Thursday, August 11, 2016

Marks and Spencer's launch autism-friendly school uniform collection

The National Autistic Society in the UK teamed up with Marks & Spencer, a UK retailer, to support the development of their brand new ‘Easy Dressing’ school uniform collection. According to reports, the idea came out of a product development campaign called ‘Inventors Wanted’. M&S received suggestions asking them to do more for people who struggle with clothing – especially children on the autism spectrum.

The easy dressing line includes 3 basic items. The first is a pull-up trouser so kids don't have to fuss with zippers and buttons. There is no back pocket and the care label is sewn inside the pocket. The second item is a no iron shirt that has been modified removing the top 4 buttons and replacing them with soft velcro. Again, less buttons less fussing. The last item is the basic polo where they made similar modifications swapping buttons for velcro.

These modifications are brilliant.  They make it so much easier for students with sensory issues to focus on school work instead of the itchy tags.  It makes it easier for these parents to get these kids off to school each day so getting dressed is simpler.  If you are interested to try these items for your child, I have good news.  Marks and Spencer offers shipping to the US. And in case you would need to make a return, return shipping is to a US based address. M&S will also be donating 10% from every item sold to The National Autistic Society.

Tuesday, August 9, 2016

Boys School Uniform Wardrobe for Under $100

Each fall, parents everywhere purchase new clothing, accessories and school supplies for their children.  Estimates vary wildly on how much we spend each year. According to the National Retail Federation's Back-to-School Spending Survey conducted in 2015 by Prosper Insights & Analytics, the average family with children in grades K-12 planned to spend $217 on clothing and accessories., excluding shoes.  I recently got an email from a reader that got me wondering if you could get an entire school uniform wardrobe for half of that national average.

Q - "I am on a very tight budget.
Where can I get the best deal on school uniforms for my son?"

I learned her son is a second grader at a school with a casual uniform policy that requires basic khakis and polos in solid colors.  Many national retailers now carry school uniform items these days and all of them have great sales where you can regularity snag uniform clothing items for less than half of their regular retail price.  But if you are pressed for time and don't have time to shop the sales, I'd recommend you place an online order with Walmart.

Walmart offers school uniforms at one of the lowest price points in all of the major uniform clothing items that we track in the Best Bets Series.  If you shop online, you can order only what you need and avoid getting distracted with an impulse buy in the store. While they carry several brands, we've personally had good success with their George brand uniform items.  The quality held up for an entire school year and my daughter found the fabric very comfortable. 

I reviewed the website and mocked up this sample order for our reader's son. Check it out! All of the basics for a school wardrobe designed to last an entire school year for under a 100 bucks!

Sample Boys Uniform Wardrobe from Walmart

Item Quantity  Total Price 
Short Sleeve Polo 4
          16.88
Long Sleeve Polo 2
          11.50
Sweater 1
          14.97
Pants 4
          17.82
Shorts 2
          16.00
Jacket 1
          10.00
Long Sleeve Oxford Shirt 1
          11.00
        $98.17

This order takes advantage of Walmart's uniform bundles where the quantity is more than one. I am a big fan of how Walmart offers these bundles. They  allow you to take advantage of the lowest price on items you need multiples of anyway.  The coolest part about their bundling, it that it allows flexibility to vary the items in the bundle with color of the item or even the size.  For example, you can get 4 polos in 4 different colors and 2 pairs of pants (one navy and one khaki).  If you think your child might have a growth spurt halfway through the year, you can order 2 pair of pants in their current size and 2 in the next size up.

By virtue of this exercise, I learned that it is possible to get a full wardrobe of school uniform for half of what most spend on a back to school shopping. You might be able to find a similar items at another retailer if you catch their best sale, but you cant beat the prices for the quality, ease and convenience on this George brand wardrobe from Walmart.
 
 

Monday, August 8, 2016

Retail Round Up: Rainbow Shops


Rainbowshops.com


Until recently, I had never heard of Rainbow Shops. I learned that they are a international retailer and reseller for French Toast and Lee brand school uniforms.  I checked out their website and saw that they carry low priced fashion items for women, plus size, kids, and baby including accessories and shoes.  Then I saw one of their physical locations near a local outlet store here in Virginia.  When I looked up their locations online, I was surprised to find 16 more locations within a 10 miles from my house.  In fact, they have 1100 locations in the US and territories.  I did some further research and stopped in a location near me just yesterday to check out their inventory in person.  Note that not all locations carry the kids collections, so check the website for details. 

