Showing posts with label Cherokee. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cherokee. Show all posts

Tuesday, July 4, 2017

What's New with the Cat and Jack School Uniform Collection at Target For Back To School 2017

Last summer Target launched the Cat and Jack brand of children's clothing. It's school uniform collection which replaced the Cherokee brand line in their stores. Although I found the uniform styles and quality of the items comparable to the Cherokee collection, I was disappointed in the color selection of "nightfall blue" for many of the uniform basics. It is not a true navy and I suggested shoppers look elsewhere if navy basics are required at your school.

New color - Navy Voyage

I was delighted to see that many of the uniform basics have been updated this season to a color called "navy voyage". I checked it out in person today and it appears to be a shade darker than the "nightfall blue" in last year's collection. Some of the girls ponte items are still offered in the nightfall blue such as the two button knit scooter, the ponte knit dresses and the safari dress. However the chinos, shorts, the boys polo shirts (not the girls) and the girls polo dress are updated to the navy voyage color. I will keep an eye out to see if they continue to update the remaining girls items from nightfall blue to navy voyage in the upcoming months.

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Girls Pleated Scooter 

I believe the girls pleated scooter is a new item in the collection  this year.  It includes built in shorts underneath. The product description boasts an adjustable waist which differentiates it from the similarity styled item from French Toast which only offers an elastic waist.  It is a rayon/poly blend which is offered in navy and khaki in girls sizing 4 - 16, and plus.  The regular retail price is 12.99.


Pricing and Other Brands

The Cat and Jack school uniform collection is competitively priced, even at regular full price.  Luck for us, they frequently are on sale or included in discount promotions on clothing items. 

Target also continues to carry items from the French Toast, Dickies, and Eddie Bauer school uniform collections. With such a wide offering of brands, you can find sizing for preschoolers, kids, plus and husky, as well as juniors sizing.



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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Monday, March 28, 2016

School Uniform Wardrobe Review for a 3rd Grade Girl


What's in our School Wardrobe?

It's been a while since I looked in my daughter's closet, took inventory of what's in her school wardrobe and shared a full school wardrobe review. My last full review was 3 years ago when I shared our Kindergarten School Uniform Wardrobe. This year, I really didn't do much back to school shopping. She hadn't grown much, so many items from last school year were still in good shape and still fit. But we have added a few new items that I picked up on sale.

Since the year started, we've transitioned all of her shirts rotating out all of her girls size medium shirts (7-8) to girls size large (10-12). The list below shows the types of wardrobe items in the school wardrobe including which brand. I think it is a good example of how diverse her wardrobe is by brand. A handful of these items were received complementary for evaluation in a review, however, most were purchased from the family budget. Disclosures are included in the full review posts, when relevant.

Girls School Uniform Wardrobe Inventory

  • 3 short sleeve polos (Dockers, Classroom, French Toast Waist Tuck)
  • 3 long sleeve polos (Lands' End Peter Pan, Cherokee, Children's Place Ruffle-Placket)
  • 3 pair of Cherokee Flat Front Uniform Pants (While we've tried other brands that I liked, my daughter prefers these bootcut basics from Target.)
  • 6 scooters (Cherokee Pleated Scooter, Cherokee Uniform Scooter, Lands' End Ponte Button Front, Schoolbelles Side Pleat Skort, Lands' End Solid A line Skirt and a Dockers Scooter)

    Before you ask - Yes, its a fair question. Why do we have 6 scooters? If you're building a school wardrobe for the first time, I would only recommend purchasing one or two. We've acquired these over time. My daughter seems to get the most value from scooters as some of these skirts have been in the rotation for 3 years already.

    The Docker's one has been hanging in the closet with tags on it for since Kindergarten waiting for her to grow into it. It has an elastic waist, but it is not adjustable. The skirt may be too short once her waist grows into it. Lesson learned; adjustable waistbands are key.
  • 5 sweaters (Lands' End Performance Zip Front Cardigan, Children's Place Uniform Cardigan, Primary Cardi, H&M, Gap)

