While I'm no fashionista, and would balk at paying more than £20-odd for a single piece of clothing for myself, that sensibility does not extend to my children, and I love seeing them in gorgeous dresses and funky outfits.  Fortunately we came across YellowMellon.com, an online store that caters for children aged 0-13 who have everything from babygrows to school-wear and where t-shirts start from £4, trousers from £5 and dresses from £6.

Stockists of brands such as Minx, Freaky and Brave Soul, YellowMellon.com also have their own brand, which is well worth looking at for well made, good quality clothing.

YellowMellon.com is a self-acclaimed one stop shop for affordable, fun fashion, and looking at the goods we have from them, they're not wrong.

The baby clothes are cute and sweet and the girls clothes have some really unique prints that I've not seen in other girls ranges. I particularly love the butterfly print layered summer dress (£11.25, pictured) and the girls beachwear, which as the mother to a toddler and a baby, I'm more than happy to say is cute and pretty without trying to be "sexy".

The clothing quality is great too. I've bought high street brands in the past, particularly for baby clothing, which looks stretched out of all proportion after the first wash - this doesn't do that. It's pretty much adult styled and adult quality but in child sizes, and very competitive, and often better than competitive prices.

If you look at the left hand side of the screen on their website, there's a 10% off offer - if you like them on Facebook you're given a discount code, so bear that in mind if you're buying, and as you can find some lovely cardigans and school wear, I'd recommend taking a look.

Well it is that time of the year again. If you haven't already started, then you had better get your finger out. I know from personal experience that the shelves are usually bare the first day of September! In fact, for most of the year, outside of August, school uniform can be really difficult to find. Do the shops not think that children will need trousers and shirts during the year too?

New to school parents will be wondering how much of everything they need to get. This partly depends on your child. If they're a messy eater then you're going to need to pop a fresh polo shirt on a nursery or Reception child pretty much ever day.

When it comes to older kids, during the summer when it tends to be just shirt sleeves, I figure that I'll need a fresh shirt every day. So a minimum of three if you're going to do a mid week wash.

There's also some easy ways to make sure school uniform lasts as long as possible. And school uniforms are hardly cheap. When my son started Year 1 at a state school, he had to wear a blazer, jersey with logo, tie etc. Just the basics, and this only includes one blazer, came to nearly £80. That did not include the shoes.

A friend of mine whose son is starting at a secondary comprehensive in September ended up having to fork out over £250 for uniform and school equipment. And that isn't even everything!

Also, depending on your school and whether they're at primary or secondary, there's everything else you need too. Like notebooks, pencils, pens, pencil cases and so forth.

We're here to help! Read on to find out more.

Just as the last Asda George uniform promotional code ran out, another one came along. Use this Asda George promotional code to get 10% off when you spend £15 or more on school wear.

Click here to use your George at Asda promotional code

• Discount: 10%
• Applies to: schoolwear
• Promotional code: YM61216S
• Expires: 31st August, 2012

To use this code, go to the Basket page and enter it in the Promotion box, and click on the Apply button.

I tested this code out on three pairs of trousers priced at £5 each. The code took £1.50 off. Delivery to a store for collection is free.

I know, it is only about two weeks till the end of the school year (or you're already on holidays). But in my experience it is now that all those items like trousers start to wear out. Prices are pretty low at George anyway, and this code takes them down even further.

You could also use it on buying items that you can stock up on. Like short sleeved shirts. They're fine to buy a bit bigger, and you can usually wear short sleeved shirts come September. Even later - I remember last year we seemed to have our summer in September and October. With the way the weather is this year I'm not sure we'll even get that though!

Thanks to jabbag at HUKD!

There's a 20% off sale on schoolwear on Marks and Spencer's website at the moment. With this Marks and Spencers promotional code you can get another 10% off. This actually adds up to 30% off in total. Both the 20% and the 10% comes off the original price (you'll see what I mean below).

Click here to use your Marks and Spencer promotional code

• Discount: 10%
• Applies to: schoolwear
• Promotional code: MSJUNE10
• Expires: unknown

Unfortunately I don't know how long this code will last. I assume it will work as long as the sale is on, and according to the website, this is for a limited time. Helpful. To use the code, you need to go through checkout. There  are two opportunities to enter a promotional code before you confirm your order. Once entered it will appear automatically on your order if it is accepted.

I tested it out on a pair of slim fit school trousers. These were priced at £13. The code took £2.60 off for the 20% sale, and £1.30 for my 10% discount. With the £3.50 delivery cost (this is more cost effective if you buy more than one item) the total came to £12.60.

Thanks to cheriecollins at HUKD!

