Tell F&F what you really look for in a school uniform and have a chance to win a £200 voucher NOW CLOSED

[MichelleMumsnet]

You may have seen we recently asked 100 MNers to put the new F&F school uniform range to the test - you can see what they thought here. F&F would now like to know what Mumsnetters look for when searching for the ideal school uniform for your DCs.

Here's what F&F say: "At F&F we're really proud of the value and quality of our products and have spent the last year really improving our schoolwear range. Our schoolwear offering, which is available online all year round, is designed to last. With features including Teflon fabric protector across skirts, trousers and pinafores, we believe that we've made it easier to get those stains out. Also, we've included adjustable waistbands to ensure a more comfortable fit for your children that will also help the items last that little bit longer as they grow. Finally, we've helped reduce ironing with our permanent pleats in skirts."

If you had the chance to design your own school uniform for your DCs what would it look like? What special features would you want? Extra long t-shirts or trousers for your tall children? Wrinkle free clothes to cut down on the ironing? What's the one thing that is missing from current school uniform ranges?

We'd also like to know what you think of the specific features of the new F&F school uniform range, .

~ How important are adjustable waistbands to you? Would they factor into your ideal school uniform?

~ What do you think of Teflon coated fabrics? Do you think it is an effective way of minimising stains on school uniforms or not? Do you think it helps improves the longevity of the clothing or not?

~ How helpful, if at all, is having permanent pleats in skirts?

~ If you could manufacture your ideal school uniform range would you make it available to parents online or not? Do you think that this makes parents' life easier or not?

Everyone who shares their thoughts with us will be entered into a prize draw to win £200 worth of e-vouchers for Tesco.

Thanks and good luck,

MNHQ

[VestaCurry]

Adjustable waistbands: critical

Teflon coating:
important as it does help re stains eg easier to sponge a stain off with it (so avoid washing whole item unnecessarily)

Permanent pleats in skirts:
I have boys so not required but permanent creases in trousers are a must

If you could manufacture your ideal uniform range would you make it available to parents online? Do you think it makes parents lives easier or not?
I do 90% of my shopping whether for groceries, clothing or other items online. I have only ever bought school uniform online. Not interested in wasting my time in shops, as I spent far too much time pre Internet shopping trudging from shop to shop in search of items not in stock in one branch then the next etc. With price of fuel and parking these days shopping trips are expensive. Free returns is very very helpful to avoid faff in the post office.

Non-iron everything is my ideal. I try to minimise tumble dry use and have found some manufacturers are better than others about creating uniform that can be hung over a clothes airer to dry and the result is virtually uncreased items.

[cece]

Adjustable waist bands are essential to me otherwise the clothes do not fit my DC - without them the trousers/skirts are too big. I would not buy them if they didn't have adjustable waists.

~

I have no view on Teflon coating - my DS1 has clean clothes for school everyday as he gets very dirty. I have no idea which, if any, of his clothes have Teflon coatings.


DD's school skirts are not allowed to have pleats. But make them longer please as they are always too short!


Online yes please, as it so easy to buy all in one go without the dreaded dragging kids to a busy shop. Also make it available all year around, as kids grow. Another problem I have had this year is buying boys shorts in sizes bigger than 12 yrs old - apparently there is 'no demand' for them. Well my DS1 is in yr4 and would like some shorts - he is just very big for his age!

I also only ever buy non iron white shirts. I suggest that each store finds out the colour of the local school's polo shirts and stock the correct colours accordingly. Maddening to go into store to look for yellow polo shirts to find them all gone but hundreds of red ones as no local schools are red but three local schools wear yellow. Ditto with school dresses.

I never buy shoes from Tesco for school always go to Clarks.

[firawla]

adjustable waist is important
teflon I am not bothered although i think it could be good
the skirts, n/a for me i have boys only

I look for things which wash and tumble dry well

[VelvetStrider]

It would be good if Tesco stocked the colours of uniform that the local schools wear. Not just generic colours meaning that some colours have loads left over and others aren't available at all.

Adjustable waistbands are essential. Or else make the trousers for normal sized children and not overweight ones.

Make belts that are easy to do up and undo, and don't pinch skin.

School shoes for boys need a big tough rubbery bit over the toe, made out of the same stuff as the sole. If they don't have this they last about 2 weeks max!

Everything should be non iron.

[VelvetStrider]

I think you can see by this thread that you make the waistbands TOO BIG!

Despite the headlines most children are not obese and you are not doing the majority of customers any favours by sizing your trousers for the few children who are.

[farrowandbawl]

One where the uniform irons itself.

My ironing pile doubles during term time.

[pointythings]

~ How important are adjustable waistbands to you? Would they factor into your ideal school uniform?
I'd rather have a wide range of fittings available than have adjustable waistbands. My younger DD is very very slim and adjusting the waistbands as far as is needed just makes the fabric bunch. Slim and long fits are the way to go. I'd also like to see school uniform for teenagers take account of girls who develop early in terms of waist and hips.