When I shopped their website, I found it easy to use.  They make it simple to shop for school uniforms with a menu right on the site's primary navigation.  You can easily filter on gender, brand, size or price.  They carry French Toast brand uniforms in preschool (4 - 6x) and children's sizes (7 - 20H) and Lee brand for young women.  All uniform items come in basic colors of navy, black and khaki, except the polos which are offered in many color choices.

For girls they stock the French Toast brand Bermuda shorts, adjustable waist pants, stretch skinny twill pants,  a short sleeve polo top, a short and long sleeve version of the peter pan blouse, the two tab scooter, the below the knee pleated skirt, and the V-neck pleated jumper.

For young women, they stock the Lee brand Bermuda shorts, short sleeve polo, a 5 pocket school uniform pants, and a skinny leg chinos.

For boys, they stock the short sleeve and the long sleeve polo, the flat front adjustable waist shorts, the adjustable waist straight leg twill pants, the adjustable waist pleated double knee pants, a short sleeve and the long sleeve oxford shirt, a sweater vest and the cardigan sweater.

When you shop online, you get free shipping if your order is over $50 in the continental US.  They take returns of unused items in their original condition at their physical locations or via mail using the return shipping label that is provided with web orders.

We'll be publishing reviews for the French Toast items they sent us to try that I've never reviewed before. I also found a few casual clothing items for my daughter that she loves. The high low striped dress with the racer back and the hoodie is super cute as a beach cover up or with sandals for running errands.  So, I also encourage you to browse around at the non-uniform clothing items and accessories on their website.  Their prices are great.  The uniform items seem to always be on sale for a great price.  If you sign up for Rainbow Shops' e-mail newsletters, you'll receive a 10% discount off your next purchase!
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Friday, July 22, 2016

Fun Find: Girls Long Sleeved Ruffled Cardigan Sweater


This long sleeved ruffled cardigan from Children's Place is a fashion friendly option for girls that are required to wear school uniforms.  It is available in sizes XS (4) through XL (14) and is made from 100% cotton jersey.  It seems like it would be perfect to have handy during the warmer months when she might need a light layer while inside in the air conditioning. The style is versatile that she can wear it over dresses too. This sweater is offered in navy or gray retailing for $24.95.

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Wednesday, July 20, 2016

Skater Skirt Trend Arrives in School Uniform Collections

I have been loving the skater skirts and dresses for girls. It is nice to see this trend making its way to the school uniform collections of major retailers.  Because the skirts are full and loose at the bottom, check if they include built in shorts.  If not, you will want to have a comfortable garment to wear underneath that offers modesty without bulk.  If you need some ideas, check out one of our most popular posts on modesty on the playground.

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Here are some examples of new girls skater skirts in school uniform collections:





Cat & Jack Girls' Ponte Knit Skater Skirt 
This skirt has an elastic, but not an adjustable waist, so check the size chart to get a good fit.  It has shorts built in underneath. It is made from a shrink resistant ponte knit fabric and offered in navy and khaki. It retails for $12.99.



Children's Place Girls Ruffled Skater Skirt
This pull on skirt is made of 73% polyester/23% rayon/4% spandex. Note - no built in shorts underneath. It retails for $16.95.  It is offered in navy or gray.




Girls Solid Side Button Skirt Top of Knee-White Plaid,6


This button skirt has the cut of a skater skirt with the cute button detail on the side.  This skirt is different from those above because it features an adjustable inner waistband in girls sizes. The toddler style has an elastic back waistband. It is 65% polyester/ 35% rayon Easy-care fabric resists stains, wrinkles & fading. It has a single pocket on the right hand side.  It retails for $35 and is available in gray, navy and khaki.





Izod Skater Scooter Skirt
This option has shorts built in! It is available in toddler and girls regular and plus sizes at JCPenney. It retails for $24.  It has an elastic waist, but not the adjustable waist, so check the sizing chart before ordering.

Monday, July 18, 2016

Tax Free Shopping Days for Back to School 2016


Who doesn't love to shop tax free?  If you're planning to do your back to school shopping at the mall or the traditional brick and mortar stores, you should plan to take advantage of the back to school tax holiday in your state. Again this year, many states have planned tax free holidays to occur during the peek of the 2016 back to school shopping season.

