Thread to review school uniform bought for 2010/11 academic year

[galois]

I thought it might be helpful, for all those preparing to buy next year's uniform, if we had a thread to review last year's uniform purchases, giving marks out of 5 for value (1 dirt cheap to 5 ££££££) and quality (1 fell apart on day one to 5 looking smart still).

trousers: M&S boys trousers on 3 for 2 - value 4/5, quality 4/5
polo shirts: Trutex - value 3/5, quality 5/5
long-sleeve shirts: M&S on 3 for 2 - value 4/5, quality 3/5
shoes: startrite - value 3/5, quality 5/5
coat: regatta - value 4/5, quality 4/5
shorts: John Lewis - value 3/5, quality 4/5

Trousers: M&S girls' yoga trousers (don't tell the school, tghey're supposed to be tailored but they do look it!): value 4/5, quality 5/5
Poloshirts: Trutex - value 0/5 (I resent being ripped off by sole suppliers who collude with schools to force us to buy logo'd polyester crap). Quality 1/5 (wears well, but it's 60% polyester and foresee eczema probs when it gets hot)
Shoes: Richter (Austrian posh brand, my kids have awkward feet, aaaaaagh!!!) - value 4/5, quality 5/5 (the little buggers have outgrown them!)
Coat: Next black duffle, value 5/5, quality 5/5 - they're good for another winter.

Boy's trousers
NExt - 5/5 for quality 5/5 value. They are fantastic, unlike:
M&S - 3/5 for quality. 3/5 value. They don't wash well and have gone light grey (charcoal is supposed colour) on the knees. Fabric has worn.

The Next trousers are brilliant and will definitely buy again.

tights: grey tights from m and s value 4/5 quality 3/5 (no actual holes and dont fall down but went bobbly very quickly, within 2-3 washes)
polo shirts: white from asda value 2/5 quality 4/5 still nearly perfect
pleated skirts: grey from asda value 2/5 quality 4/5
pinafore: grey with zip from tesco value 2/5 quality 4/5
vests: primark value 1/5 quality 2/5
coat: school suppliers (school wear for less) value 3/5 quality 4.5
shoes: clarks value 4/5 quality 4/5

for september, found nearly entire set of uniform in fab condition at a bootfair for £1 an item, all m and s or logo'ed school stuff

Tesco have fantastic school tights, very soft and don't bobble at all. I've passed them down from DD 1 to DD2 and still no bobbling.

Agree about Next boy's trousers. DS's still look as good as new despite him rolling around the playground in them on a daily basis. 5/5.

M&S shoes and plimsolls are still going strong. 4/5

Next polo shirts have washed horribly but that might be my fault, think I washed them with something too dark, they are now a murky yellow colour instead of a bright sunflower yellow. Tumble drier has shrunk them a bit too though. 2/5

Boy's 2ndary trousers - M&S - value 4/5, quality 4/5
Boys white shirts - M&S - value 4/5, quality 3/5 (lots of marks that won't come out tho thats probably DS1 more than M&S!)
Girl's polo shirts - Asda - value 4/5 v cheap, quality 1/5, looked crappy v soon. Skimpy and thin and stained now too.
Girl's skirt - M&S - value 4/5, quality 5/5, the only one she will wear and it's pleated and comes to her knee (quite an achievement as she is v thin and often needs a small size for that reason - but then it's short!)
Girl's long socks - tights have been rejected because they are icky (have to agree) - M&S over the knee grey socks, value 3/5, quality 5/5, total triumph, means she has worn a skirt (my pref) not trousers (her pref) huzzah!
DS2's stuff all DS1's hand on - from M&S so quality must be OK.

Girls cotton trousers - Asda (via Ebay) - value 5/5, quality 4/5 ( wore through one pair at the knee, but they are on their 2nd child and cotton does wear faster.)

