French Toast Refreshes their Website

The big news from French Toast this past fall was that they were again offering additional children's clothing items that are not part of the "standard student attire" of uniform clothing. Now, you can find children's graphic t-shirts as well as print and pattern dresses for girls and patterned shirts for boys. I might call it - weekend wear. The boys items are appropriate for church or other occasions when you have to dress the boys in something nicer than a t-shirt and sweatpants. The girls items are cute for a weekend birthday party or family outing. But different from the boys, the girls non-uniform options don't rise to the occasion of church or special occasion outfits. They are firmly in the casual category.

To better promote the new offerings, French Toast revamped it's website to make it easier for us to navigate the school uniform items and their entire collection. The site still features main navigation menus for Girls Uniforms and Boys Uniforms, but now also features more inclusive general labels such as Boys and Girls. I like that they still included a easy way to navigate right to the Shop by School and the clearance items.

The new site makes it much easier to find the non-uniform items in their offering. While shopping for holiday gifts this year, I ordered a few of the boys non-uniform items for my nephew. I ordered a stripped polo and patterned collar shirts, both long sleeve and short sleeve. While I haven't been able to witness how well they have held up to wear and tear, I gave them a Uniform Mom quality inspection before wrapping them up as gifts. The quality of the items was comparable to other items I've previously ordered form the uniform selection. Great colors and fabric with solid seams with no loose threads. I also ordered a few of the girls t-shirts, some for school and others for weekend wear.  I will share more abut them in a later post, but my quick opinion is that French Toast non uniform clothing items are similar to the uniform items in that they are a great quality for the price.

Featured Basic: Circo Girls' Long Sleeve T-Shirt

My daughter wont wear basic Unisex t-shirts,  like a basic (think Hanes) crewneck. We have a bunch, mostly received via hand me downs featuring logos of our local sports teams and a few we've purchased for her from the PTA that feature some school related program. The ones sold by the PTA are approved under the uniform policy for PE days. Regardless, she won't wear them.

In Kindergarten, she loved the organic cotton basic t-shirt from H&M. But the next season, we moved away from that brand because the organic tees became really hard to find and the regular basics were tissue paper thin and cheap looking. We switched to the basic tees from the Children's Place. Like the H&M ones, they came in both a short and long sleeve version, so they were an easy go-to item to pick up each season. But this winter, I came across a basic Girls Long Sleeve T-shirt at Target (update - this item is no longer available) that we like better.  It is a Circo brand soft knit jersey that is 60% cotton and 40% poly.  The fabric is very soft like some of her best interlock polos.  It is a heavier weight t-shirt giving more warmth in the colder months.  It is also very stretchy.  The detail around the crewneck collar adds a feminine touch. It is offered in fresh white, black, mint and purple.  The fresh white is perfect for uniform kids to wear under jumpers or by itself on PE days.

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The strangest reasons school kids were suspended, expelled or arrested

Because I follow news related to school uniforms, I frequently come across articles outlining efforts by school administrators to enforce the dress code.  Many of them are what you might chalk up as "major fails" where the schools makes decisions that are unpopular with students, and in many cases, the parents as well.

Those stories pale in comparison to these incidents where students have been suspended, expelled, and even arrested for some pretty crazy things.  Arrested in school for things such as  engaging in a food fight or hacking a computer to change their grades.  But those aren't as far fetched as the tales about the students that getting arrested for talking on the phone, texting, missing too many classes, passing gas, or throwing paper airplanes in class.  My favorite is the kid that got charged with a 3rd degree felony for having a plastic butter knife.  Check out this video:

25 Dumb Reasons School Children Have Been Suspended Or Arrested

I found a bunch of other useful articles for parents in the Kids Safety Network:

• What is Minecraft and What is all the fuss about?
• What every parent needs to know about water safety
• What is cyberbullying?

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The Hunt for Girls Boot Cut Yoga Pants

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We have been fans of the Bootcut Foldover Active Pants from Children's Place for several years. My daughter doesn't like tight fitting leggings, so she much prefers boot cut or flare yoga pants.  Both for weekend wear and for PE wear for school, she has worn and outgrown many pairs of these active pants. I shared thoughts about them in a previous post touting that they are great for PE days.

Over last summer, our daughter grew an inch or two, so her navy PE pants were getting too short.  I logged onto the Children's Place website to order a few new pair. Much to my disappointment, they changed them.  And these new active pants just aren't working for us.

In the past, the active pants came in numbered sizes (4 - 14) making it easy to move up a size with each growth spurt.  Now the active pants come only in sizes, XS thru XL.  This eliminated 3 sizing options for the girls from 8 sizes to only 5. My daughter wears a size 8 or 9 in most brands that offer numbered sizing. She is currently too tall for the medium size, but the large is too big in the waist and way too long for her.  The active pants in the size large seem as long as other brands pants in a kids 10-12 size.   I recall we had similar difficulty finding pants when she was between a 6X and a 7. There was a 4 inch difference in the inseam with most brands.


The Children's Place also changed the fit of the leg on the active pants. The bootcut pants had a "slightly flared leg opening for a flattering fit".  The leg of the Skinny Foldover Active Pant is a straight leg pant.

The Children's Place change in sizing of the active pants combined with the change in the leg style has us shopping other brands.  So, I then logged on to another of my favorite go-to sites, Lands' End. I was surprised to learn that the Girls Yoga Boot Cut Pants are now also only offered in XS - XL sizes. I reviewed them for the Back to School season in 2014 and at that time, they were offered in numbered sizes 4 - 16.