~ What do you think of Teflon coated fabrics? Do you think it is an effective way of minimising stains on school uniforms or not? Do you think it helps improves the longevity of the clothing or not?
I have always avoided these as DD1 has eczema - I'd much rather see more natural fabrics anyway

~ How helpful, if at all, is having permanent pleats in skirts?
Very, very helpful. I say this as someone who does not iron.

~ If you could manufacture your ideal school uniform range would you make it available to parents online or not? Do you think that this makes parents' life easier or not?
I buy most of my school uniform online currently so definitely yes. I'd also like to see uniform available in wide ranges online throughout the school year, rather than just in back to school season - children have a habit of growing unpredictably and nothing is more annoying than having to buy new halfway through winter term only to find virtually nothing available.

[chocolateshoes]

I would like:

non-iron material (as I never iron, so i would give DS's uniform a chance of looking less creased)
adjustable waist bands are a must as DS is tall & slim
some 'cooler' style trousers & shorts - maybe in cardo style with pockets - but in navy blue - we seem to be the only school with blue trousers.
I dn't know about permanent pleats in skirts as don't have a daughter
all year round and online

[insertsomethingwitty]

~ How important are adjustable waistbands to you? Would they factor into your ideal school uniform?

Essential, I never buy skirts/trousers without them, ideally they would come in a range of 'fits' as well i.e. Next does plus, regular and slim fit as well as adjustable waistbands

~ What do you think of Teflon coated fabrics? Do you think it is an effective way of minimising stains on school uniforms or not? Do you think it helps improves the longevity of the clothing or not?

I think they look fairly awful, I have relatively 'clean' children through.

~ How helpful, if at all, is having permanent pleats in skirts?

Permanent pleats are very useful, I would iron over anyway but is useful if you don't have to start from a crumpled up mess every time.

~ If you could manufacture your ideal school uniform range would you make it available to parents online or not? Do you think that this makes parents' life easier or not?

Yes essential to be online, often in store it is hard to find specific sizes. I always order on line to try on a few sizes and styles at home.

[swallowedAfly]

sounds like EVERYONE finds tesco waistbands massive.

who are these enormous waisted children who they fit?

[aristocat]

Adjustable waistbands are excellent and very much needed

No to Teflon, DSs trousers don't usually last anyway

DD will not wear pleated skirts but likes the skater style

Uniform should be available all year round and everything non-iron please

[VeryDullNameChange]

~ How important are adjustable waistbands to you? Would they factor into your ideal school uniform?

I don't really rate adjustable waistbands over and above a bit of elastication, in practice I don't find they work well. I'd rather every pair of trousers came in basic and long length.

~ What do you think of Teflon coated fabrics? Do you think it is an effective way of minimising stains on school uniforms or not? Do you think it helps improves the longevity of the clothing or not?

I quite like Teflon coating - I do find it makes it a bit tougher.

~ How helpful, if at all, is having permanent pleats in skirts?

DD has refused to wear skirts since forever, but as a general thing I'm in favour of permanent pleats.

~ If you could manufacture your ideal school uniform range would you make it available to parents online or not? Do you think that this makes parents' life easier or not?

I hate online shopping - I much prefer to pick things up in person, but school uniform is the only thing I make an exception for because the combination of size, style and colour always seems to be impossible to find. M&S in particular specialise in running a 3 for 2 deal and then only stocking 2 of whatever I want. So click and collect is brilliant for that.

What would be in my ideal school uniform? Cheap enough so that I can stock up multiples and don't have to wash every day (my DCs are horribly messy eaters). Dries quickly on the line. Decent size spaces for writing names on the labels with a laundry pen for when I'm not feeling domestic goddessy enough to sew labels on. Robust buttons - I frequently need to wash polo tops at 60 to get stains out (see above), and some of the buttons have gone a funny colour or even cracked.
Unisex options for polo shirts, coats, plimsolls, tracky bottoms, trainers, plain T-shirts, wellies etc that aren't labelled BOYS. As the parent of a primary age DS and DD I want to be able to buy unisex hand-downable clothes that DD won't moan about. And if we're talking shoes, solid rain-proof shoes for girls that they can run about in.

[ILoveMyCaravan]

I would like to see a choice of length for trousers.
Definitely elasticated and/or adjustable waists.
I HATE Teflon coated fabrics. My children have eczema/sensitive skin and I can think of nothing worse for them to wear than Teflon/nylon/synthetic fabrics which do not allow the skin to breathe, especially in hot weather. PLEASE produce cotton school uniform - if it's decent quality, it will last.
Defintely make it available online all year round.

[MickleMe]

~ How important are adjustable waistbands to you? Would they factor into your ideal school uniform?
I have 3 boys and they all seem to need adjustable waistbands on trousers. I wouldn't buy any trousers without them for school or otherwise.