    Again, you don't need 5 sweaters. My daughter now has a favorite which she now carries with her in her backpack daily. The rest hang in the closet and might be worn on the weekend. But it did take trying different brands and styles to find her favorite.
  • 2 pair of Boot Cut Yoga Pants (Children's Place Bootcut Foldover Active Pants and Lands' End Yoga Pants)
  • 4 short sleeve t-shirts (Children's Place t shirt, Primary Polo, French Toast v-neck T, French Toast crew.)
  • 2 long sleeve t-shirts (Circo, Children's Place)
  • 2 pair of shorts (Gap, Lands' End)

    Both of these were leftover from last year's wardrobe and will need replaced for Spring because she has finally outgrown them.
  • 4 active skorts (Children's Place)

    Again, you surely wouldn't need 4 of these in a first year wardrobe. In fact, you might not need any. My daughter likes to wear the Children's Place active skort for PE days during warmer months. We have 4 of them because I kept buying them on clearance forgetting that I had already put one away in the next size up. Yep, that happened 3 times. Oops.
  • Sneakers for PE (Striderite)
  • Mary Jane style shoes (Striderite)
  • Accessories : bike shorts for under the skirt (French Toast), cuff socks (Gold Toe), knee socks (Code Socks and French Toast) and tights (Circo and French Toast).

What's missing?

Jumpers or dresses. Simply because my daughter is not a fan. She has a strong aversion to jumpers, always has. Maybe it's hereditary since I'm not a fan either. I used to be able to get her to put on a cotton polo dress, but not since first grade. She simply prefers to wear separates. If your daughter likes dresses and jumpers, you'll need fewer separates.

Wednesday, January 6, 2016

Cherokee Girls Pleated Scooter, a Review

One of our favorite scooters is this Girls Pleated Scooter by Cherokee.  I was reviewing old posts over the holiday break and I couldn't believe I hadn't written about it yet.  I think we got ours from the uniform exchange program second-hand several years ago.  But it is such a classic that you can still find it at Target online.

The reasons we love it-


  • The box pleats are classic without being too traditional.  


  • It is a scooter with shorts built in for modesty.  It has a side zipper closure. They can be a bit tricky for the youngest students, but my daughter doesn't mind it.


  • The fabric has held up very well over time. it comes in both navy or khaki.  As I mentioned above, I think we got this scooter second hand and my daughter has been wearing it for 3 years.  It still looks great.  The material is listed as a 60/40 cotton poly twill blend with a peached fabric treatment.  The label says to machine wash in cold water and tumble dry on low heat.  I throw this skirt in a load with all of our workout wear then hang it on a hanger to dry. No ironing needed. 


  • Did I mention the adjustable waist? This is why my daughter has been able to wear it for so long. While she's gotten taller and stronger, she hasn't grown more than an inch or so in the waist since Kindergarten. We adjust the waist a button or two each season. 


  • This scooter has an above the knee length which is another reason it has stayed in the active wardrobe rotation for so long. Many skorts that would otherwise still fit became too short as my daughter has grown taller.  Those were taken out of rotation and passed along to the uniform exchange program. Because this one was designed to hit above the knee, it is still long enough for her to wear and pass the fingertip test.


  • The classic styling, the longer length, and the quality fabric make this scooter a winner. When my daughter does finally outgrow this one, I'm sure we'll order another one.

    Wednesday, June 19, 2013

    A Year in Reviews-Kindergartner's School Uniform clothing items

    Microsoft Clip Art MP900422812

    School's out!

    It seems like just yesterday we were attending Preschool graduation. Tomorrow is the last day of school for our daughter, and I can't believe how fast this school year has gone. During her first year at elementary school, she has made new friends and learned many new things, probably most importantly reading and writing simple sentences and basic addition and subtraction.  Socially, she made new friends and learned how to hold her own on the playground with the big kids at after school care.

    Since she started Kindergarten at a school with an established uniform dress code, she doesn't know any different when it comes to school clothes. I've become a fan of the uniform dress code because it makes getting dressed for school each day very simple.  After I learned which stores carry uniform collections, shopping for her clothes is simple.  I've become a fan of several brands that have held up well for her this past school year.  Some items didn't work so well, and we'll skip over those during next year's shopping.  I've learned when things go on sale and learned to spot a bargain on the quality items.  