Use this George at Asda promotional code to get 10% off when you spend £15 or more on school wear.

Click here to use your George at Asda promotional code

• Discount: 10%
• Applies to: schoolwear
• Promotional code: SCHOOL12
• Expires: 30th of June, 2012

To use this code, go to the Basket page and enter it in the Promotion box, and click on the Apply button.

I tested this code out on three pairs of trousers priced at £5 each. The code took £1.50 off. Delivery to a store for collection is free.

I know, it is only about six weeks till the end of the school year. But in my experience it is now that all those items like trousers start to wear out. Prices are pretty low at George anyway, and this code takes them down even further.

You could also use it on buying items that you can stock up on. Like short sleeved shirts. They're fine to buy a bit bigger, and you can usually wear short sleeved shirts come September. Even later - I remember last year we seemed to have our summer in September and October. With the way the weather is this year I'm not sure we'll even get that though!

Thanks to Breadnbutter at HUKD!

Tesco have taken 25% off all school uniform; now might be a good time to assess your school uniform stock levels, especially as I think it only runs for TODAY.

• Click HERE to go over to Tesco

When my children first crossed the classroom threshold, they did so with the regulation bits of school uniform, numerous pairs of socks, vests in the drawer waiting for those chilly days etc.

By the time the first half term came around it had become glaringly obvious where the school uniform holes were, both, metaphorically and literally in the case of the knees of my son's school trousers!

Once in school, our darling little ones have a terrible habit of seeming to grow even faster - it must be a competitive thing with their classmates - because, again, by the time the first half term rocked up they'd grown out of various things that we're SURE fitted okay at the beginning of the school year just seven weeks before.

If all of this is starting to sound familiar then pop over to Tesco and take advantage of their 25% off all school uniform discount and save yourself some money.

If you can't face school uniform shopping in person again, so soon after already having done it once, then you can order online and just collect it all in-store the next time you're there.

Please be aware - there's nothing anywhere to suggest that this discount is running but, trust me, it is.  I threw a couple of pairs of trousers into my virtual basket, and the discount was applied at the checkout (it's right at the bottom of the screen, listed as: Deal of the Day - 25% off school uniform).

Thanks to brummie02 at HUKD

Don't waste a second of your holidays shopping for those necessary back to school items like uniform. Do it online instead, and guilt free if you use this Asda George promotional code to get free delivery on uniforms when you spend £20.

Click here to use your Asda George promotional code

• Discount: free delivery
• Applies to: uniform
• Promotional code: SCHOOL2
• Expires: 2nd September 2011

To use the code, go to the Basket and enter it in the Promotional Code box. Delivery is confirmed when you go through checkout.

I thought it would be quite hard to test this one out actually, as the prices are so reasonable and I only have the one school age child. But having learnt my lesson starting last year with two pairs of trousers I know that at least four pairs are really required. Especially if the weather makes drying outdoors impossible. The house looks permanently like a laundry otherwise.

I picked up four pairs of his favourite style of trouser - the cargo pants. These were £5 each, which isn't a bad price.

Thanks to andywedge at HUKD!

Save on having to make a trip to the shops with this M&S voucher code. It will give you free delivery on school uniforms.

Click here to get your M&S voucher code for free delivery of schoolwear

• Discount: Free Delivery
• Minimum Spend: £0.00
• Applies To: School Uniforms
• Voucher Code: SCHOOL10
• Expires: 14th September 2010

If you're a well organised parent you'll already have all your school wear sorted, ready for September. No doubt you bought it all in the 3 for 2 sales in June and July. If you're like the rest of us however, you're probably still scrabbling about for items or are only just starting!

There's no minimum spend on this code, so with the free delivery it make this an ideal (and hassle free) way to pick up the odd item or two that you might have forgotten. I'm always happy with free delivery offers as it means I don't have to go to the High Street shops dragging a reluctant five year old boy with me!

Thanks to andywedge at HUKD!

The simple answer to question of how you can prolong the life of a school uniform might be to not let your child wear it! But that's hardly practical. There are some easy ways to make sure that it lasts as long as possible. And school uniforms are hardly cheap. My son starts Year 1 at a state school in September, and has to wear a blazer, jersey with logo, tie etc. Just the basics, and this only includes one blazer, came to nearly £80. We've still to buy the shoes.

A friend of mine whose son is starting at a comprehensive in September ended up having to fork out over £250 for uniform and school equipment. And that isn't even everything!

So, everything you can do to make items last that little bit longer has to be a GOOD THING surely?

Sew What?

