Thursday, August 18, 2016

French Toast Two Tab Scooter and Polo from Rainbow Shops

Recently I introduced Rainbow Shops as a re-seller of French Toast and Lee brand school uniform items. They gifted me some items to try for purposes of this review. I selected several French Toast brand items for my daughter that we haven't reviewed here previously.

Copyright 2016 Rene Shonerd All Rights Reserved
The first item is the French Toast girls two-tab scooter. This item is a uniform staple offered by many brands. The French Toast scooter is made of 100% machine washable polyester so no ironing is not needed. Yeah, score one for Mom. It has an adjustable waist. I've learned the hard way that an adjustable waist is much preferred to an elastic waist. It had pleats on the front side of the skirt and solid fabric on the back. The details is the 2 silver buckles on the left hip. The closure is on the side with knit shorts built in. The side zipper might be too much for the youngest girls, but works fine for those well beyond the potty training years with strong manual dexterity skills. Th length of the skirt hits above the knee. French Toast offers this skirt in 6 colors and Rainbow Shops offers the most popular options black, navy and khaki in girls sizes 2T all the way through girls size 14. It retails for $12.99 and can be found 25% off via Rainbow Shops.

Copyright 2016 Rene Shonerd
All Rights Reserved.
The next item we tried is the girls long sleeve interlock knit polo shirt. This is a classic uniform wardrobe staple.  The temperatures are warm now during back to school season, but temperatures will drop soon enough.  You'll want to snag at least one or two long sleeve polos early in the season while they are easy to find.  The French Toast interlock polo is available in 6 colors at Rainbow Shops and in sizes ranging from toddler through girls plus size 18-20.  The sleeves on this polo are hemmed but not banded.  Right now the sleeves are too long on my daughter, and you might be able to notice in this picture, we simply folded up the sleeve.  The collar and placket are standard, but the subtle flower shaped buttons offer a cute feminine detail.  I've found that the French Toast polos wash up easily and hold their shape.  My daughter is required to wear white tops so I bleach out any stains to keep it looking fresh through the school year.  It retails for $11.99 but is currently on sale for 25% off, or $8.99 which is right in the Uniform Mom target price range sweet spot for polo shirts. Got boys? Here's the link to the boys long sleeve French Toast polo instead.

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Wednesday, August 17, 2016

Celebrate National Thrift Day with Schoola



Today is National Thrift Day and Schoola is celebrating with a $5 sale! Thousands of newly marked down items now for only $5. Get them before they’re gone. Shop the $5 Price Drop Sale at Schoola.com.


Plus an additional 30% off orders of $30 or more!
  • Use Code: BACK2SVGS* 
  • Free shipping on orders over $25 
  • Code valid for a limited time. 
  • *Promo codes not valid on new-with-tags items. Limit one code per order. 
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Monday, August 15, 2016

Stick To Me Identification Labels, a Review

I've tried quite a few brands of name labels, and I continue to be amazed at the creativity and differences between the companies.  I recently had a chance to try Stick To Me brand labels.  It is a small company based in Quebec, Canada.  Each order is custom made, shipped free worldwide, and packed to minimize waste and impact to the environment (shown on the right). One of the things that make these labels unique is the artwork that decorates each collection. I like that each collection includes a variety of shapes and colors.


I personally illustrated the colourful, lively collections. I love drawing images inspired by my children’s universe. I’ve used state-of-the-art technology with superior quality inks to reproduce my drawings with precision. I hope my designs will draw you into my imaginary world and will bring you as much joy as they did me when I created them. 
Annie Nadeau, Owner of Stick To Me
I ordered the Cosmos Collection which includes 200 labels:

  • 120 small labels that are water and heat resistant so they are safe to use in the washing machine, dishwasher and dryer.  They are suitable for use on items such as baby bottles, thermos, or water bottles.  These labels are also intended for use on the care tag of clothing items. 
  • 16 larger rectangle shaped labels that would be great for use on the pencil box, tube of sunscreen or other school and camp supplies.
  • 32 small rectangle shaped labels that work great on smaller school supplies.  These also come with the matching transparent protective film for extra protection from wear. 
  • 8 triangle shaped labels for general use.  The cute shape would be perfect to label notebooks and book covers.
  • 24 round shoe labels with the transparent protective film to protect them from scuffing and perspiration.  I love these for school shoes, gym shoes, dance shoes, soccer cleats, rain boots, snow boots, flip flops and any shoes that might be toted around in their backpack. 
  • And as an add on item, we got 25 iron on labels which can be used on clothing items by applying them directly to the fabric with an iron. I always recommend labeling clothing items that might be taken on and off during the day such as hats, sweaters, hoodies, and jackets.

With Stick to Me, you cannot split an order with 2 or more names; however, I ordered this set for use by my niece and nephew personalizing the label with only with their last name and choosing a gender neutral design. Smart!

I am a fan of Stick To Me!  Their website makes ordering easy, The product is high quality and functions as designed.   And the price is very reasonable at $21.95 with free shipping.

If your school is interested to partner with Stick To Me for a fundraiser. They do all the work such as order taking, deliveries and the school or PTA collects a commission on every sale.  You can contact Annie for more information.

Friday, August 12, 2016

Fun Fund: Girls Uniform Polo Short Sleeve Skater Dress


I recently wrote about how I've been seeing new skater skirt styles in the school uniform collection's this season. Here is the dress version of that trend.

This Girls Uniform Polo Short Sleeve Skater Dress skater style polo dress from the Children's Place is made of 97% cotton/3% spandex piqué. I like the longer length that is designed to fit above the knee. I would still have my young daughter wear bike shorts underneath, but that's just me. I think it is a missed opportunity that they do not offer this dress is navy.  It is currently only available only in hunter green and red which will not work for as many girls that wear uniforms to school.  It retails for $19.95.

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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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