    As we wrap up the school year, I thought I'd look back at the items from my daughter's Kindergarten wardrobe that I've reviewed this school year. Last fall, I set out to buy a week's worth of school clothes and hoped to pick items that would last the full year.  Each of these represent lessons learned- some good and some bad.
    (photo used with permission from Microsoft)

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    Wednesday, April 17, 2013

    Cherokee School Uniform Scooter, a Review


    I purchased the Cherokee girls school uniform scooter for my daughter early last fall. I liked it because it was longer than most other uniform scooters hitting at the knee. As a scooter, it has knit shorts built in underneath. The front has pleats and pockets.  My daughter likes it because it is easy to get on and off due to the elastic waist. She calls it her pull-up skirt.

    It has held up well. It faded a bit after the initial washing, but has held its color since. It looks fine straight out of the dryer, but could benefit from a quick touch of the iron for a crisp look. It is available through Target in navy and khaki in sizes XS - XL. It retails for $14. It is currently available on clearance for $7.48.

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    Wednesday, April 3, 2013

    Cherokee School Uniform Pants, a Review

    Last summer, my daughter had outgrown and worn thin her favorite pair of jeans, and I had a hard time finding her a replacement pair. Old Navy had been a go-to store for us to find basic jeans for her. But as she aged out of toddler sizes and grew into girl sizes, we couldn't find any to fit her. Taking her shopping with me was a big headache, so I didn't have the benefit for letting her try on items in the store. I must have made 3 different trips to bring home different sizes and styles for her to try. Regular, skinny, super skinny, etc.  Our daughter is "fit" with an athletic build.  The regular style was so baggy on her, but she couldn't even get her legs in the skinnies. And don't get me started on the length, yikes! The difference with the inseam between a 5T and a 6 in girls seemed like a foot.  I took everything back and gave up on Old Navy Jeans for the year.

    Like most Mom's I know, I find myself at Target almost every weekend. There, I spied a pair of basic jeans by Cherokee. The 6x fit her very well. They were a little too long, but they fit close enough to the leg at the ankle that they stayed rolled up.

    So when it came time to buy uniform pants, I went straight for Cherokee again.  She needs to wear PE clothes twice a week and regular uniform dress the other 3 days. I bought 2 pair of pants and most weeks she alternates a dress or a skirt on that third day.

    And as I've mentioned in a previous post, she'd been wearing holes through her jeans at the knees during her preschool years. These Cherokee pants have been worn and washed every week since September, and they have held up well with no signs of excessive wear in the knees.  They are described online as "stain repellent, wrinkle resistant, and shrink resistant." They have an adjustable waist which we've adjusted several times already.  They have a boot leg style and an easy to use metal slide fastener (the button is just for looks). Like her other pants, they are too long so she's simply worn them rolled up at the bottom. My Mom recently visited for Spring Break and she kindly hemmed them using a basic whip stitch hem that can be removed easily when she has a big growth spurt.

    Target sells these Cherokee brand girls uniform pants in navy and khaki in girls 4-16 regular and plus sizes. They also offer Cherokee brand boys school uniform pants in sizes 4 -16 in regular and husky.  They retail around $14 - 16.99 which is a very fair price for how these have lasted for us.  I would definitely buy these again and recommend them to any mom looking for basic quality kids pants, uniform or no uniform.  You can find them on sale too.  And as we smart Target Mom's know, you get an extra 5% off and free shipping when you use your Red Card.
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    Cherokee School Uniform Scooter, a Review



    Wednesday, February 27, 2013

    Reviews of Girls Cardigan Uniform Sweaters

    As this is our first year buying school uniforms, I bought sweaters by three different brands with the intention to see which lasted through the year while continuing to look good.

    Land's End girls cardiganThe first item I bought for my daughter was the School Uniform Girls' Fine Gauge Cotton Cardigan Sweater - Classic Navy. My personal preference for a quality soft material may have factored into this purchase.  I had read great reviews online. I got it at the Back to School sale at Sears when all Lands' End items were 30% off.  The navy color faded a bit initially after the first time it was laundered, but it has held steady in repeated washings since.  The buttons are small which may be difficult for little fingers still learning to button and unbutton. It is the favorite of the three and is the one that gets packed in the backpack most days.

