Where is the best place to buy school uniforms?
Last year an experienced mum said
‘Don’t wait until the end of August to buy school uniforms’
I’m so glad I listened or my daughter wouldn’t have had any uniforms to start school as most places would have sold out. We had some left over M&S vouchers so kitted her out with winter uniforms. They may have been a bit more expensive but they did last the entire school year.
However, during the year we have managed to accrue quite a few summer uniforms, some were hand-me downs and others were sent for review purposes. We have uniforms from Aldi, Asda and BHS. When I asked my 5-year old which ones were her favourite, the Girl’s Classic Gingham Dress (£4) from BHS have come out on top!
She loves the ones with the two pockets, the bow at the back and hair tie. As a mum, I love the fact that they are knee length as I find a lot of the summer uniforms are far too short. They’ve also stood up to numerous washing and if I hang them up straight away there is no need to iron them. However, I do find the buttons a little fiddly and would prefer the zipper from the Asda one, however that one is a bit short for my liking.
This year there seems to be a price war between the big supermarkets with some offering uniforms for as little as £4. I’m a little dubious about the ethics behind some of them as I don’t know how they can ethically source them for that price. There is an interesting article ‘Why I would NEVER buy into cut-price supermarket school uniform deals on Parent Dish.
This year I’m hoping to get away with using her summer uniforms for September and buying winter ones later. I do hope this isn’t a bad idea. Do let me know otherwise.
Does the school let them wear summer uniform in September. My son’s school does, but my daughter’s doesn’t its straight into the winter uniform.
God I hope so. I didn’t think of that.
I remember years ago my mother dragging me into the great old department store in Leamington Spa called “Burgess & Colbourne”, to give you an idea of what it was like just think of Grace Brothers from “Are You Being Served” and you won’t be far off.
It was a lovely store with a creaky old rickety lift which I was always scared to use as a kid just in case it failed. It must have been 100 years old iteself and winched thousands of the great unwashed between its floors.
Burgesse’s as we used to call it had its own school uniform department, long before the Bangladesh Sweat Shops started selling the same thing to BHS, George or
M & S.
I remember being kitted out in cap blazer and trousers proudly displaying the relevant school badge. I think they had almost every badge for every school in the area and being made to march up and down the shop to make sure everything fitted properly, with the opccasional “Tuck your shirt in” from my mother !
Sadly the store is no longer there. it was taken over by the House of Fraser Group, before becoming the Lee Longlands a furniture store, but i’ll never forget that shop and the smell of varnished worn wooden cabinets and the noises of that rickety clanking old lift
http://www.housefraserarchive.ac.uk/company/?id=c1641
John
Ha, I’m reading this and Buddy isn’t even at school yet but OMG, if this summer is anything to go by I will have to take my chances on waiting cause he’s grown 2 inches from June to August and the trousers I just bought and were too long for him at beginning of summer are now half mast. I would have wasted my money!! So whichever way to look at it you are goosed ;)