Starting School With Matalan

Following on from last week's starting school post, today I'm talking about the British fashion and homeware retailer, Matalan. Earlier this year I attended a press day at their local HQ and immediately knew Matalan was the top brand on my consideration list for uniform. The fabrics are really great quality and the skirts and trousers are stain resistant, which is a big plus for me.

As part of working with Matalan we were sent several pieces of uniform from their collection for Miss H to try which included polo shirts, skirts, a pinafore, school shoes and pumps for PE.

Having now purchased the branded uniform for Miss H's school and tried the Trutex pieces out, it is interesting to compare the quality of the shirts. The branded shirts are definitely better quality as the fuel a lot thicker, but at nearly £10 per top you're certainly paying for it. I decided to only get H three branded tops and the rest plain as she can wear them underneath her jumper when the cold weather comes, and in the meantime the pinafore also covers where the logo should be.

Trutex and Matalan shirt quality is pretty much the same. The Trutex is probably slightly thicker feeling, but they are also almost double the price at £4.50 a shirt compared to £3 for two from Matalan.

Again the skirts feel very similar, both have adjustable waists with Matalan's being stain resistant which I'm not sure Trutex are. Matalan's skirts are £5 each with Trutex being £10.99 so again, a considerable difference.

I absolutely adored this pinafore when I first saw it at the press day, and was thrilled for H to have one herself. I settled on size five years, which currently stops beneath her knee giving her enough room to grow. For reception and those early years I think pinafore's are just so cute, and you can't get away with them when they get older!

As I said above we were also sent two pairs of shoes - some patent school shoes and some pumps. The patent shoes are plain black with a little flower detail on and velcro strap, making them easy for H to slip on and off at school. They are £12 so a reasonable price considered how much battering they are sure to succumb to. The pumps are again plain black with a velcro strap, and were only £3. These may fall apart much more quickly but for £3 you can't complain.

I decided a few months ago that I would be shopping on the high street for the majority of my childrens' school uniform. Considering the wear and tear and how fast children grow at this age it really isn't worth forking out a huge amount in my opinion, only to have to do it once more a few months down the line. I am really pleased with the pieces we have from Matalan, they have finished off Miss H's school wardrobe nicely, meaning she is all ready to take those big steps across the school gates and into the next stage of her life.

*We were sent these pieces FOC however all opinions are my own