On-trend school bag for Y7 DD

[Teets]

I know, I know - this gets asked every year - sorry! My daughter has ASD and starts secondary in September. I at least want to make sure that in terms of fashion choices she can blend in a bit...
Any pointers? I know Hype was massive a couple of years ago, but no idea about now. TIA

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Shoes are very def dms here, Dts have them now in y6. They're expensive but last we've had a full year in them in y6 and they still fit.

Already told dd1 she needs to check on transition day. She has provisionally chosen a couple.
She's adamant that she won't be having slip on shoes though because you can't run in them.....
High school near me is Nike backpack for both genders let's see what her school has....

I know, twas ever thus! But that’s still better than a tote as the weight is further back not to the side, and they at least have the option to use both straps if the bag is heavy (and none of their friends are watching)

YY to massive local variation. 15yo has vans. But if you can't get to the school to do a reccie, I would go for an Adidas or Nike backpack. Never the most fashionable, but never social death either.

Ours all wear black trainers

Honestly buy something cheap now or reuse from primary then get a bag a few weeks in when you know what's stylish and also what you need them to carry.

Fortunately, we live very close to the high school. DS will be going into Yr 7 in September so I have also been scoping out what people are wearing.

Girls here seem to have the big handbags and Kickers t-bar shoes or chunky loafers.

Boys have a plain black large Nike or Under Armour rucksack, worn on both shoulders. Less bothered it seems by shoes, mostly similar to what he has currently. My big questions is what trainers do people have for PE?! It's a minefield!

Eldest dd had a vans rucksack in y7 and is about to finish he GCSEs and still using it. Other dd started with a rucksack and moved to a ‘handbag’ in y9. She’s not a mean girl but definitely more ‘aware’ of her image. Youngest has DM’s and eldest has kickers, both patent lace ups.

It really really does vary from school to school. The comp near us is more of a kickers and black handbags it seems (for the girls anyway). One school has a "plain black rucksack" rule. My daughters school is very much brogues or Dms or another group where the black van trainer shoe and a real mix of bags/totes.

Basically middle class areas will have rucsacs and DMs, other areas will have a mixture including the tote bags along with false eye lashes and orange faces

Hype is still extremely popular at my daughters' school. My two both have one. She definitely needs a rucksack and not the 'handbag' style ones. Nike seems to be popular too.

Plain black with a small Nike tick should be fine, nothing to draw attention to herself and stand out seems to be the way to go with the new starters.

Dd(current y7) has hype but will get something more muted for year 8. Shoes they are all in chunky trainer type laceups. We replaced the laces with silicon fake laces for ease.

I live in possibly the most middle class place in the country and I can assure you there are plenty of orange faces, rucksacks, handbags and everything in between 🧐

I genuinely have no idea what to get DD going into year 7. She wants a backpack. I actually have another DD in Y10 at the moment at the same school and she’s no help at all with backpacks as doesn’t notice these things. She has a black leatherette tote which seems the bag to have but a few have cord totes. River Island totes are popular apparently. She wears Clark’s brogues but there is a very strict footwear policy.

Where I am its a mix of adidas and Nike with (boys and girls), with some Kanken bags sprinkled in (girls). I never see tote bags. The vast majority of kids wear Kickers shoes.
With shoes you need to check the school policy carefully. Some schools near us will only allow smart black office type shoes. Kickers aren't allowed as they've got red and green tags. Nor are DMs because of the yellow stitching. DSs does allow those but definitely not Air Force Ones, even if they are plain black leather.

My DS persuaded me to buy him pricey Nikes. I know some of his friends definitely have cheaper ones, but he completely denies having friends who's parents can't / won't buy expensive ones. I mean he must do as we live in an area that has a really diverse demographic, but according to him no one is broke and they all have posh shoes

Just don't spend loads in case what you buy turns out to be not the in thing after all.

I did my research when DD started Y7 and decided that a kanken back pack was the in thing. Two weeks in and she comes home in tears saying she hates her bag because everyone is calling her a "try hard" and a posh girl.

Ended up with a £20 Tote bag from New Look lot match in with all the other girls.

She's since transferred to a private school and her New Look tote was very quickly replaced with a Michael Kors one ( thankfully heavily reduced in the Xmas sale and she contributed her Xmas money but still £120 )

It is definitely still all Tote bags around here. So impractical for carrying loads of books.

For those reminiscing about Head bags, please enjoy this page from the 1995 Argos catalogue.

Handbag style totes are NOT the thing here. Fabric shopping totes or backpacks are what they all use now.

Fjallraven sadly a bit out now. Vans seem to endure.

Shoes are mostly DM style here. (Plus the usual lot who try and sneak through with Air Force ones)

I worked in a secondary today and have 2 teenagers. They both have large corduroy bags. Ds’s is dark green and DD’s is cream with black swirls from urban outfitters. Lots of kids had them today.

Eastpak

DD14 has a black Vans school bag and a cheap cloth tote bag for social outings.

Shoes are black airforces, which most of the school wears (they have to take the metal tag out though!).

Head bags are pricey these days. The nice ones are over a hundred pounds if you are lucky enough to find one. I love them!

That gave me a nice little wave of nostalgia. 😁
The really sought after one's had a lock on the zip...but they all had the same key, so It was a popular sport to go round locking people's bags when they weren't looking and then the sniggering when someone tried to open the zip and took a minute to realise they'd been done. 🙄😆