~ What do you think of Teflon coated fabrics? Do you think it is an effective way of minimising stains on school uniforms or not? Do you think it helps improves the longevity of the clothing or not?
I do look for storm proof, stain resistant type materials and it does seem to make a difference.

~ How helpful, if at all, is having permanent pleats in skirts?
I do find permanent pleats helpful in trousers but no idea about skirts!

~ If you could manufacture your ideal school uniform range would you make it available to parents online or not? Do you think that this makes parents' life easier or not?
I do tend to buy a lot of stuff online and always like to have this as an option. Often I find that stores don't have the sizes I need in the quantities I need.


Other things are look for are socks that have the sizes written in the fibres on the cuff at the top. Accessories in a variety of colours so I can get each of my boys something different. I buy things I think will last. I want things I can wash at high temperatures and that don't require a lot of ironing. When buying shoes I look for styles with a bumper at the front to prevent scuffing.

[AlmostPerfect]

I'd like adjustable waists, crease free ( so i dont have to iron them!) and fade resistant uniform. My sons tops are red but after a few washes start looking a dirty shade.

[MickleMe]

Just to add another thought, trousers always seem to fade and thin on the knees and the hems always end up frayed and ripped. We buy quite a lot of uniform because we both work and struggle to wash and iron in the week. Despite this the uniforms are more than ready for the bin come the end of the school year

[VileWoman]

I want...
Natural fabrics (eczema friendly)
Adjustable waists (or even better clothes for skinny children, adjustable waists on a skinny child just means lots of wrinkles round the waist)
Non-iron clothes
Gender neutral shirts, jumpers, trousers, shorts and ankle socks (want to be able to hand down as many clothes as possible).
Cost is not an issue here, or rather, I'm prepared to pay more for clothes that last.

[CharlotteCollinsismovingon]

I would not buy clothes without adjustable waistbands - forever seem to be adjusting them in and out for my DCs!

Good to see girls' PE shorts are much longer than we've found in the past - is that new? I wonder. The short shorts we've had to buy in the past felt rather indecent. Still don't understand why girls have to have leg-clinging cycle shorts, though. I buy boys' shorts for my DDs now - they find them much more comfortable and more flattering, too.

[BigGapMum]

~ How important are adjustable waistbands to you? Would they factor into your ideal school uniform?
Essential. I wouldn't buy trousers without them.

~ What do you think of Teflon coated fabrics? Do you think it is an effective way of minimising stains on school uniforms or not? Do you think it helps improves the longevity of the clothing or not?
Not sure that it improves the longevity of them, as they generally are grown out of, or lost before they are worn out anyway. I don't actually like the Teflon ones due to the shine and stiffness of the fabric.

~ How helpful, if at all, is having permanent pleats in skirts?
I've only had sons so I can't comment personally, but I imagine they would be beneficial. Permanent pleats in trousers would be good.

~ If you could manufacture your ideal school uniform range would you make it available to parents online or not? Do you think that this makes parents' life easier or not?
Obviously the option of ordering online would be good, however they need to be available to buy/see in stores as well so buyers could see the quality in real life.

Also after helping in the school with reception age children getting changed for swimming lessons I've realised that lots of girls summer dresses are difficult to get on and off. Generally I would say they need a longer zip / row of buttons.

[BasilBabyEater]

I'd like the cheap brands to start copying secondary school uniforms as well as primary.

Primary school uniforms are cheap. Secondary school uniform prices are horrific and still sold in monopoly outlets.

I would happily live without permanent pleats, adjustable waistbands, the lot, if only I could afford to buy it without going into overdraft.

[worldgonecrazy]

DD doesn't have a school uniform, but I would like to see girls' clothes that were sturdy enough for climbing trees. No stupid branding or twee logos too.

[swallowedAfly]

basil see i'd like secondary schools to follow the primary school lead. polo shirts, black or grey trousers and a jumper or cardi with a logo on. same for boys and girls. i cannot compute the need to be putting them in blazers, shirts and ties full stop - let alone 11 year old girls. presumably school was only for boys so they had the boys uniform of the era and when girls went they had to wear the same but with a skirt.

time to move on.

[swallowedAfly]

blazers are so impractical for kids traveling in all weathers - try getting an anorak over a blazer or proper warm winter coat. the blazer (and always horrible fabric) has to be screwed up in a ball into the bag ready to be tugged out when you get shouted at for not having it on when you get to school.

the primary model is more than smart enough, identifies what school they're from by colour and a badge, is affordable and is actually practical and far more reflective of the level of smartness expected by most employers nowadays.

[BasilBabyEater]

Totally agree SAF.

I fail to understand why my DC's pullover has to have a stripe around the V neck of it so that I can't get it in F&F, I have to go to a monopoly school shop and pay £24 for it. It's even worse when they have customised shirts or blouses - stuff worn next to the skin so needing a wash after each wear.

Shouldn't be allowed and I wish the supermarkets would use their muscle to lobby on this. God knows politicians aren't going to listen to mere parents.