Sainsbury's and m and s and for what we want there's £20 difference and I think we will get some from m and s and some bits from Sainsbury's. We are a bit limited as we need aged 2-3 and most places seem to start at aged 3-4. If anyone has any other places good for tiny little people I would appreciate it!

Yes the difference isn’t massive for us either if we buy the M&S when there’s 20% off. I don’t mind paying more if it washes better/lasts longer as we try not to have too many clothes that get binned. But I’m realistic-we used secondhand clothes for nursery and still used them stained within reason. I have nothing against supermarket, we already buy some things there, and if it’s just as good I don’t want to spend more for a label.

DD will be 5 in Sept but has a 2-3 waist/chest but will need 5-6 length so I definitely need adjustable waists and the slim fit options. She has requested a mix of pinafore, skirts and trousers. She lives in leggings at nursery but all the girls at school seem to wear skirts or pinafores. I think skirts will be a nightmare for fit and pinafores easier with no waist. So think I’ll get a few styles of pinafore, one skirt, couple of trousers and see what wears best. Then buy more of what she wears most.

I don’t mind it growing out if it is good to pass on but don’t want shrunk.

Don’t even get me started on the bloody shoes….that’s a wait for August problem!

I rate Sainsburys for uniform, son is Y5 and I've used all the way through.

Asda has been useful for some things eg thinner jumpers (actually high cotton mix), polo shirts and rugby shorts for PE.

No reason to buy M&S as far as I'm concerned. For reception it just gets wrecked anyway.

I have a mix of asda and m&s for polo shirts and trousers (ds has logo everything else...). The trousers all seem to have the adjustable waists now (tall skinny boy) and no difference in quality in my experience. I will add that boys shorts seem to sell out early - I couldn't get them in grey for love nor money last September when he started reception and it was a million degrees...

Used to be, 10 years ago, even 5 years ago, extremely superior. Not now, quite poor actually.

I've always bought Asda uniform and it's been great. Also super cheap.

But this year I'm struggling to get trousers for my eldest so I am going to try m&s for those and they have lots of fit options.

I buy from a variety of places depending on item:

ASDA - girls trousers

NEXT - sweatshirts

John Lewis - open neck blouses

M&S - polo shirts

M and S always worked well for my tall and slim kids - adjustable waists and different lengths l and xl . I think it’s a bit thicker too . Friend passed on some Trutex and John Lewis shorts her son grew out of though and that was really good .

I wouldn't buy them again. The navy ones lose their colour very quickly. Also need to iron all the pleats back in! I go to school shop for pinafores and skirts. They are a lot more expensive but totally worth it!

I find Next and Matalan good for some school stuff too.

I rate ASDA for my tall and slim DS (age 9 waist, 5’5” tall). M&S seemed only to stock ‘sturdy’ or normal near us and he likes to feel the fabric. ASDA have lasted two DSs and are cheaper.

Ours all look pretty good. We really like the jersey school trousers and they've been through multiple kids.

I always buy M&S. I did once get some spares from Asda and Sainsbury’s but the quality wasn’t as good and they didn’t last, while M&S stands the test of time.

We need stuff to last too as my daughter doesn't grow! She is has been wearing some clothes for 18months! Most of her clothes are second or third hand too so you can notice the difference with some of the brands. I have a source of second hand school uniforms from the next size up too so I don't mind splurging a bit more as a one off!

No better than sainsburys imo

I’ve never bought anything other than M&S trousers and shorts for my tall and skinny boy as we need the slimmer waist. The quality has been brilliant - no holes or rips, plus the trousers have hidden hems which have been great for our beanpole! They’ve also survived weekly washes. I’ve sold the outgrown ones on Vinted as very good condition.

Be grateful for the royal blue polo shirts. The colour will hide all manner of sins and you won’t need to worry about them looking grubby and off white (even if you have to wash them after every wear!)

I’m really appreciative of all the thoughts so far thank you.

I have ordered a few things today from
John Lewis as they have 20% off (very little stock though) as a starter, will wait for the M&S event and in the meantime will browse when I go near a supermarket- we live rurally and the small options near us don’t do clothing but we occasionally venture to the city where such things exist 😊

As I mentioned in my OP we don’t need polos /sweatshirts/cardis as we have a stock of good used ones from school.

M&S for jersey pinafores and trousers.

Anywhere for the rest, just make sure any waistbands are adjustable.

I like more expensive brands for summer dresses (M&S, JL) as they tend to have more fabric, and options with a higher proportion of cotton. DD's favourite summer dresses were voluminous 100% cotton ones from JL, but they did need ironing.

I’ve never found the brands to be worth it, pretty much all our uniform has been grown out of before it’s been worn out and it’s always been Tesco, Sainsbury’s and George. We have been handed down various brands over the years and passed on our own with wear left in it too even the items that have done two school years. I buy big and get the adjustable waist trousers.

As well as the 20pc off in June/July there is usually 3 for 2 with M&S

I prefer Next

The adjustable waist and double hem (on the trousers) that you can let down when they grow on the trousers is great, you get much longer wear out of them. They also come with a lovely slim fit / waist whereas some other brands are a bit big round the waist. I think the cardies and jumpers from M&S and Next wash much better than Asda and Matalan.