Saturday morning at the band hall. There is a pile of plumed shakos on a folding table by the door. The smell of slightly mothballed wool is in the air. Three older students are running the fitting line.
Your 14-year-old is third in line for the size 38 coat. The senior fitting him just made a comment about his shoulders that made him stand up straighter.
By 11 am you will have signed a $600 uniform contract. Here is what you are agreeing to.
What your kid wears under the uniform
Almost every marching band uniform is wool. It is heavy. It is hot. Underneath, your kid wears their band undergarments, which are usually a t-shirt and athletic shorts.
Most programs require black athletic shorts and a specific band t-shirt that the program orders. Some require nothing specific. Confirm before fitting day.
The undergarments are theirs to keep all season. They will get sweaty. The kid wears them for every game, every competition, every parade. Get them two of each so one can be in the wash while the other is at school.
Black socks, black gloves, black shoes
Most uniforms require:
Tall black socks that come well above the boot top. Calf-high or knee-high crew socks. Not ankle socks. Not athletic socks.
Black gloves. Some bands order these collectively. Some make you buy them. Standard band gloves are cotton with grip palms.
Black athletic shoes. Some bands require specific marching band shoes that look like dress shoes with a sole that allows for rolling. Some allow any clean black athletic shoe. Confirm.
These items are the kid’s responsibility. The school does not own them. Buy two pairs of gloves. They get lost.
The uniform itself
A typical marching band uniform is a jacket (called a coat), a pair of pants (called bibs because they have suspenders attached), a hat (called a shako or plume hat), and sometimes a sash or a gauntlet (cuff).
Each piece is fitted to your kid. The bibs are taken up at the hem for height. The coat is adjusted at the sleeves and the chest. The hat has a chin strap that gets sized.
Your kid will be in the uniform for at least 20 minutes during fitting. Bring water. The room is usually hot and the wool does not breathe.
What the contract says
You will sign a uniform contract before the kid leaves with anything. Read it.
The standard contract says three things.
The uniform is the property of the school district. You are receiving it on loan.
You agree to return the uniform clean and undamaged at the end of the season. “Clean” usually means professionally dry-cleaned at a specific cleaner.
You agree to pay replacement cost if the uniform is damaged or lost. Replacement cost for a full marching uniform is usually $400 to $800.
There is sometimes a uniform care fee, often $50 to $100, that covers basic cleaning or repair during the season. Pay this if it is required. It is almost always cheaper than dealing with damage out of pocket.
What gets damaged
A few specific things.
Hat plumes. The feather or fluff on top of the shako breaks easily. Most programs charge $30 to $60 to replace a damaged plume.
Sash buttons. Gold buttons rip off jackets when caught on a chair or a music stand. Replacement is small but adds up.
Pant hems. Rain on a parade day soaks the bottom of the bibs. Mud destroys them. Most programs have a procedure for handling muddy returns.
Sweat damage. Particularly under the arms and at the collar. Most programs accept this as wear and tear. Some do not. Read the contract.
The cleaning question
Most programs require dry cleaning before final return. Most also designate a specific cleaner that knows how to handle band uniforms.
Do not wash a band uniform at home unless the contract specifically says you can. Most are dry-clean only. A washing machine cycle on wool turns the jacket into a doll’s coat.
The good move is to take the uniform to the designated cleaner the week of return and pay the band’s bulk cleaning rate, which is often discounted.
A piece of advice
The night your kid comes home in uniform after their first home game, take a picture.
You will not believe how fast the photos pile up across four years. Take them every game. They will not let you in a few years.
After the season
The uniform goes back. The undergarments stay home. Your kid will hang on to them for the next year.
If your kid is graduating, sell the undergarments to a younger band parent. The community boards usually have an active uniform swap. Recover the cost. Pay it forward.