Uniform vs plain clothes for kids? What cost more?

[Anonymous]

My son goes to a school that has uniform. I have to say though, on casual dress days (once a month), it seems a lot more chaotic. I do think uniform has some sort of a calming effect.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My son goes to a school that has uniform. I have to say though, on casual dress days (once a month), it seems a lot more chaotic. I do think uniform has some sort of a calming effect.

I'd also imagine that the kids are excited about casual dress days and that effects their behavior.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wish public school here do uniform. It is a lot cheaper, and no kids or parents feel any pressure of not dressing right for styles or unnamed brand. That is one less peer pressure.

Lots of EOTP DC schools have uniforms.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Uniform is cheaper as long as they don't require school logos. With logos, a polo shirt goes from 4 to 20.

You also still need at least a week or two worth of casual clothes for the breaks in school.

So, the uniforms are actually more expensive, since I would have to buy them in addition to the clothing I normally buy. Even if the uniform is inexpensive, it is still an additional expense, not a substitution. My children do not currently have a separate school wardrobe.

My kid has very few non uniform clothes. The uniforms (at his school) are very reasonably priced and are less expensive than regular clothes. Plus there’s no pressure regarding new clothes at the beginning of the year, no one notices when someone has new clothes, or name brand anything. I like uniforms mainly because it makes getting dressed for school really easy.

[Anonymous]

I don’t understand how uniforms save you money. Don’t your kids change when they get home? I can’t imagine mine my son hanging out in a polo all night. He often does something active in the evening and is in the same clothes he went to school in since he doesn’t wear a uniform and dresses in casual clothes. Same for DD.

[Anonymous]

I have two middle school boys. One in public and one in private. I spend far less per year on clothes for the private school uniform kid.

[Anonymous]

The most expensive is when you have to buy their uniform with the school crest, the school plaid, etc. and when there are a lot of pieces to the uniform, especially blazers. This is more a thing with private religious schools.

The cheapest is when you can buy generic uniforms at Kohls/Walmart/Target/land's end. Really strict dress code but no true uniform (like collared or button down shirt and dress pants) mean most kids essentially sink into a uniform situation and that isn't too bad, either since you can stock up at a sale each year on button downs or make a big outlet run and they just rotate.

No uniform falls in between, unless your kid is some fashionista.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t understand how uniforms save you money. Don’t your kids change when they get home? I can’t imagine mine my son hanging out in a polo all night. He often does something active in the evening and is in the same clothes he went to school in since he doesn’t wear a uniform and dresses in casual clothes. Same for DD.

My middle school son changes out of his uniform when he gets home, but it doesn't have to be into the latest and greatest style as he would probably want to wear to the public school. He can rewear things frequently at home. Often the change is in to sports clothes for a practice after school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t understand how uniforms save you money. Don’t your kids change when they get home? I can’t imagine mine my son hanging out in a polo all night. He often does something active in the evening and is in the same clothes he went to school in since he doesn’t wear a uniform and dresses in casual clothes. Same for DD.

My middle school son changes out of his uniform when he gets home, but it doesn't have to be into the latest and greatest style as he would probably want to wear to the public school. He can rewear things frequently at home. Often the change is in to sports clothes for a practice after school.

+1 Because they go outside or there's sports practices, they just change into things like soccer/basketball shorts and generic tshirts or tshirts from camps/teams/etc.

[Anonymous]

My 10th grader wear a blue button down shirt ($20), a school tie (about $15), specific pants that have to be altered ($$30), and a sweater with a logo that is about $30.

The PE outfit is about $10 +$15.

He uses the sweater over and over.

My other kid has a similar uniform, but for casual days he can wear a polo with the school emblem (about $15).

I keep 5 days worth of clothes that fit on hand, except the sweater. They have 2-3 of those.

Parents love to pass clothes along and when you see a child who is shaped like your kid, you tend to go out of your way to pass on directly to them. Moms have done this for me, especially with pants.

A challenge is that if your kid is an unusual size you may have to custom order, which can be pricier or take a while no matter what company.

Some parents go to Lands End or Old Navy, but you can tell they don't match. It is a matter of whether or not the school is a stickler for that.

I KNOW I save $ on shoes, because the status sneakers become "rewards" in my house for weekends or after school and last longer. For school shoes, neither kid cares much because it is just part of the uniform.

We talk about sneakers A LOT because I remember the Air Jordan/Reebok days and what a big deal those items were. It is nice to not have to think about $150 shoes (until Christmas).