"smart business suit" for sixth form - bit tacky or a good idea? Mixed 6th

[Sparrows12]

I'm in the "bit tacky" camp myself. Don't want daughter going to school everyday dressed like a candidate from the Apprentice. There are plenty of years to get used to dressing for the world of work, so why start at 16, especially as these children will be back in jeans etc for university. A sixth form uniform would be my strong preference. And i can foresee all sorts of disagreements in Next, Top Shop etc over what is "smart". I already find myself fighting to keep quiet about unsuitable (frankly "large handbag-style") bags being taken to school - aargh, and school shoes from unsuitable places like top shop that last one term before falling apart.

[Mintyy]

How can it be precisely the point when business attire is not appropriate clothing for many (if not the majority of) jobs?

[TheOriginalSteamingNit]

I think it is right the way most places have it: own clothes, nothing manifestly inappropriate or too much flesh. After all, the next stage for many will be university, where they can wear what they like!

[NamingOfParts]

Mintyy, I agree with you.

I was replying to LaVolcan's point - the point being that appropriate doesnt automatically mean business wear. Dressing appropriately means exactly that. My DD is doing two 'messy' sciences at A level (biology & chemistry). She hopes to work in chemistry as a career - somehow I doubt that a business suit will be the right lab wear day to day.

[Mintyy]

Oh, I see, get you. Well of course we are both totally in the right .

[Lfs2126]

my ds cannot wait to get into 6th form so that he can get a suit with a really lairy lining! ATM he is swaying between shocking pink and mandarin orange.

[Tingalingle]

DS's typical sixth form day:

Product design -- involving glue, lathes, polyfilla and god knows what else.
Geography -- currently involving bashing rocks to bits AFAIK
Chemistry -- ditto
Environmental science -- including pond digging
Drumming lesson

Appropriate wear would probably be army camouflage.

[SignoraStronza]

My dh had to do this for his sixth form - over 20 years ago now, so they must have been pioneers. Having seen some of the photos, they all looked bloody ridiculous.

He worked in the building industry during/after uni.

Thankfully we're not in catchment for that particular school with delusions of grandeur as the housing is mega expensive, but the local secondary is just as good, if not better and a lot more 'normal'.

Was with MIL the other day (she likes this school's town) and commented on how strange it was that all the girls were wearing buttock skimming minis whatever their shape and size then realised it was their take on business attire

[Startail]

All I know is DD1 is very fed up with time wasted on uniform checks at the beginning of each lesson.

She is strongly favouring going to the local collage and being treated like a grown up.

[Cerisier]

I also have a DD who is fed up with uniform checks for sixth formers. She would dearly love to be treated like a grown up by the school.

[Theas18]

Fence sitting here.

DS has school uniform- blazer, school trousers, white shirt, tie. Done. No messing, low cost etc , it's also pretty bomb proof.

DDs school have " business dress" . One suit isn't OK of course if you are a girl you have to have multiple choices - all of which are individually more expensive than DS uniform (even M+S basics washable suits!). THen the shirts- again 3 shirts aren't enough you need " choice" . THen several pairs of appropriate low heeled court shoes (no the aren't appropriate to walk to the bus etc really ) . The cost and potential for teasing about clothing that school uniform has blocked out for 5yrs are back straight away.

Grr! I can see why not " home clothes" because of the number of restrictions they place on what comes on non uniform days ( no strappy tops, no bare midrifs, no shorts (even over opaque tights) no stocking tights etc erc . I'm sure that some kids see it as an appropriate place to wear clubbing clothes, but I'd rather that they had uniform tbh

[edwinamerckx]

If DS ever gets a job which requires him to wear a high street suit I will consider myself to be a failure as a parent.

All our sixth forms have no dress code and the students just look like university students.

The lack of idiotic uniform codes doesn't seem to prevent dozens of them getting into Oxbridge every year.

[VivaLeBeaver]

"If DS ever gets a job which requires him to wear a high street suit I will consider myself to be a failure as a parent".


Really? wow!

Well I hope for you sake you DS gets a job where he has to wear a non-high st suit. For the majority of kids though this is the reality, and most are thankful they have a job. There's prob actually even more who don't need any type of suit as they're signing on or stacking shelves.

I certainly wouldn't consider myself a failure as a parent over something like this.

[50shadesofbrown]

Edwinamerckx - I wear a suit for work as I work in an office. Not my dream job but it's a damned sight better than some of the other options around here. TBH I feel lucky to have a job, there is a lot of unemployment around here, DH not worked in years & struggling to find anything.

I hope your kids don't feel too much of a disappointment to you if they aren't able land a dream job, way to put the pressure on!

[edwinamerckx]

Viva - any job that requires a chap to wear a suit, but doesn't pay him enough to wear bespoke, is not a job worth having :)

[Cravingdairy]

It makes as much sense to say the school wants to have an intellectual ethos and therefore all the students have to dress like university lecturers.

[Cravingdairy]

edwina Very funny

[senua]

arf @ edwina. Does that rule also apply to the chapesses?

[VivaLeBeaver]

Well my DH earns way more than the national average wage and we're more than comfortable finance wise. He either wears jeans or when he does wear a suit its a Debenhams one.

Oddly enough I think his job is more than worth having. It pays for our nice house, cars, holidays, etc.