Trutex School Uniform Review

School Uniform is a necessity, it's the clothing that your children spend most of their days in. You want it to be comfortable for them, to be hard wearing and to last but you don't want to spend a fortune on it. It isn't easy to find a brand that meets all of this criteria. My almost 8 year old, Ben, seems to have a a talent for getting his uniform as filthy as possible during the school day. If it's not mud or grass stains from playing football or cricket, it's white-board marker or his lunch, and last week it was clay!

A few weeks ago we were sent a selection of uniform from Trutex to try out before the end of term. Trutex is a  name that is synonymous with good quality, long lasting school uniform. It's the brand that clothed me during my school days and quite possibly my parents too. In fact this year marks the 150 year anniversary since Trutex first started producing school uniform, then trading as the Clitheroe Shirting Company in Lancashire.

We chose three items of uniform from the extensive selection on the Trutex website, these included the Junior Boys Slim Fit Trousers, a Crew Neck Sweatshirt and a Polo Shirt.  In line with the official school colours these were in grey and red. Although Ben is not quite eight yet he is tall for his age so I opted for age 9 in the trousers and age 9/10 in the tops. 

When the uniform arrived I was immediately impressed with the appearance of it, vibrant colours,  good quality materials and attention to the details. 

The items were all a good fit on Ben, The trousers were a little long but tucked up easily and at the rate he is growing I doubt that would be needed in a few weeks time. The waist of the trousers is elasticated at the back which is different to the adjustable elastics and buttons at the sides that I'm used to but they were a really comfortable fit on Ben and although not loose or slack there is definitely room for growth. The fabric of these trousers is thick and I can see them being hard wearing.

Both the polo shirt and the sweatshirt were a lovely shade of red that complemented the grey perfectly. The polo shirt fabric is named on the website as lacoste knit, i'd not heard of this before but it actually looked almost mesh like but was still as soft as cotton, it looked breathable and like it would be nice and cool in hot summer days (if we get any!)

So first impressions are great but uniform has to survive rough treatment in our house, from climbing trees to playing football and cricket, over the last few weeks this uniform has been through it all and has had the mud and grass stains to prove it. It's been washed and dried multiple times and I am really impressed with the results. The colour has stayed really bright on the red tops and they've kept their shape well. The fabric of the trousers has softened and is less stiff than at first but they have not shrunk and barely show any signs of wear. 

Each time the uniform has been washed, I've been impressed at how easily an array of marks and stains have come clean out.

Overall I am thoroughly impressed with this uniform from Trutex and although the RRP is slightly more than I would normally pay, looking at the way it has worn so far I can see it lasting a lot longer than the supermarket brands and therefore saving money in the long run. 

To find your nearest stockist of Trutex school uniform pop over to their website.

I am a member of the Mumsnet Bloggers Network Research Panel, a group of parent bloggers who have volunteered to review products, services, events and brands for Mumsnet. I have not paid for the product or to attend an event. I have editorial control and retain full editorial integrity

Making Children's Fashion Fit with Matalan

Last Friday we were invited down to Matalan Headquarters in Knowsley for a different kind of event. As well as being shown some of their latest lines in children's fashion, school wear, and accessories, we also got to meet the professional buying team and technical services staff and get an exclusive peek into their work.

We were joined by a few fellow blogger families and some Matalan staff members who had also brought their children to be part of the event.

Ben was asked to join other children in the boys fashion corner. The friendly fashion tech staff had a selection of samples in various sizes and asked the children to all dress in the the same items. They then stood in a 'line up' from smallest to biggest as the staff inspected the 'fit' of the clothing on them. It was really interesting to see how the shape of some of the clothes changed significantly as the sizes got bigger, as the Matalan ladies discussed adjustments and measurements I started to realise just how much work Matalan put in to making sure their clothes are comfortable fitting and true to size.

They were also really interested in what different brands of clothes I buy for my children and why, how the sizing differs from store to sore and what sort of styles I wouldn't consider buying. I was pleased to see how they took my feedback on board, really listening to what myself and fellow parents had to say about the clothes our children wear.

While Ben and I were chatting to the technical and design staff, my youngest daughter had taken Daddy to look at the other areas set up around the room with a section of children's footwear nightwear and accessories, She really enjoyed trying on a an array of dresses and hats and created her own personal style!

While the adults talked about boring subjects like sizes and fabric there were lots of colouring things available for the children to get creative with.

I thoroughly enjoyed the morning we spent at Matalan and found the staff really friendly, a highlight for me was seeing Elizabeth trying on her very first school uniform, I have to admit it brought a tear to my eye, I'm still getting my head around the fact that my baby starts school in September!

I'm looking forward to seeing some of the products we looked at in our local Matalan store very soon!

Kit your kids out for #back2school with £10 Cashback!

Are you ready for the new term yet? My son goes back to school in less than two weeks and I still have a few things to get! 

There are lots of offers and deals on at the moment on uniform, stationary and other bits and bobs but I waned to share with you an extra special deal from TopCashBack!

If you are not yet a TCB member (And why not? You are missing out on earning cashback every time you shop on line!!) then you can take advantage of this fabulous new member deal! 

