School Uniform Snobbery?

[CookingDinner]

I have a horrible feeling that the competitiveness between parents about their primary school children has started even before our kids have started school.

I live in an affluent area, but I am not affluent myself. First a couple of parents snorted when I said that I was going to skip buying the checked summer dresses for my DD starting Reception in September, because they will soon need the winter wear and it's a waste of money. Now they are name dropping where they got their school uniforms from. I got mine from ASDA, and it seems they are going out of their way to let people know they got theirs from John Lewis or M&S.

Every supermarket sells school uniforms - who would go to John Lewis? Except to tell people they went to John Lewis. Oh, and apparently the 'stripey ones' are more impressive than the checked. Yawn.

Paperclipmover - Yes, that would have been a good angle x

It's one of those aspiring areas where middle class people are trying to better themselves. In most households both adults have careers, working long hours to pay for their massive houses. I am unusual being a SAHM. Some people move up here from London (that's another thing you hear boasts about - living in London, as if it's really impressive), so they can afford big properties. TBH I wouldn't have moved here if I'd known what it was like. At first I thought - lovely looking place. the more I've got to know the people, the more unhappy I've been here. They make everything feel as if it's a competition, and quite frankly, I don't want to play. We are saving to move to an estate in a near-by town.

Paxilllin - Thanks, good point x

This is ridiculous
At our private school I send my child in in oversized clothes from the 2nd hand shop
I also drive a crap car
No one minds me
Just own it!

I'm in Australia and I wish we had a choice of where to buy uniforms. Every school my kids have been to (Air Force family) has wanted uniforms with logos on them and they are very strict about it. Both state and private. We are moving soon and I've been checking out uniforms for my high school kid (catholic high school). All of the items can only be bought at one shop in town.
$200 for the blazer
$90 for the skirt
$90 for the jumper
$50 for the polo
$50 for a shirt
And so on, not one thing is under $50, the state school uniforms are slightly better for my 3 primary kids $50 for a jacket and $35 for a polo etc. This will be their second school in a year! Uniforms are costing me a fortune.

Both mine went to state primary schools and it was a send homeable offence to come in Summer uniform in winter term.

They went to 3 schools from 4-11 and all said that Summer uniform was unacceptable in September.
I do remember some mums moaning that they had bought the summer dresses and there children would have grown out of them by the next year

I have a Dd starting reception too and plan to buy her uniform in M&S next week as it's 20% off and in my experience m&s is better quality than Asda and I'm keen for it to last. Don't know if this makes me a snob but I've not heard 1 discussion about this at the nursery gates so I think it's unlikely to be an issue.

Our summer uniform is from First day after Easter to October half term. Check the rules, they are different from school to school.

If you want to know what the other kids REALLY wear, ask a year 3 or 4 parent, not one whose first child will start in reception this year.

They might have all sorts of plans, but they don't yet know that M&S polo shirts shrink short and get wide in the wash, John Lewis dresses are hell to iron and ASDA trousers bobble (in my experience).

Plus they don't know that Millie Populargirl will wear the Tesco skirt with the butterfly and Josh Popularboy Clarks dinosaur-relief shoes and the kids all want them .

No it doesn't make you a snob TinyPop - unless you are planning to also tell everyone in a smug way. To be honest, M&S isn't really that posh anyway. It's more John Lewis - where they are double the price. The fact that we don't even have a JL near us, but we do have a Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury's and a Morrisons. Lol.

My daughter starts reception in September, and I'm the youngest and one of the poorer parents of the class, and the way things are looking, the only new items she will get will be her school shoes. Everything else will have to be second hand from the school, or cast offs from friends or charity shops.

And neither your DD nor her new friends will have a clue who's in second hand, who wears ALDI and who wears JL, teenmumandsowhat. Should any parents mind, then they are the sort best avoided anyway.

My two are often in JL or M&S - because they sometimes get eczema and need cotton, and those are the cheapest sources of cotton uniform I can find, otherwise you're online and £20 for a pair of trousers. JL trousers were no more expensive than M&S and lasted much better, so they're my preference.
Would love to be able to buy cheap and non-iron and teflon-coated uniform from supermarkets but it's not fair to send kids in itchy.

