Mums dress to impress – for the school run!

IT’S an age-old challenge for most school-run mums: get their children out of bed, provide their breakfast and get their clothes ready before a mad dash to class.

But six out of ten mothers add to the stress by dressing up in their smartest outfits before they leave the house – to impress other parents at the school gates.

A poll of 1,500 mothers with children in primary school found that 63 per cent ‘made a concerted effort’ to dress well for the school run.

And 30 per cent admitted that they took so long getting ready themselves that their child had been late for class.

The average time it took for mums to get ready was 22 minutes, although some confessed to taking an hour or more.

About a third of those surveyed said they bought new clothes every term, specifically for the school run.

The trend has been dubbed the ‘classroom catwalk’ after researchers at internet auction site eBay, which commissioned the poll, found that the average cost of new outfit for the school run was a whopping £70, rising to £145 in London.

A total of 15 per cent of the mums quizzed said they felt pressured to look good on the school run because others made such a big effort. And nearly half confessed that they judged other mums at the school gate on what they were wearing.

Ten per cent even said they felt judged on their outfits by teachers and 19 per cent were worried that if they turned up in scruffy clothes, it would reflect badly on their child. Asked to pick their best-dressed celebrity mum, a third chose This Morning host Holly Willoughby.

Helen Riley, fashion boss at eBay, said: ‘The school run can be a real source of stress for mums. It’s clear that on top of all their day-to-day worries about getting their children to school, they also face pressures on themselves to look their best.’