School uniform for dd - help please

[Fabulouslfromfarringdon]

Dd is starting YR in September and I need some help with putting her school uniform together. I grew up abroad so have no experience with wearing a school uniform myself.

So far I have bought:

• 2 grey pinafore dresses
• 1 grey skirt
• 2 summer dresses (gingham ones)

• 6 x white socks (not knee high)
• 6 x grey socks (knee high)
• 3 x grey tights

Planning to buy:

• 2 school cardigans
• 1 school jumper
• 3 school polo shirts
• black shoes

My questions are:

• does the list sound reasonable or is it too much, too little?
• should we use knee high socks or shorter ones?
• what kind of shoes would you recommend (links?)
• does anyone use 'shorts skirts' instead of skirts?
• should I get her some trousers?
• I hate ironing so bought the storm wear stuff from M&S but quite £££. Where else can I look in the future?

for your help.

More

Hi, we always go for 5 or 6 polo shirts - I usually buy 3 with the school logo as they're £10 each and then get a couple from asda as spares. Some days they can quite messy and I don't want to have to worry about washing uniform every night. Also, a tip I read on mnet is to keep one polo shirt aside for school plays/assemblies etc so they have a nice fresh unstained shirt for when they're 'on show'.

Socks I find are personal preference, some girls have long, some short. I personally like short ones for when it's boiling hot and the longet ones for when the weather is like this so I think you've done the right thing in buying both. Only thing I'd suggest though is buying more tights when winter comes as she'll potentially need a clean pair every day (although if you do your washing regularly this might not be a problem for you).

My dds don't have school trousers, but some do. Again personal preference.

I'm not sure whether your.dd will have PE/games.in reception? But if she does.it.might be worth reconsidering the pinafores.or.keeping them for non PE days as they can be more fiddly to remove and put.back on tham skirts.

I'm not sure about the non ironing because I have a bit of an obsession with having our clothes ironed .

Hope some of the above helps. Sorry for the multiple posts btw, my battery is.about to die and I didn't want to lose.what I'd written!

I would suggest a pair of trouser to add to your list. Everything else sounds fine to me but we were asked to have children wearing trousers on pe day as it made it easier for everyone.

I get school skirts from either debenhams or asda and I've never had to iron them unless I've dried them on the line and need to get rid of peg marks.

I always have minimum of 8 polo shirts for each of mine (£2.50 for 2 in asda) so that there's one for each day and a few spares. I also try to have 5 skirts/trousers for them, again one for each day.

My girls usually wear tights with skirts in winter and ankle socks in summer as they find knee length socks fall down all the time.

So far I've found Osh Kosh shoes to be the best wearing shoes. Clarks seem to scuff really easily in the styles mine like though the boys shoes seem to fare better.

I'd add a pair of trousers - much easier (& cosier) on PE days in the winter as they dont have to faff around trying to put tights back on. I'd probably increase the polo shirts to 5 so you have a clean on, if needed for each day, and don't need to worry about mid week washing. I prefer pinafores to skirts as they keep them together more and you don't end up with shirt tails hanging out. Make sure they zip up the front though.

I wouldnt bother with the jumper - my 2 didn't like theirs as they found them more difficult to get on and off than a cardigan.

Shoe-wise we always get Clarks black mary jane style shoes with a velcro strap, not buckles. Patent is best as it doesn't scratch and doesnt need polished looks better for longer than leather.

PE wise my DDs wear lycra cycling shorts and plain black sannies (velcro straps again) - you'll get them in any supermarket.

I would say more jumpers/cardigans as well. You want a fresh piece of uniform every day without having to wash every night.

Thank you very much for some great ideas!

• I'll add two more polo shirts so we have five in total.

• Will get another couple of tights.
• I'll see how dd gets on with her socks. I had been wondering about the knee-high ones sliding down .
• I'll add a pair of trousers but found the ones at m&s very wide legged which is a problem if they are too long to begin with as you can't roll them up. Any ideas to solve this issue?

Another question: do people generally get on better with the pinafore dresses or are the skirts better? I appreciate that it's probably personal preference but wanted to see if there are any practicalities I should think of like going to the toilet etc.

Dd can't get out of her pinafores easily so they're not good for pe days. She also tends to prefer skirts, not sure why...

"I'd add a pair of trousers - much easier (& cosier) on PE days in the winter as they dont have to faff around trying to put tights back on."

"wouldnt bother with the jumper - my 2 didn't like theirs as they found them more difficult to get on and off than a cardigan."

Great points, thank you!

"Sorry for the multiple posts btw, my battery is.about to die and I didn't want to lose.what I'd written"

Many thanks, really helpful!

"Dd can't get out of her pinafores easily so they're not good for pe days. She also tends to prefer skirts, not sure why..."

We'll have to see what dd gets on with better, I guess it's a learning curve but I like to be prepared am planning way too much.

We are often asked to put girls in trousers for school trips too. Supermarkets do nice jersey ones which are warm and comfy.

If you work or just don't want to do daily laundry - buy an outfit for every day. It saves panic in my house.

Oh and if you are doing school dinners - pinafores help keep white tops from tomato and paint and white board pen stains.

"We are often asked to put girls in trousers for school trips too. Supermarkets do nice jersey ones which are warm and comfy."

Great, I'll check at our local sainsburies.

This is really helpful as I felt a tad out of my depth and don't like last minute panic etc.

Next do nice pull on jersey school trousers. They come in a slim fit size too which is great for my DDs as the waitbands on many things are way too big for them. I do find they're often too long so though have to take up a wee hem. Makes them last longer though!

I buy uniform from m&s or sainsburys I have found those the best quality and wash the best. they still look good at the end of the school year, whereas I've found tescos and asda need replacing after each term.

With regards to the socks/tights issue. I give dd long socks in the winter for pe days as easier than tights, then tights on non pe days. hen in summer she wears ankle socks with the normal uniform, until warm enough to wear gingham dress with short socks.

we do have a mix of skirts and pinafores, I prefer the look of pinafore but dd prefers the ease of skirts.

I would hold off on buying a few bits until August in case your dd has a growth spurt good luck to you both

Autumn, that's good advice. The items I have bought so far are all 5-6 and dd will be 5 in November so I hope they will be ok, I.e. Not too big in the first couple of months.

Could I also ask about jackets and coats? What would you recommend for the various seasons?

My dds have had an anorak which is easy to wash for the winter months and a light rain jacket for the summer, washable coats are good as they can get unbelievably dirty

Thank you for all the relevant advice everyone, I feel much better prepared now!
Time for .

My DD starts reception this year and I'm waiting for the M&S 3 for 2 offer they do at start of summer hols (knowing my luck they won't do it this year!). I'm planning on buying:

I'm going to buy pinafore dresses, polo shirts, school cardigan, short white socks. I'm going to buy 6 sets of everything and keep one spare.

Also have to buy pe kit - indoor & outdoor (white tshirt, shorts, joggers, plimsols & trainers.

I bought a 3-in1 Mountain Designs coat which is a fleece that zips into a waterproof coat. Bought in the sales for £15

Moosey, the 342 offer sounds great. Might wait for some bits in this case. Can you link to the jacket please? Thank you!