Choice of grey or black uniform - any difference?

[JamMakingWannaBe]

DD is due to start Primary 1 this August (Scotland). The school uniform is either grey or black (with red jumper). Is there any difference in way the colours wear/wash/fade in terms of choosing which to go for (generic skirt / pinafore from the high street / supermarkets)?

Also, how many started their DD in P1/Reception year in a gingham dress rather than a white polo shirt and skirt? She's quite a girly girl but will academically be young for her year so "school dress" is an easier sell than "uniform".

I would choose a dark grey as less obvious when it faded than black

Sainsburys pinafores was really well and their 25% off clothes starts on Tuesday

For jumpers/cardigans I prefer Tesco

In P1 my DD wore grey pinafores from M&S with a white polo shirt underneath. She was also only 4 and I found these wore and washed really well and looked as good at the end of the year as they did at the start.

It's personal preference but I never bought the gingham style dresses as I don't think they look as nice or are as hard wearing.

I have a real aversion to small children in black.

IME they all start school in uniform.

Grey hides the dirt better.

Grey stays cleaner for longer, black shows up every drop of toothpaste, yoghurt, snot, etc, whereas it's fairly well hidden on grey.

Does the school have a gingham dress as a uniform item as ours didn't.? Mine wore grey skirts/ trousers

Grey stays cleaner! I wouldn’t bother with a gingham dress as they are normally only allowed to wear them until Oct half term anyway. Board markers will become enemy no1 so I recommend a pinafore style dress to hide the stains

Dd had a black jumper in reception which showed every mark, then grey cardis from Year 1 which didn't show anything.

Black fades and shows up every mark. Grey is easier to get hold of.

My dd started reception in summer dresses last September, wore them for precisely three weeks before we had a cold spell and she moved into winter uniform. She’s grown so much in the last year that the dresses won’t fit her this summer.

Mine always wore summer dresses for about the first month back. Hers was a ludicrously overpriced prep school one, they changed it from the 2 for £8 supermarket ones because that was too easy, but they’re so cheap I would buy a couple of gingham ones

Dresses are often worn till October holiday is 14 August so about 8 weeks

As in Scotland where uniform can't be insisted upon go with your preference mine would be grey, as cheaper black looks scruffier than grey when been washed lots

Grey is better.

Where I live gingham dresses are only for summer term, regardless of the actually weather

Look at the fastenings
Zips at the front are good - back zips aren’t
Small buttons are a no go! Why? Just Why?
Pull on skirts and easy to undo polo shirts

Change the buttons on cardigans so hers are easy to spot and recognise

Pinafore dresses are easy for little ones, and mine preferred cardigans. Their first uniform was black or grey with red jumper - you're not in Cambs are you?

Pinafores are better than skirts (don't fall down so you don't have the weird waist from the waist adjusters) The best ones are the stretchy ones made from jersey or the ones with a zip down the front ime.

I thought for a moment you were choosing a school based on uniform colour

My DCs went to a primary with black trousers and a high school with grey trousers, both bought from M&S. We didn't notice any difference with the durability of the colours.

Thanks everyone. I do think that black is a harsh colour for LOs so glad to hear the consensus is for grey.
We have a school tour in a couple of weeks so hopefully that'll give my DD a better picture of what children (have to) wear to school.

Pinafore in charcoal grey. Preferably a soft jersey one - they don't wear as well but are lovely to wear. My DD only relinquished her jersey pinafores in Y6.

Starting in summer dresses was popular in our school but if you think you'll struggle to get her into winter uniform, I would start as you mean to go on. Otherwise you'll be fighting her wanting to wear a summer dress in November.

We tend to go for grey - Asda do lovely soft jersey pinafores (click and collect for a wider range) and trousers that mine like and find easier to get into (my youngest has dyspraxia).

Unfortunately red tops are the bloody worst for stains from bloody whiteboard pens and tend to fade a bit whatever you do - so if you have the option to avoid the expensive logoed cardigans and get supermarket ones - do so for the bulk of them to save your sanity! (We had red tops for nursery school and red tops for infants so I seem to have had them marinating in stain remover for years and years!)

Some of ours wear gingham dresses into September - tends to be the older kids trying to squeeze some more wear out before the next growth spurt though and it's not many. Likewise some girls do choose trousers - not that many although my eldest started a bit of a mini fad for it when she got sick of cold legs!