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    Fine Gauge Knit Cardigan Sweater from French ToastThe second sweater I bought for her was a white Fine Gauge Knit Cardigan Sweater from French Toast.  It is 100% Acrylic.  I thought she might also get some use wearing it over her non-uniform dresses.  We've also washed this sweater many times over the season and it has not held up as well.  It is piling a bit and the color is no longer bright and clean looking.  I launder most white and light in Warm or Hot water and typically with a dye free detergent. The instructions on the tag recommend cold water, delicate cycle and to dry flat.  I'm lucky enough to have a husband that helps out with the laundry which means I'm sure this item has taken a spin in our dryer on low.  I got it on sale for under $10, so I say it has "met expectations".



    Cherokee Girls School Uniform Cardigan

    Later in the fall, I picked up a third sweater at Target -the Cherokee Girls School Uniform Cardigan.  I is 100% cotton in a button up v neck with pockets.  It has held up well to repeated washings, even the color has not faded.  The buttons on this sweater are much larger than on the Lands' End sweater which are easier for little fingers that are still learning how to button and unbutton.  I bought this item on sale too for around $10, and I would rate it as "above expectations".



    So next year or when my daughter grows into the next size, I'll most likely pick up another Lands' End sweater for her.  The reality is that she doesn't end up wearing the sweater everyday and could get by with only one and holding on to one of these as a backup.

    (Photos by Uniform Mom)

    Thursday, February 21, 2013

    The Spend - our actual cost for School Uniforms

    Microsoft Clip Art MP900341783
    So after reflecting on the school uniform items we purchased for our daughter's first year at public school, I wondered how much it all cost.  I tend save my shopping receipts in a box during the year, so I dug through the box to find the receipts for all of the items I mentioned in our Kindergarten Wardrobe post.

    According to Statistics Brain, the average annual cost to parents for school uniforms is $249.  Unfortunately, this source doesn't provide any background on what they include as school uniforms.  If I don't include items such as shoes, coat, backpack and lunchbox that we'd need regardless of dress code, I come in right under the average at $234.  If those big ticket items are included, my spend is way above average adding an additional $146 to my annual spend.  So here's how it breaks down:

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    Tops:
    Izod short sleeve polo $7, Old Navy short sleeve polo $6, George Girls' Long Sleeve Polo Shirt 2/$11, H&M short sleeve t-shirts (2) $6, H&M long sleeve t-shirt (2) $10

    Bottoms:
    Lands End skort $20, Izod skirt $7.50, Cherokee Uniform Pants (2) $12, Children's Place Yoga Pants $5, Circo leggings $5, Izod shorts (2) $7

    Dresses and Sweaters:
    Lands End dress $22.50, Lands End sweater $22.50, Cherokee sweater $10, French Toast sweater $10

    Accessories:
    French Toast Tights (2pk) $11, French Toast socks $7, French Toast bike shorts $8, French Toast belt $9

    Other necessities:
    Lands End lunch box $14, Lands End Backpack $26, Oshkosh jacket $30, Stride Rite sneakers $30, Stride Rite shoes $46

    All items are rounded to the nearest twenty five cents.  In some cases, I could not locate my actual receipt, so I then substituted the retail cost of the item that I could verify online.  In most cases, I purchased items on sale, used a coupon code and/or received free shipping.


    (photo used with permission from Microsoft)

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    Wednesday, February 20, 2013

    School Shoes with Man Made Materials

    During my Back to School shopping last fall, I bought a paid of navy school shoes for my daughter.  They were the very cute French Toast's Navy T strap which I got at my local JCPenney store in late July at the beginning of the Back to School season. 

    We learned while on the way out the door on the first day of school that they no longer fit.  Instead she wore the old sneakers that were very broken in after months of use in preschool.  After just having met the Kindergarten teacher, I respectfully requested she give my daughter a hall pass on dress code on the first day.  I quickly explained why she wasn't in proper shoes and promised that she would be on following day.

    Cherokee girls uniform schools (Falda Ballet)That evening after work, I went off to the mall to see if I could exchange the shoes for the next size.  By that point in the school shopping season, my local JCPenney did not have that shoe or any uniform shoes in her size.  JCPenney has a wonderful return policy and gave me no problems with the return.  With about 2 hours left to find proper school shoes for the next day, I headed to the local Target store.  There I found the last pair of  Cherokee uniform shoes (Falda Ballet) in her size.  I am not a fan of shoes made from "Man Made Materials".  It has been my experience that they don't hold up well, but with one hour to go, I didn't have much of a choice.  I put them in my cart, checked out, and headed home for the night.