Money Saving Tips for Buying School Uniforms

For many parents, school uniforms are money savers unto themselves. You do not have to buy whatever is trending that year in bulk because your child wants to keep up with his or her peers. Instead, everyone at school wears the same basic attire as set down by the school's uniform code. While pieces and colors may vary from school to school, everyone wears the same basic tops and bottoms. However, those tops and bottoms add up, especially if you want to have a week's worth on hand at all times. Learn how to combat this problem and save some cash when back-to-school uniform shopping time rolls around.

Sew Your Own Seals
Some schools require uniform tops with a patch depicting the school's seal sewn or ironed on. These schools also have authorized retailers who sell the tops ready-made with the patch. This becomes a costly option, and you may not have the time to sew individual patches onto six, seven, or eight shirts. However, if you do have time, save money by purchasing the patch individually and a generic school-approved uniform top. Sew oriron the patch onto the left breast area for a DIY project that cost less using a needle and thread or iron you have around the house.

Shop Early
High demand items always cost a bit more and in August as back-to-school time hits, uniforms become these high demand items. However, the pieces are on sale all year and often at lower prices than over the summer. If you know your child's size does not change much before the fall, buy uniform pieces in the spring. If you can guess your child's size a few months down the line, spring shopping works again. Look for uniform pants with adjustable waists if you want to buy a possible size up. Just adjust the waistband when school starts if the pants run a bit big and let it out as the school year goes on.


Mix and Match
Mixing and matching acts as a premier money saver. Create different outfits each day when you shop for basic colors. Many schools allow a variety of shades, including white, light blue, navy blue, tan, and even red. Making sure every piece you top you buy matches any bottom you buy allows you to buy less and therefore spend less. Have one pair of navy pants on hand to match both light blue and navy blue tops. One tanskirt also matches each color top. Buy just one jumper and wear several different tops with it a few times a week. Just wash each piece in between wearing and allow one pair of pants paired with different shirts each day to create different outfits. Frequent washing like this takes its toll on clothing, so just wash the pieces inside out in cold water and lay them flat to air dry. Also, remember to choose your colors wisely. If you know your child tends to make a mess at lunch, make sure to buy darker color tops, as they do not stain as easily.


Use Turtlenecks
Long sleeve collared uniform tops tend to cost more than short sleeve tops. If your school allows it, purchase all short sleeve tops for the school year and then three or four inexpensive basic turtlenecks in navy blue, light blue, or white to match the uniform shirt. Layer a short sleeve uniform shirt with the turtleneck for an inexpensive warm look to get your child through the winter months. As long as the school approves this look, you only need to buy one set of uniform shirts rather than two, saving you large amounts of money in the end.