A little moan about school uniform...

[doodles]

Must be 'cos manufacturers seem to have completely forgotten that children grow during the year

[marigold]

I am so fed up with M and S shoddy jumpers that I have gone so far as to buy a Skinner's black jumper for my son even though he does not go there. Simmonds were rather suprised when I phoned.
My daughter's school gets their uniform from Simmonds ( Kent ) , despite being in Essex and her jumper is by far the best quality item of school wear I have ever bought.

A couple of years I did have a minor tantrum in M and S when I went to buy school tights and discovered the whole children's section had been taken over by b....y Halloween stuff. I couldn't go back in until Christmas as I was so ashamed.

[yoyo123]

re shoes with Velcro...

I have discovered you can get new Velcro sewn in at Timpsons ( or any other shoe repair place i expect) I have a pair of German walking sandals which kept coming undone as the Velcro got woolly. It cost me £12.50 (4 bits on each sandal) but was well worth it as the shoes themselves wee still in such good condition

[mad?]

I have gone so far as to buy a Skinner's black jumper for my son even though he does not go there.

marigold

[Plum]

Oh School shoes, definitely. DD2 has strange feet - totally flat and she sort of walks over on the insides.

Can I suggest you take your DD to see your GP (if you haven't already). DS has the same problem and would moan that his feet ached when walking a bit. We were referred to the Biometric Dept of our local hospital and they provided him with insoles which, once he got used to, found they made his feet much less achy. Of course, he's now had a growth spurt and we've got to go back for bigger insoles.......

And don't get me started on the Clarks girls shoes with the dolls in

The first pair we got went back after two weeks as the insides all buckled up. The woman in the shop told me they had had quite a few pairs back. The following year, the only shoes Clarks had were the ones with the dolls, so we bought those, took the dolls out and glued them down

This year, nothing in Clarks fitted my DD - we were in there for about an hour, finally the shop assistant brought out a pair of ballet pump shoes - for an 8 year old - we left at that point and went to a small, independent shop. The shoes were more expensive but not by much and they are more substantial than the Clarks shoes and will hopefully last longer.

And as for the boys shoes in Clarks - they had absolutely no choice whatsoever for DS - we will be getting his next pair from the mens dept......

Rant over....!

[Rugbymum]

Try ordering from M&S or NEXT online and have these delivered to your local store if you do not fancy paying postage.

Grey tights are a bug bear - its so hard to find these and when you do, these shrink in the wash after a few weeks

ANother moan is trying to find plain tracksuit trousers for PE

[Milla]

I refuse to buy uniform until late Aug in the desp hope that the kiddies might have grown. Then have to scrub around amongst whatver the locusts have left while the shops, yes, stockpile their slippers and thermals.
M&S jumpers - RUBBISH! I bought them thinking they'd be about as good as it got, but holes developed in moments, all but before my eyes, and this was with the careful son.
Clarks shoes, amazingly, I have a great deal of time for. So far, touch wood, with children in Ys 7 and 9 I have only ever had to buy one pair each per school year and they have lasted well and easily.
The zips on DS2's brand new backpack have started to go. Grrrr. Just over a month old so will have to go back to Animal and have a middle aged rant about quality.
Shirts, yes yes yes, Sally Anne. DS1's school is obsessed about tucking your shirt in. My boy is so skinny (and his trousers ridiculously low-slung - such a bad look, my mother does it to her trousers when he's around to try to show him how absurd it is) and the shirt so short that it just will not stay tucked in.
Cor, this thread's bringing us all out of our holes to say, "and another thing ..." isn't it!

[mad?]

my mother does it to her trousers when he's around to try to show him how absurd it is

loving your mother!

[mum23*]

ooh time to join in with the moaning...

Trutex skirts - hems come down v. easily which is annoying but I did pick up some navy school cardigans at Waitrose (with the John Lewis bit in it) and they have been good, generous size wise so age 11-12 fits my year 9 DD!! they seemed to have lots of tights too although the navy is a bit of a brighter blue than normal. I have found M&S so irritating that I have almost given up with them, they NEVER have what I need for DCs in stock, the right size etc online and in store and that has been at all different times of year.

DD1 does not want Clarkes/Startrite shoes - too "square" but has ruined all other normal shoes in a very short space of time and I have said I refuse to waste any more £ She has asked to try the Doc Marten "ballet pumps" ( ) so perhaps they might be hard wearing...anyone tried these? (I am thinking probably not...but you never know.

[Snowdrops]

Wow mum23, I'm impressed by those Doc Marten's, bet they wear wonderfully well. I do wonder if my dd would like the? She too won't wear any Clark's/Startrite's etc. It's very difficult to get good quality shoes in styles which will last. It's ok if you want something which literally falls to bits (because they're made with cardboard ) within two weeks. I shall try to make out it's her idea