Learn to sew. Or grab a granny to do it for you (which is what I have to do but I am learning!). I can do the basics. Like this one. Mum of two Madeliene says that "although it sounds like a total faff, do go through all their shirts when you buy them and re-sew on the buttons. It really does save you so much grief later in the year when there's so little time to sort these things out. The machines that make these shirts never sew the buttons on properly, and they take a lot of abuse."

With my step-son, my mother-in-law helped out by sewing on patches inside the knee as soon as we got a new pair of trousers. I don't know what he did all day but if we didn't do that he'd wear out a knee within a month.

I talked about patching and mending earlier in the summer - Patch and Mend: Sewing and Darning.

Naming

At the beginning and end of each school year, there seems to be a rash of thefts from school cloakrooms. I know of parents who've been affected by this across a broad spectrum from private prep schools to inner city secondaries. Winter coats are also very prone to going missing.

It isn't all theiving fingers of course. Our kids, especially when they've more important things on their mind like the custard and cake in the canteen, tend to forget about things like where they put their jumper or left their blazer. In those instances, a well named item will quickly find its way back to you.

For this purpose I always sew in labels into the important stuff. This includes his coat, blazer, and jersey. Yes, it is a pain, and I hate it with a passion. I loathe sewing! But the iron-on labels just don't last as long, and fabric pens wash out over time. It also provides him with a little loop on his jersey so he can hang it securely on the peg during the warm weather, so it is less likely to fall on the floor and get kicked around! For other items like shirts (£3.50 for three at Sainsburys) I just use an iron-on label.

For that extra bit of protection against thieves, I take a fabric pen and write his name in huge letters on the inside. One one of his jackets, it is right across the bottom of the back part.

PlayPennies mum Sho has this tip "I always also named the girl's jackets, cardigans, and coats somewhere 'secret' that couldn't be readily seen. Because we live in a small village with just one shop many of them end up with the same items. This way if a girl accidently picks up your daughter's cardi, you can discretely point out to the mum that it is in fact yours."

It'll all come out in the wash

Take care with the washing of clothes, and they'll last that little bit longer for you. For this reason, always use a cool wash. Thirty degrees is friendlier for clothes (and the environment!).

Always wash items like jerseys, jumpers, trousers, skirts and dresses inside out. It'll protect the material from damage and the colour from fading. I also hang them out this way when the weather lets me do so outside, as it keeps sunlight from fading the colour too.

Do the opposite with your whites. Here's what my mum used to do - she would soak our white school shirts in water with lemon juice. Then hang them out in the sun to dry. I always liked the smell of this but have only just worked out why she did that after googling it for this article. Lemon juice and sunlight work as a natural bleach. Who knew?

Finally Footwear

At the moment my son is growing out of his shoes faster than he is wearing them out so I hadn't really worried about ways to make the shoes last longer. One tip I found online was to use dubbin - a tin will set you back about £2. Well I don't know if this is better to use on shoes than Scotchguard, but according to Wikipedia it is made of natural wax, oil and tallow, and will soften, condition and water proof leather.

I loved using this stuff on my hiking boots when I was a teenager. And it really did keep my feet nice and dry!

I'm sure that other mums have way more practical tips than I've given here. What other things do you think I can do/shouldn't do to make a school uniform last longer?

Yes you read that right! Marks and Spencer have school uniform items starting from just £1!

• Click HERE to bag some back to school bargains

When I was at school all uniform was standard, jumpers with an embroidered school logo were the exception rather than the norm'; my school distinguished itself from the other navy blue uniformed establishements with a tie - yep, a proper tie AND we wore long sleeved cotton shirts in the winter, short in the summer!

When the Teenagers started school everything was logo-embroidered up to the hilt, the right coloured purple socks were only available from the school bursar and the whole uniform experience buying experience was nothing short of being robbed in broad daylight.

Touch wood your child's school has a modicum of common sense and you can take advantage of some rather fab back to school uniform bargains at Marks and Sparks!

It's going to be a bit tricky to link to individual items because of the way M&S have laid this part of the site out, but here are all the value uniform items for girls and here are the value uniform items for boys (click on the pictures to see the uniform items - this really could have been done better).

You can pick up a pack of three polo shirts in either white, sky blue, grey, red or yellow for between £3 and £9 and basic cotton jumpers start at £2.  Both gender trousers start at £3.50, skirts from £2.50 and all have adjustable waists - this little feature has proved invaluable over the years for my teenage son as he's got a little skinny waist.

There are lots of other uniform items available (value range and not - the 'quality' ranges start from £6.50) and if you order school uniform items only you can claim free delivery by using this code at the checkout: SCHOOL10