I am not liking this trend of eliminating the numbered sizing options.  I can understand that it is better for the retailer making inventory management easier, etc.  But as a Mom, this is frustrating.  Like most Mom's, I take care to provide appropriate clothing for my child to wear.  I don't like her wearing "floods", or pants that are too short, or shirts that are too snug with her belly hanging out the bottom.  On the other hand, I hate when the next larger size is so big it looks like she's drowning in it.

If I had the time and skill, I could alter the items to fit her properly.  But I'd much prefer to have the option to buy her a size that fits, with just a bit of wiggle room to grow.

As I end my rant and this hunt, I concluded the hunt after finding that the medium size Girls' Yoga Pants at Target were 2 inches longer than the size 7 Children's Place active pants.  I found one pair at our local store. Then, a friend gave us a pair of size 8 hand me downs from Lands' End.  This is getting her through her two back to back PE days each week, at least until the next growth spurt. Then while I was in a Children's Place Outlet store just last weekend, I found a few pair of the number sized boot cut active pants in navy that were left over from the previous season.  I bought 2 pair.  I would have bought them in the next size up, but sizes were limited. The boot cut style disappeared from the Children's Place website for a few months, but I see that they are offered again now.  I'm hoping this is a sign that they are coming back and not just a short lived, inventory clearance offering.

Are you noticing this trend too?  Have you had trouble finding leggings for school that fit properly? Tell us what your noticing and add your opinion in the comments below.

Important Changes to the Weekly Report Card

You're been used to seeing the Weekly Report Card post each Friday here on UniformMom.com. We're changing things up a bit. Now, this newsletter will be shared exclusively with subscribers only.

If you are not already a subscriber, Sign Up Now so you will continue to find the round up of the best deals and valuable coupon codes on children's school clothing delivered to your inbox. We'll also include other news and favorites posts. To ensure that you receive it, please add the e-mail address navyplaid@comcast.net to your address book or safe senders list.

Featured Basic: Youth Casual Sneakers

Youth Casual Sneakers

In many uniform schools, kids are required to wear basic sneakers in simple colors like white or black or another color that match the school uniform colors. At my daughter's school, the kids are required to wear sneakers on days when they have PE class that are "mostly" navy, white or black. It is my interpretation that the term "mostly" is used because the policy makers recognize how hard it is to find a basic sneaker in just one solid color.

I have commented before, that solid white or black sneakers are hard to find.  Sneaker colors today are anything but basic.  They are colorful in bright, fun shades. So I was pleasantly surprised to come across these basic sneakers in plain white.  They are also offered in a cute Dark Denim color.

They feature a leather upper, which is easy to keep looking clean. I also love the antimicrobial finish which helps prevent shoe odor. They retail for $39 at Lands' End.  Right now they are on sale for $19.99.

School Uniform Girls' Performance Zip-front Cardigan, a review

School Uniform Girls 
Performance Zip-front Cardigan-Classic

Last year, we reviewed the Girls' Zip-front Drifter Cardigan. It became my daughter's favorite go-to sweater all year long. New for the 2015-2016 school year, Lands' End began offering a similar zip-front sweater. So when my daughter's favorite zip front drifter began to get snug on her, we ordered this updated version. Here's a list of features listed in the product description:

• Resists fading and pilling for long-lasting color and comfort 
• Easy-care blend feels soft as cotton 
• Fully-fashioned construction for a great fit 
• Full-zip front 
• Easy-moving raglan sleeves 
• 60% cotton/40% rayon-modal 
• Machine wash/Imported

Compared to last year's version, the collar on this new one is smaller, more like a traditional cardigan and the fabric is a softer cotton blend.  I agree with the claim that it resists fading. We've washed the product numerous times so far and it is holding it's color well.  Also, no pilling so far.  The feel of the cotton is soft to the touch while the weight of the sweater feels substantial and warm. My daughter quickly adopted this as her new favorite sweater.  She demanded I put it in her book bag in the early fall when a lighter weight sweater may have been more appropriate.  I understood why when I visited the classroom for our first parent teacher conference of the year.  It is freezing in her classroom.  The teacher said the room is the coldest in the school and she encourages the kids to always have a sweater on hand.

I was surprised when I went to wash it for the first time.  I read the tags that recommended 'block flat to dry".  Huh?  I honestly had no idea what that meant. So, I did what any normal person would do, I Googled it. It outlined a method that made sense laundering hand knitted clothing and fragile fine fabric sweaters. I quickly decided that the process was too complicated for me, as a busy working Mom.  I don't have time to find butcher paper and trace the outline of the sweater, etc.  It all seemed like too much effort for a simple school sweater that I wash every weekend.  Instead, I tested my own simpler method.  I made sure the zipper was fastened and washed the sweater in cold water in the delicate cycle with other items that seem suited for that cycle.  Normally, I then would have thrown it in the dryer on low.  Instead, I "blocked" it, not to fit its traced outline on paper, but instead I simply shaped it resemble its original shape and size and then carefully laid it across my drying rack to air dry.

After repeating this process each week for a several months now, the sweater has held its original shape and looks just fine.  If you've devised your own simple strategy for blocking sweaters, please feel free to share your feedback in the comments below.  Also if you also have this sweater, tell us how you launder it.

My overall opinion is that this sweater is worth the money.  It retails for $50, so try to catch it on sale. At 30% off, it will definitely earn it's keep in the school wardrobe rotation.  I would guess that my daughter will end up getting at least 2 years of wear from this sweater before she outgrows it.