School uniform help please!!

[rainydaysarebad]

My Dd starts school in september and I have no clue about where I can buy good quality uniforms. I'm veering towards M&S as they have a 20% sale on.

SO, how many polo shirts should I buy? I want to buy her a pinafore dress, but should I get a pair of trousers too to change during the week? Should I buy her summer dress this year or wait until next year?

Shoes - clarks? Or would M&S shoes be ok? Are they good quality? I'm figuring if I'm getting a discount I should get everything from one place.

PE clothes - where do I buy PE shorts? I've seen some unisex ones in M&S and they look like baggy boys shorts. Should I get her cycling shorts instead? And also where would I get a blue tshirt from?

That's it really, the school will provide the jumper and I will wait until August for the coat.

Thanks for any help.

Also not a fan of Clarks shoes- esp the ones with the toy in the heel which is what they all want! luckily we dont have to wear black but I get a pair fitted in shoe shop every year and they really seem to last - I wait until after school has started as the shoe shops get chaotic before ...so if you can send her in sandals at the start of term it takes a lot of the stress out...

.would recommend Ricosta they lasted ds 8 months last year and looked nearly as good at the end as at the start having gone through the winter/scooting/football rain and snow...
this site can be good for offers.
www.shoesforkids.co.uk/index.asp

You can't go wrong with M&S imo rainy (except for polo shirts, which I'll discuss in a min). My dd is just finishing reception and her M&S trousers/dress/skirts still look great now.

My only issue has been with polo shirts. Like cloutie says, the logo'd polo shirts are a pointless waste of money, I think dd's white ones lasted a couple of months before she'd ruined them. Luckily the red one lasted longer. Since then we've tried Next, M&S and Sainsbury's. They all seem to look nasty really quickly, I'm obviously doing something wrong washing wise. Could anyone please advise how they do it? Next year I'm thinking completely separate wash for her shirts only, but that's such a waste of water and detergent. Do they need to be tumble dried to say soft? I tend to avoid that if I can as our tumble drier shrinks stuff on hot and takes HOURS on low. Could it be the fabric softener that is making them look chewing gum white instead of pristine?

Angel - I have no experience with white polo shirts, but you could soak them in a tub with something like Vanish or Ace? I also once soaked DD's white vests in a tub with some household bleach when I had no stain remover, and that seemed to work too. You just have to wash thoroughly in washing powder to get rid of the bleach smell afterwards. I don't know if bleach is bad for clothes, but those vests are still in one piece and they are still really sparkling white.

Re: Shoes. I'm a bit miffed that Clarkes don't seem to have any T bar buckle ones. They're all strange zig zaggy velcroed shoes or fastened over the top. I've just seen some nice ones on the startrite website, but they're not in DD's size. They're £20 in the sale in size 10 and over, which is pretty cheap IMO. If anyone is interested:

shoes

Thanks rainy, will give your suggestions a try.

Have tried all brands, I think Next & M&S are the best. For shoes I've found Ricosta are the best.

M&S all the way here, everything has lasted so well this year, hardly need to replace anything through wear and tear.

Angel try putting a cup of soda crystals in your soap dispenser when washing whites. Seems to help here.