State

Dates

Eligible Items (Max Cost)

Alabama
August 5 - 7
Clothing ($100), Computers ($750), School supplies ($50), Books ($30)
Arkansas
August 6 - 7
School supplies, Clothing ($100), Clothing accessories and equipment ($50)
Connecticut
August 21 - 27
Clothing and footwear ($100)
Florida
August 5 - 7
School supplies ($15), Clothing ($60)
Georgia
July 30 - 31
Clothing ($100), School supplies ($20), Computers ($1,000)
Iowa
August 5 - 6
Clothing and footwear ($100)
Maryland
August 14 - 20
Clothing and footwear ($100)
Massachusetts
August 5 - 6
Clothing and footwear ($100)
Mississippi
July 29 - 30
Clothing and footwear ($100)
Missouri
August 5 - 7
Clothing ($100), School supplies ($50), Computer software ($350), Computers ($1,500), Computer peripherals ($1,500), Graphing calculators ($150)
New Mexico
August 5 - 7
School supplies ($30), Clothing ($100), Computers ($1,000) Computer equipment ($500)
Ohio
August 5 - 7
Clothing ($75), School supplies ($20), School instructional material ($20)
Oklahoma
August 5 - 7
Clothing ($100)
South Carolina
August 5 - 7
Clothing and accessories, School supplies, Computers and accessories, Bed and bath items
Tennessee
July 29 - 31
Clothing ($100), School supplies ($100), Computers ($1,500)
Texas
August 5 - 7
Clothing and footwear ($100), Backpacks ($100), School supplies ($100)
Virginia
August 5 - 7
Clothing and footwear ($100), School supplies ($20)

This data was compiled from various sources: here, here and here.


Friday, July 15, 2016

New at Target for 2016: Cat & Jack School Uniforms

A few weeks ago, I logged into Target.com to order another Cherokee brand scooter for my daughter. My daughter had been wearing the same one for several years. It had become a wardrobe staple and I was hoping to order one in the next size up.  Instead, I couldn't find it online.  Upon further investigation, I realized that all Cherokee items had disappeared from their website.  I became suspicious and began to research this further.  When I visited Cherokee's website, I found no mention of school uniforms at all. I placed a call to Target to learn more. While awaiting a call back, I happened to stop in our local Target store and noticed a new brand in the girls clothing department.

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Cat and Jack ™ is a new line of kids clothing available at Target that officially will launch on July 17, 2016. In Target stores, it will replace both the Circo and Cherokee brand items. While the new collection includes school uniform items, it also features everyday fashion items. The Cat and Jack ™  items come with a guarantee for 1 year. The return policy supports this quality claim with a statement that "Cat and Jack ™  products are made to last, but if something doesn’t or if you’re unsatisfied for any other reason, you can make returns up to one year after purchase."

Here are some other interesting things from the media release:

Q: What materials are used to make the products?
A: You’ll see a lot of soft, comfy cotton knits. And there’s a sustainable polyester material called Repreve used in some of the denim & pocket bags. Its fibers are removed from plastic bottles that have been melted to a liquid state, a process that allowed us to recycle 6 million plastic bottles during the production of the fall Cat & Jack assortment alone.
Q: How involved are kids in developing the Cat & Jack product?
A: For the Big Kid collection, kids ages 6–11 gave feedback on everything from legging prints to tee graphics. They also created looks with their favorite items to share how they would mix and match items in the brand.

The school uniform items arrived in my local Target store last weekend.   Despite my daughter's pleas that it is still too early to be shopping for school uniforms, I spent some time checking them out. The quality of the items seem comparable to the Cherokee brand and the uniform items are also very similar in style.  The sizing will include extended sizing in slim and plus options. I am excited for this new line and I'm anxious to try the products. My criticism of the new school uniform line is that the "nightfall" color is not a true navy. It is a lighter shade of blue that may not pass inspection at schools with rigid uniform policies and enforcement procedures. If navy is the required color at your school, I would recommend you shop elsewhere.

The Cat and Jack ™ boys school uniform collection includes flat front or pleated pants with a reinforced knee, short and long sleeve polos, short sleeve oxfords, button up cardigan,  a sweater vest, a windbreaker jacket, and socks.

The Cat and Jack ™ girls school uniform collection includes more options.  The bottoms include a flat front pants with a reinforced knee, a ponte knit pant, a stretch twill capri, a two button ponte knit scooter, and a skater skirt. There are several styles of dresses including a pique pleated tennis dress, a short sleeved ponte jumper, a woven pleated jumper, a belted safari dress, and a sleeveless ponte dress and a woven plaid jumper in 2 different plaids.  Tops include short and long sleeve polos and woven blouses Sweaters include a short sleeve pullover sweater with the built in blouse, a cable knit cardigan, and a v neck button up cardigan.  The collection also includes coordinating socks, tights and hair accessories.

(photos from the Target Cat and Jack ™ 2016 lookbook)


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