Girls red polos - Asda - value 5/5, quality 3/5 (Nice that they are pure cotton with girls styling, but have faded a bit)

Girls fairtrade cotton skirt - value 5/5, quality 4/5 (Love that these are cotton, do need ironing though)

Socks - M&S grey over knee - value 2/5, quality 4/5

Red Tights - Tesco - value 5/5, quality 2/5 (Have gone baggy round the bum and DD complains they are itchy)

Grey tights - Tesco Value - value 5/5, quality 5/5 (Strangely the value range are better than the normal range.)

Pumps - M&S -value 5/5, quality 5/5 (DD loves the Mary Jane style, says her feet don't get too hot. Come up big though, especially for skinny feet.)

Shoes - Startrite - value 1/5, quality 1/5. (have worn really, really badly, won't polish up)

Shoes - Umi - value 5/5, quality 5/5

Coat - Boden - value 3/5, quality 5/5 (lasted 2 winters)

Not for primary aged children as my sons are 14 and 16 but just wanted to warn about Next white shirts. My son who are both slim found that they were very baggy but also too short to be reliably tucked in. Second son found he kept getting to trouble with uniform police and now refuses to wear the shirts. Back to M&S for us.

Boys' trousers:
M&S: wore through the knees quite quickly

Polo shirts:
M&S: shrunk in the tumble dryer

Girls' pinafore:
M&S: Faded in the wash

Shoes:
M&S: DS2's sole came unstuck after a fortnight. Returned for another pair, they had worn through the sole by the end of the first term, as had DS2's.

Moral of this story: M&S is crap, even if it does look like good value on 3 for 2. Have returned to Next for uniform (it fits my skinny kids better anyway) and Clarks for shoes.

For Y1 DD:

M&S pinafore: 5/5 on both counts
M&S tailored white blouse: 5/5 value, 4/5 quality
M&S pleated skirt: 3/5 value, 5/5 quality
M&S grey tights: 0/5 both counts (they shrink on a 40 wash and toes go through holes at a ridiculous rate)
John Lewis grey tights: 6/5 on both counts!
Mothercare royal blue cardigans: 5/5 both counts (it's hard to find nice RB ones too)

Startrite black shoes: 5/5 both counts (look fantastic after minimal effort polishing)
Pumpkin Patch coat: 3000000/5 on both counts (from the sale, looks lovely, is practical and DD loves all the adults who comment on how they'd like on in their size)

Am I the only person who can't remember exactly where they bought things from?

Got DS's sweatshirts from school second hand stall for 50p each and they are still going strong

Got some things for DD from ebay.

Sainsburys trousers for DS seem OK still. As do his shorts from about 2 or possibly 3 years ago but can't remember where from.

Have loads of polo shirts. Not sure where from. Some are smaller but they might just be a smaller size.

Start rite shoes going well for DS. They would have been still going for DD but her feet have suddenly grown a size.

Have some cardigans from Asda I think. They seem OK.

I'll add DD's;

Vests - M&S (3for2) thin strapped Value 3/5 Quality 4/5
Socks - M&S (3for2) white frill with bows V 3/5 Q 5/5
Shoes - Hush Puppies (independent shop) V 4/5 Q 5/5
A-Line Skirts Dk Grey with butterfly/sparkle, adjustable - (M&S) V 3/5 Q 5/5
Polo Shirts, white - M&S (3for2) with detail to collar - V 3/5 Q 4/5
V Neck Jumpers, Red - M&S (3for2) - V 3/5 Q 5/5
Summer Dresses I'm adding because they are on their 3rd summer of wear and really happy with them - Red check, button up - TU (Sainsbo's) V 2/5 Q 5/5 (£6 for 2 dresses and they still look new)

Oooh, forgot tights - always get the grey ones from Next and they are fab - V 3/5 Q 4/5

Sainsbury's infant girls skirts and pinafores were good value and still look good.

Infant girls polo shirts from Mothercare were a little more expensive but are good quality and still lovely and white, haven't shrunk and are great for chunkier kids who are greedy have healthy appetites like my DD.

M&S no good for DD - but great for my sporty skinny DS.