Should I Follow the Trends & Fashions When It Comes to School Uniform?
Fashion can sometimes dictate what is ‘cool’ in secondary school. It’s unfortunate but true. Kids, teenagers especially, can feel the pressure to pick their clothes based on what’s popular in their school at the time. As a parent it can be difficult to give advice in this area. You want your kids to be themselves and be comfortable with their own style, but you also don’t want them to feel left out at school. As school uniform doesn’t allow students to display their personal style through clothing, they often use their footwear to do this. So, the choice is between picking school shoes that are trendy in 2019, or ones that really reflect your child’s personality. If you’re lucky then these two will be similar already.
It isn’t just the style of footwear that can make a popular school shoe, it’s also the brand. This is something that can be a divisive topic between you and your kids. As your kids progress through school they may feel as if their clothes need to be branded, and this can often be an expensive habit. As a parent, you may disagree with spending a vast amount on a pair of cool school shoes (and who could blame you?).
Our advice is to find a middle ground. Often expensive branded school shoes have a simple design. Try to find the same design in a cheaper unbranded version. Or you can try and find a great design that is unbranded to make up for the fact that it may not be their first choice! Thankfully here at Shoe Zone we also stock a wide range of popular and affordable brands that could be just the ticket for pleasing both parents and kids! The most important thing for any child to know is that the best thing they can be is themselves.
An issue that may arise with younger children is wanting to wear popular adult designs for school shoes. These include boots and heels, which can sometimes be found in children’s sizes. You may not find these appropriate, or you may feel that your child is only wearing these to fit in with their friends and other students. If this is the case then it’s important that you encourage them to follow their own style and gently explain to them why you feel they aren’t the best option for school. Try and research some designs of appropriate and stylish school shoes before so that you can provide some options.
If you’ve got this far and are now thinking that you have a daunting task ahead of you in finding the best school shoes for your kids, you don’t need to worry about a thing. Take inspiration from the points mentioned above then you can’t go wrong and are sure to pick out a great pair of school shoes. For a more detailed guide to picking the best footwear, read our guide on choosing the best school shoes.