Simply go to the TopCashBack website and sign up then click through to the Get Cashback Now button to visit the George website an spend a minimum of £10. It's that simple! 

Take a look at this advert to see the products you could be buying...

Remember this offer is for new members only but if you're already a TCB member why not pop over to their site and check out the other great cashback offers they have on at the moment?

This offer is only valid until next Wednesday 27/08/14 at 23.59 so be quick so you don't miss out!

Don't worry if your cashback doesn't show immediately! Topcashback say, 'Cashback may track at a lower rate than £10 cashback originally and will uplift within 14 days of your order date.'

Full terms and conditions can be found here. 

Back 2 school on a budget...

 

So it's the end of August
and everyone is getting ready for the kids to return to school in September. It can be exciting, it can be nerve wracking, but one thing it doesn't have to be ...

is expensive!

It's likely your children will have grown out of most of the uniform you purchased 12 months ago, if not they certainly will have been rough on it and if any does still fit it's unlikely that you will feel it's smart enough for them to start a new class! Then there's the shoes, the new coat, the lunchbag, the PE kits (how does part of it always get lost?)...

 

 

For parents of school aged children, the run up to September is usually an expensive time.

You may wonder why I don't start the back to school shop earlier and stagger it through the year, so I don't notice it as much, like I do with my Christmas shopping, well the truth is I do to some extent. Ben's new winter coat was purchased in the January Sales, and his new Buzz Lightyear lunchbag was bought in March when I saw it on a clearence shelf for half price. However like many young boys, my son is prone to growth spurts, so I find it safer not buy things like shoes or uniform until they are needed or he may completely bypass that size!

Last year was Ben's first year at school, he started Reception class just days after his forth birthday and I was so nervous about my baby boy starting school so young, but over the last year he has thrived. Although because of his size (like his Daddy he is tall), I feel that sometimes his age is forgotton and a bit too much can be expected of him, he really enjoys school and really looking forward to going back and seeing all his friends in September.

It's not just Ben who has leant lessons over the past year though, last year I was a first time school mum, and aswell as a few other school girl errors (labelling all his clothes with the wrong class number was my first day #mummyfail!) I ended spending much more that I needed to on school uniform. Like many primary schools these days, Ben's uniform consisted of a polo-shirt, a sweatshirt and trousers (or a skirt for the girls) and there was the option of buying the first two items with the school crest or just wearing plain red. As a mother who wanted her little boy to 'fit in' and 'look right', I ended up spending a small fortune on the 'official uniform' bearing the school crest. Just a few weeks into term I soon realised, that although many children did wear the school branded uniform, many others happily wore plain red and 'fitted in' just fine. After chatting to other mums in the schoolyard I soon discovered that the general consensus was to have one or two of each item with a school logo on (to wear for school photos, special assembelies ect..), and buy the rest from the supermarket!

So this year that was my plan! We have a couple of sweatshirts and polo's on order from the school but the rest of Ben's uniform will be unbranded and from the supermarket.

The lovely folks from TU at Sainsburys kindly sent us out a few items from their school uniform range for Ben to try.

We were sent a pack of two sweatshirts (£3) and a pack of two permanent crease trousers (£4) both in age 5 - 6.

This is what Sainsburys say about their uniform...

Hardwearing fabrics, stain resistant finishes, non-iron shirts and permanent pleats ensure your child looks ‘first day back’ smart, all term long. TU at Sainsbury’s puts its Back TU School products through the most rigorous testing, which is five times the industry standard! Trousers, pinafores and skirts are abrasion tested and can last up to 100,000 rubs, seam strengths have been pull tested with a weight of up to 29kg and high quality Teflon finish on fabrics have been tested to last up to an entire school year worth of washes, ensuring kids grow out before they wear out.

As soon as they arrived I could see they were the same great quality we had come to expect from TU clothing, I adore their funky kidswear ranges and both Ben and Elizabeth have been kitted out in them from a young age. I have always found that it washes well, keeps it shape and the colour rarely fades. Well so far the uniform is no exception, I have laundered it ready for Ben to wear next week and it has washed and dried well.

 

Before I had a chance to pop it in the wash (or even take the labels off!) Ben insisted on trying it on. Both the trousers and the sweatshirts fit well. The trousers have a permanent crease which makes them look very smart and they also have adjustable buttons inside the waistband to get a perfect fit. (I also noticed that there was a decent hem on the bottom of the legs so if Ben did have another of his growth spurts before the trousers were ready to be replaced then it would be no problem to take them down slightly.) The sweatshirts fitted well also, not constricting but not too baggy either and the arms were just the right length (which is not always the case with cheaper children's clothes!)

So the quality seems fantastic but that didn't surprise me given my previous experiences with their clothing, what did give me a (pleasant) shock, was the cost! At just £4 for a pack of two trousers, £3 for a pack of two sweatshirts and £3 for a pack of 3 polo shirts (we were not sent these but I imagine they would be of similar quality to the rest of the range)....

You could get two full uniforms for less than £10!!

 

Now that is #back2school on a budget!

 

Check out the full range at your local Sainsburys store...