Back to School - Speeding up your Morning with M&S

I don't expect that I need to tell you (yet again) that I love M&S, it is my shop of choice. If I need something to wear and want it to be stylish and good quality then M&S is were I go to. Yes I may pay a few more pounds for a similar item to what I might get at the supermarket but the cut, the sewing and the quality of the fabric is just in a different league and the same is true for school uniform as well

For quite a few years my Mum worked as a shop assistant in M&S and this has left her with a wonderful legacy - the discount card! So each year around July before school breaks up my mum gets in touch and asks me what the kids need for the year ahead and then she goes and buys it and yes I do realise she is a complete angel.

There are certain items that I only buy from M&S as they are just so much better than other shops. Girls pleated skirts are one of these things. I can't stand cheap skirts that when you wash them, they lose their pleats and you have to spend time ironing them in, it takes forever and never looks as good as when you bought them. So M&S permanent pleat skirts are just perfect and my girls look really smart in them and they last so well that I can pass them on to a friends child as well. This one Miss E is modelling here is her newest buy and it cost just £9 in her size (age 9-10 years), it has an adjustable waist, uses crease resistant technology to stay smart all day long and has Triple Action Stormwear™, which is a technology that repels water, oil and releases stubborn stains keeping you dry in rain showers and helping to repel mud and release ground-in stains.

Other items that I only buy from M&S are the short socks that Miss E is also wearing here, they have cute colour coordinated styling on the top of each and they keep their colour and form and do not bobble or shrink and also the zip through girls checked summer dresses. Miss M finds too many buttons really fiddly, especially all the silly novelty shaped ones that the supermarkets use so a long zip is perfect on PE days when she needs it easy and stress-free.

M&S uniform is all about making it easy, stress-free and time saving and your child can easily speed up their morning by having easy to put on school uniform. Zips, stretch waists and simple round buttons make dressing much easier. Something new that M&S have introduced for their smaller sized shirts (up to age 8 years) is the Expandicuff™ and Easyclose technology whch means your little one does not need to fiddle with any buttons at their wrists.

JJ is just moving up to Secondary school this year and that means a move from white polo shirts to blue long sleeve formal shirts and a blazer, so this is a big move for him and I was very pleased to see that his M&S shirts come with non-iron technology, meaning they stay crease-free and also the Stain Away™ feature to help keep them clean for longer. Believe me this is really needed with my messy ketchup loving boy! JJ wears the regular fit in shirts but it is good to see M&S catering for a more discerning customer with slim fit shirts and a variety of fits in trousers being available for older boys too.

These little features that M&S put into their clothes make a big difference to me and my ironing pile and also to my kids staying smart the whole day long.

One of the really useful features that I have recently become aware of but have not yet purchased any uniform boasting this feature is the Adjust-A-Hem. This gives a hem with an extra 3 inches of material that can be let down as your child grows, you just iron it in place so a needle and thread is not required, brilliant!

Thanks M&S for thinking of all these little extras that make a difference to parents and kids alike.

I noticed whilst browsing the M&S website tonight that you can get £5 off kids clothing when you spend £40 on school wear, with code 'SAVE5ONLINE' and every penny makes a difference. They are also currently running an ‘Inventors Wanted’ competition for kids to come up with their own school uniform innovations. There’s a whole page where you can see the uniform inventions that have already been thought up and you can also enter there as well. The winner will get a trip to The Kennedy Space Center in Orlando and the runners up will received a £150 M&S voucher. Sounds pretty cool, doesn't it?

Disclosure: M&S have provided me with a voucher to spend in store to share my experiences of buying their uniform. I have not been instructed what to write and I remain honest.

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