Surely the drill for starting reception is over-sized "to grow into". DD did have some (over-sized) summer uniform in September in reception, but only because I'd bought it in June when it was 20% off. So when it was hot I thought why not send her in it. She'll be wearing the same this summer and hopefully next :)

Contrary to what PP say, I think it's very easy to tell where clothes come from. I'm no fashionista but I can tell the difference between Boden, Next and Asda/Tesco.

Very few people care though.

Do you think?

I mean, yes for party frocks etc you can see the quality of the fabric and the intricacy of the design, but for a plain white school shirt or charcoal trousers you'd have to get up jolly close to have any idea.

I have a reminder set in my phone for when the Aldi uniform goes online... as do several of my friends. The kids don't care or notice so I really wouldn't bother about the parents

Ditto! The PE kit (£4 for two full sets) outlasted the school official version (£12 for one set).

I buy the polo shirts a size up as mine like them long but everything else is fine.

When is the ALDI uniform event this year? The fisticuffs to get to the aisle was epic last year, but the trousers lived a full half term, record!

Our school specifies summer dresses ONLY for the summer term (after Easter break) so not allowed to wear them in September anyway.

I've bought Asda uniform for years. It's great! I just buy logo cardigans but only because on the inside 'they're so fluffy I'm gonna die'

pax - 6th online, 13th in store.

I had no idea they have an online event! I went to battle in the shop last year. Thanks.

The fabrics from Asda are much nicer. Lovely sweet drapey skater dresses and twirly skirts. M&S uniforms are like stiff cardboard and my kids refuse to wear them.

Growing up I had M&S uniform as did a lot of my friends (definitely not in an affluent area wither) and I recall Tesco uniform being mocked a bit in primary school. Now I buy DSD (Year 3) Asda uniform without a second thought. Uniform is a bloody nightmare to keep clean and wash! Cheap is best.

For reception/P1 definitely the cheaper the better as it gets covered in paint, ink, and god knows what, holes in the knees and generally wrecked. I buy logo jumper/coat and a couple of polo shirts for pe days, the rest is asda.
M&S uniforms shrink loads and are hard and cardboardy, Asda fabric is a lot nicer

We ARE in London where there aren't any big supermarkets. I buy from m&s as I can pop in on my lunch at work to pick up stuff I've ordered on line-I take a look at the sizing and hand it straight back if it doesn't look like it will fit. I know I can order supermarket stuff online but it's such a pain getting it delivered and returning it if it's not right. dD can't get into JL clothes as they are ridiculously sized, about 4 sizes too small-been like thst since I tried to get baby grows.

My parents live near a massive Asda, they are at the other end of the country but when I visit we have a day trip to asda to look at the uniform-sad. Their cardigans and sweatshirts are amazing but wash before wearing or they dye your child!

One thing about cheap uniform that's not been mentioned yet is that it's cheap because someone isn't being paid very well. I know M&S aren't perfect or JL but they do try to be fair to manufacturers and shop workers. I suppose the best thing is to buy second hand and darn the holes-that's what al the really rich people round out way do! We also do a lot of handing down - you know you've made it in the friendship stakes when your kid has no newly bought clothes.

Anyway, it's not really about uniform is it OP. I'm dying to know where you are btw! All you need isto find one or two like minded people and the sound of the jangling of the bracelets may be drowned out .

Paperclip - I'm in a South Midlands county with a lot of rural villages and high prices! It's got a kind of aspirational feel to it. I notice it because I'm originally from an area where it's not so pretentious :-) Obviously it's not as expensive as the South property-wise here though.

I do think you can notice the difference between uniforms bought from different places. I bet the women round here will identify them. I bought ASDA, but I did think they looked quite basic TBH. The material does feel a bit flimsy. They also lack the little extra features uniforms from elsewhere have - bits of embroidery, pockets, trims, etc.

I'm not bothered for me, but I do hope my DD does not pick up on this kind of snootiness - from parents or kids at the school.

I feel much better reading these posts though. Particularly that no-one ends up caring because it all gets ruined, and I'll be pleased I did not splash out.