YOU can generally tell it's the first day back at school by the nervous buzz in the air, the embarrassed scuffing of too-new shoes and abundance of razor-sharp haircuts.

Or at least you could at my school, where your peers' verdict on a new uniform, coat, bag, pencil case, rubber and so on was just as daunting and vitally important as those end-of-year results.

I thought, over time, I'd forget that feeling of standing in the playground, cursing my mother for my unflattering, ill-fitting, A-line skirt.

Or my father for working in a camera shop and receiving truckloads of freebie coats, rucksacks, hats - you name it- emblazoned with Nikon, Pentax and Konica.

But, sadly, it still haunts me and I can only pray for the day when the words, 'Konica, colours are calling you', cease to resound in my head.

The point is, every child wants to stand tall on the first day of term and the importance of a good fit, up-to-date style and individuality will prevail until the end of time.

When it comes to uniform, there's one place which aims to honour all three, and not only does it cater for nearly every school in the Midlands, its right on the doorstep.

For parents who are new to uniform drill, Schooltogs in New Street, provides both off-the-peg and made-to-measure clothes, manufactured by specialists and designed to withstand the rigours of an active school life, whatever time of year.

Those unsure of what their child needs to wear should visit handy reference website schooltogs.com for a kit list for schools across the region.

And, uniquely, the independent retailer, founded by parents in 1983, now offers the chance to have badges em-broidered on to plain blazers by an exclusive company in Kempsey.

"Traditionally, if a child is going to a state school, parents have to buy a blank blazer, the school badge and then sew them on themselves," said managing director, Fransisco Serrano.

"But more and more mums have less time or the inclination to do this and if they do, the badge can ruffle up the pocket or come loose.

"Private school blazers have always looked that little bit smarter but we can now embroider a school's individual badge on a blank blazer, which hasn't been done before.

"It is so popular, we keep selling out."

He said the biggest preconception by parents was that an independent retailer was much more expensive than major chains.

"There is an eternal battle, but we don't rely on attention grabbers and cater for a child's needs throughout the year," he said.

"And by the time you've added in the extras, it's actually cheaper to come to us most of the time."

However, there are a few bargains to be had at major stores, including the BHS School Shop, which offers up-to-date styles with the latest in time saving features like non-iron finish and Teflon stain protection.

From blazers to blouses, from shoes to sportswear, the shop in CrownGate, has grey navy and black fitted skirts with lycra, aged four to 12, from £8 and stretch trousers with elasticated back in grey, navy and black, from £10.

Fashionable black, bootleg trousers, ages 11-16, cost between £14 and £18 and a twin pack of easy care short sleeved shirt cost up to £12.

A Teflon non-iron classic blazer with inside pockets in navy, black, brown, burgundy and bottle green cost £22.

The Tesco's Back to School range clothes three to 16-year-olds, with soft, stylish cardigans for girls, from £6 and v-neck jumpers for boys, from £4, in red, dark green, navy, grey and black.

Sweatshirts and hooded zipped sweat jackets from just £3 and £5, respectively, and clas-sic pinafore dresses, from £5 have a modern twist.

And with the rise of Shrub Hill Retail Park earlier this year, kids are able to stock up on their stationery essentials at Staples, which stocks more than 7,000 different products.

Its Back to School range consists of everything from basic stationery supplies to rucksacks, art supplies and even items for teachers, such as maps and reward stickers.

For £5.99, an essential starter kit, including a rucksack, pencil, colouring pencils, pencil case, pencil sharpener, eraser, pen, ruler, maths set and notepad, will cover all the necessary school requirements.

The retailer also sells more than two million or 173 miles worth of pen, 700,000 pencils - the equivalent of 928 Big Bens stacked on top of each other - and 350,000 reams of paper - enough to stretch 35,000 miles or 1.4 times around the Earth.

"We have 660 different types of pens ranging from 5p through to £15 and everything in be-tween including 51 different pencil cases, more than 200 folders and the widest selection of calculators in the UK with 36 to choose from," said marketing manager, Donna Chappelle.

"We also think it's important to stock interesting and eye-catching products during this period and to be sure of this we've tested our range with children aged 10 to 14 to see if they, themselves, would be happy with our stationery."