New Girls Bermuda Shorts from French Toast

The updated Girls Bermuda short by French Toast is is an instant classic on warm-weather days. This knee-length short is crafted with a comfortable and durable cotton blend stretch twill fabric and features functional front & back pockets. The adjustable waist helps her get a secure and comfy fit.

Features:

• Cotton Blend Twill
• Stretch, Comfort That Lasts
• Adjustable Waist, The Best Fit & Room For Them To Grow
• Non-Functional Horn Button With Hook & Bar Closure On Waistband
• Functional Fly with Zipper Closure
• Front Slash Pockets
• Back Welt Pockets
• Knee Length
• Functional Belt Loops

Fabric and Care: 

• 98% COTTON, 2% ELASTANE. 
• Machine Wash Cold With Like Colors. 
• Only Non Chlorine Bleach When Needed. 
• Tumble Dry Low. 
• Warm Iron If Needed.

Sizing:

• Youth 4-20, 
• Plus 10 1/2 plus to 20 1/2 plus
• Women’s 2-22

Regular Price

 $15.98 - $19.98

For a limited time you can use this Uniform Mom affiliate link for 30% off Polos & Shorts.

Boys Double Knee Pants from French Toast

Uniform Mom is an affiliate partner with French Toast. If you use these links and decide to make a purchase,
I receive a small commission. 

Update - This post was updated in May 2019 with new links, pricing and color options.



Are you looking for quality flat front pants for everyday school wear for your son?  Check out the Double Knee Pant with the Workwear Finish.

• First, they are made from Wrinkle No More fabric which is great because really, who loves ironing?  
• Second, they have the Power Knee (TM) fabric to prevent against knee blowouts.  
• And third, they have an adjustable waist so you can modify the fit as your child grows during the school year.

The price is right at $21.98. The French Toast brand items are carried by many different retailers making it easy to find them on sale.   The sizing starts as small as a boys size 4 going through a size 20.  Regular boys sizes also include slim and husky options, and now they have a young mans sizing up to size 38 waist.  They are only offered in 7 different colors including the basics of navy and khaki.

Be sure to follow me on Facebook or @navyplaid on Twitter for coupons.

French Toast changes to alpha sizing on Polo Shirts

I complained last year when the Children's Place changed the sizing of their yoga pants from numeric to alpha.  My daughter couldn't wear their yoga pants leggings because she was between sizes.  So I am sad to see that French Toast is also changing the sizing of their polo shirts in both boys and girls styles from numeric sizing to alpha sizing.

I found the following message on  product detail pages for the polo tops:

"If your numeric size is out of stock, get the new alpha size! French Toast has simplified shopping with our new alpha sizes XS, S, M, L, XL. See our size conversion chart below to find your best fit."

The numeric sizing scale includes 7 size options in the elementary school size range while the alpha sizing reduces that to 5 sizes.  I understand how this helps a manufacture with inventory management, but it is a bummer for the kids waiting for the next growth spurt while they are between sizes. I expect alpha sizing from the box stores where the uniforms are just one collection in their seasonal offering, but I have come to expect more from retailers like French Toast that specialize in school uniforms.

If you have a child that is between sizes, act quick before they sell out of all the numeric sizes and stock up on a few polos now.

Basic Kids T-shirts from French Toast

I’ve purchased more than a handful of basic t-shirts from French Toast over the past few years. One summer, I bought a few of the girls short sleeve shirts in solid bright solids for my daughter to wear to summer camp. I then picked up a few of the Boys crew neck t-shirts for my nephew. And recently, I’ve bought a few plain white ones for my daughter to wear on PE day.

They are soft, have some stretch to them, and are offered at a very inexpensive price point. The girls’ shirts come in 2 styles, a crew neck and a v-neck. Both styles gather a bit at the neckline which adds a feminine detail. They are thin, so they are great for layering with sweaters and vests or under jumpers. The colored t-shirts have held up very well for us, retaining their size and color even after many trips through the wash cycle. The white ones tend to shrink a bit when you wash them in warm water, even when you dry them on low, so I recommend you size up.

Uniform Mom is an affiliate partner with French Toast.
If you use these links and decide to make a purchase,
 I receive a small commission. 

French Toast to Ship Internationally

Heads up to our readers outside the US -
French Toast now offers international shipping.

Regular readers of this blog will recognize the brand French Toast as a US based children's school uniform and fashion retailer. You can order direct online and find their clothing in many US retail stores. International purchases are managed through Borderfree. They are sent to the Borderfree shipping hub in the United States and then Borderfree ships the order to its international destination.

You can read more about their company background the types of items they carry in their school uniform collection in our French Toast retail roundup post. Uniform Mom is an affilaite partner with French Toast, so you can also check out some of their products that have been reviewed or featured:

• French Toast Dollars in Uniform Fundraiser Program
• French Toast Two Tab Scooter and Polo from Rainbow Shops
• French Toast brand Skinny Stretch Twill Pant and Peter Pan Blouse, a Review
• Belts for Kindergarteners
• Reviews of Girls Cardigan Uniform Sweaters

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.

