When to buy uniform?

[darlingtwinklebum]

My daughter is due to start school in September so I'm a complete newbie to all things school related! I'm just wondering when everyone starts buying uniform?

I don't know whether to start now and get the size I think she will be in (4-5 which she's in now) or to wait until nearer the time and take her out properly?

I remember doing uniform shopping as a kid and spending many painful hours in m&s trying to find sizes which were obviously always out of stock

So when do you all start buying? Do you get bits slowly or do it all in one go? Thanks!

[orangeshoebox]

I would wait until the last couple of weeks before school starts to get the best fitting clothes especially shoes.
I just don't know why uniform sale is before the long holidays... doesn't make any sense.

[darlingtwinklebum]

Labels are definitely on my list.. I've already been warned that kids are a nightmare for bringing the wrong stuff home

Didn't even know about Aldi will have to have a look and see if it's online too.. not sure I can be bothered to fight over the polo shirts!

As for trousers she can wear leggings while in reception but she's so tall and skinny she can't go into the next size just yet but the size she's in currently are too short in the leg! If anyone has any suggestions on that issue I'd appreciate it x

[cadburyegg]

We’ve just bought the M&S school uniform in size 4-5 for DS1 who has just gone into that size. It’s pretty big on him but my mum will turn some hems up plus he’s bound to grow a bit so by September it’ll be ok! Going to wait til mid August for shoes. Haven’t bought any of the logo stuff yet, going to investigate the school’s second hand rail first before ordering new.

[PantsyMcPantsface]

Trousers for tall long legged girls? Best I found was that Asda do some jersey style ones and have a longer leg variant available online which just about did the job for DD1 who is absolutely ridiculously long legged (she's like 90% legs that kid).

I'm going to do a bare bones order this week when I get the time (waiting till after our new parents meeting for the juniors mid-week in case there's stuff there first) - then sit it in the corner glaring at me menacingly until I crack and get round to labelling it all by about the end of August. Shoes and PE kit I wait till nearer the time on, and I've just bought new bags and PE bags and things toward the end of this year as old ones wore out (well the eldest whined and saved for a sodding Smiggle one she paid for herself) so don't have those to replace this year.

My mum went mildly nuts when school places were announced and bought all the summer uniform dresses in Sainsburys - they will never fit by next summer the rate my beanpole eldest grows!

[darlingtwinklebum]

@PantsyMcPantsface didn't even think of seeing if there were leggings for longer legs 🤦🏼‍♀️ My dd is the same she's all legs.. no idea where she gets it neither me nor her dad are particularly tall!

Labelling will be the bain of our lives I'm sure.. dreading it already! I've heard that the iron on ones aren't great so looks like I'll be doing some sewing

[PantsyMcPantsface]

direct.asda.com/george/school/trousers/girls-charcoal-longer-length-school-trousers-2-pack/GEM663897,default,pd.html?cgid=D10M2G1C21 These are the ones I tend to get for DD1 - the longer leg on them is a blooming longer leg - so I generally end up taking them up slightly (I do that just before they go back to school toward the end of August) and then I loosely stitch them up and then when the inevitable growth spurt happens I can just let the hems down again. Managed to get most of the way through last year on one size of trousers doing it that way.

DD1 is just absolutely all legs (dad's 6 foot 7 and she definitely gets it from him) so if I buy age-wise for her leg length they don't stay up at all - these do, and they're really soft jersey fabric and easy to pull on (one of my kids has dyspraxia so struggles with getting dressed and can manage these). Usually my very fashion conscious peer-pressure obsessed eldest then starts wanting to wear these to school anyway as she realises tights are a pain in the arse. They do go slightly bobbly but I've never really given a shit about that as by about day 2 of term my kids look like they've had a brawl in the paint cupboard and then fallen on a pit of whiteboard markers all with their lids off and points pointing upwards.