help - clothes shopping for dc

[cariboo]

We're coming to the UK next week & I need to (rapidly - dh & dc loathe shopping) outfit dd(9) & ds(6) for back-to-school. Looking for durable clothes, a bit more so than M&S / H&M... thanks for any suggestions.

M&S has always been fine for me.

None of the boys' trousers has ever developed any holes, polos have always washed well etc.

Some people speak highly of Next which I believe you can now get instore.

Sainsbury's is cheap but I foudn the trousers and skirts not adjustable enough for my children (who are very thin apparently ). Summer dresses OK tho.

Not sure what you mean by durable tbh but HTH.

durable = lasts more than 20 washes without shrinking, fading or wearing out!

Oh well then M&S trousers and skirts are fine. Polos - we had an issue one time with fairtrade ones shrinking, but that was years ago. Last year's lot were fine.

Can't speak for jumpers as we hget logo-ed school ones - which tbh are the worst-wearing uniform item - have just had to replace DS2's as they were DS1's old one s(like much of his stuff) and had gone really badly at the cuffs

Haven't found anything more durable than M&S...

okay, M&S it is! how about Boden? seems v. pricey but fun

& I guess Gap don't do online outside of the US, do they?

Boden don't do school clothes tho.

Or are you not talking about school uniform per se, but rather casual non-uniform school outfits?

Gap ditto.

Can you get to a John Lewis? Their (non-uniform) kids clothes are decent quality, not too nauseatingly cartoon character/princessy and they have everything in one place even shoes and PJ's.

Measure the kids, send them out somewhere attraction with your DP, and get it all sorted in a couple of hours then treat yourself to a nice coffee.

cariboo if my last post is right and you just mean regular clothes not grey trousers and red logo jumpers, then please feel free to ignore my earlier posts, as I was talking just abotu school uniform.

oh, how I wish the dc were in uniform! Last year they were but both are changing schools. Dd is going to a private school (Catholic) & I know they are quite rigid about dress (no trainers, no jeans) but there is no uniform per se. Ds is much easier - jeans, trainers, t-shirts, sweatshirts, anything goes!

Ah well, in terms of day to day clothing (I thought you were talking about school uniform), I think Boden and Gap are more durable. Next, H&M, Asda, I find fare badly in the wash after a while. M&S hit and miss. John Lewis usually OK ime.

ahhh! thx

joules, crew clothing, fatface

I use BHS now, they do a generous fit svchool uniform which is ideal for my 2 as they're not like stick insects.

I'm a H&M fan, mix it up with a bit of Next, a bit of Gap and that seems to do the job.

I find Boden a bit girly for my girl now she's older, so though the quality is good, it's not an option for us. John Lewis are similarly girly, even though they don't do the ubiquitous over-trendy stuff or the logo strewn stuff they still seem very pink for girls.

I love Fatface but our local store doesn't do much in the kids range.

I'm a big fan of Pumpkin Patch too. Nice quality, good designs, nice colours. You just have to buy bigger sizes to be sure of the fit, eg dd is 8, tall for her age, so 9 or even 10 is best for her. Their boy range looks good too.

Best bet imo is to head to a bigger shopping mall so you have plenty of options under one roof and food on tap to give the kids a nice lunch as a reward.

Hope you find what you're looking for.

Yes pumpkin patch is good, for boys and girls. Nice colours and hard wearing I have found.

Re sizes there tho - I find it is one of the few shops which is sized right for my long legged DS1 - he's 10 and wears a 10 there, where with M&S etc he needs an 11 for leg length.

Ah but that may be a boy thing there. DD is not v tall so it's hard to judge.