Shop 25% Off Kid's Uniforms Sale!

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Retail Round Up: Rainbow Shops

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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Featured Basics - French Toast School Uniform Shorts for Spring

Uniform Mom is an affiliate partner with French Toast.
If you use these links and decide to make a purchase, 
I receive a small commission. 

It is a perfect time to pick up new shorts.


Girls Shorts
These classic girls uniform shorts are called the Bermuda Short. They are made from stretch cotton twill, knee length with 2 front pockets and an adjustable waist.  They come in navy, khaki, black and grey in girls sizes 4 - 20, plus, juniors and women's.

If you don't need the extra length, you can try the Mid-Thigh Short. And the youngest girls should check out the Pull-On Girls Short for less fuss and confidence with potty training skills.

Boys Shorts

The classic boys uniform short is the Flat Front Adjustable Waist Short.  They are a knee length twill with an adjustable made from a wrinkle no more cotton blend with 2 pockets in the front and 2 in back.  They are available in navy, khaki and black in boys sizes 4-20, husky and guys sizes up to a 38 YM.

As an alternative, you can try the Pleated Adjustable Waist Short.  Again, check out the Boys Pull-On Shorts for younger boys.

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.

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 Basics: Bermuda Shorts from French Toast

Update - This post was updated in May 2019 for links and sizing options.

It seems like we had a few days of spring then we fast forwarded right into summer.  We had temperatures in the 80's this week, and I had to go digging through my daughter's off-season clothes to find her shorts.

If you find you need new shorts for your daughter, check out these uniform basics from French Toast. The shorts are 97% cotton and 3% spandex.  They have an adjustable waist, button closure, and a modern fit, low rise.   They retail for a very affordable $12.98.

These Bermuda shorts are a best seller for French Toast.  They have them in all sizes: Toddlers (in a pull-on style 2T-4T),  girls (4-20), plus (10-20), and adult.  They also carry the Lee brand bermuda short in Junior's sizing (0-13).

If you need boys shorts instead, check out French Toast's Flat Front Adjustable Waist Shorts. The boys have a hook and eye closure instead of a button.   They are also available in all sizes:  Toddlers (in a pull-on style 2T-4T),  boys (4-14),  husky (10-20) and young men (31-38).

Uniform Mom is an affiliate partner with French Toast. 
If you use these links and decide to make a purchase,
I receive a small commission. 

French Toast brand Skinny Stretch Twill Pant and Peter Pan Blouse, a Review

I received complementary school uniform clothing items from Ideal Uniforms to facilitate this review. All opinions are my own.

Ideal Uniforms offered me the opportunity to review their web site and several items of French Toast brand clothing. I had only recently learned of them, so I was happy to learn more about the company and the products they offer. They are based in New York with two retail locations in Brooklyn and Elmont. Those of us outside the NY area can visit their website. Below are a few quotes from the About Us page on IdealUniform.com.

"For over 83 years, Ideal Uniforms has been a family owned and operated business. We specialize in designing and distributing professionally styled apparel, work-wear and outerwear for men, women and children. Ideal Uniforms is your one stop shop for all your educational, medical, corporate and scouting needs. Ideal presently outfits hundreds of schools, hospitals, boy and girl scout troops, and businesses. Ideal Uniforms has been a family owned and operated business. We specialize in designing and distributing professionally styled apparel, work-wear and outerwear for men, women and children."

When I began researching Ideal Uniforms, I found some negative online reviews. Comments centered around two types of issues, poor customer service and inventory management. Knowing that most companies pay attention to online feedback, I asked if they had made any efforts to address customer concerns in these areas. Jack Kassab, a Vice President at Ideal Uniform, told me that they made a large investment this year in both areas. He said, "We now have a system which helps us with inventory control as well as forecasting to avoid running out of merchandise prior to school opening. We also made some changes in our customer service department and we have been getting great feedback."

I had fun browsing the online store where school uniform items are organized together making it easy to view their selections. You can filter by gender and then type of clothing with logical groupings as "pants and shorts" and "blouses, knits and polos". You can also add additional filters by size and color. Because my daughter had recently outgrown her button up shirts, I selected both a French Toast brand short sleeve and a long sleeve peter pan blouses. I also selected the French Toast Girls Skinny Stretch Twill Pant. My final selection was a "Girl's American Doll Plaid Dress". I found these uniform dresses designed to fit the 18" dolls too cute to pass up. It is listed under Accessories and is available in many different plaid patterns. It made a perfect gift for my daughter since grandma planned to give her an American Girl doll as a Christmas gift this year. Personally, I had a positive experience shopping online with them. They contacted me via email to let me know the doll outfit was out of stock and requested feedback on how to fulfill the order giving me the option to wait until the items returned to stock or an alternate pattern. The correct items were shipped to me quickly as one complete order.

© 2014 Rene Shonerd

I had only previously seen the French Toast Girls Skinny Stretch Twill Pant online and in catalogs. They look skinnier in the photo than they really are. As you can see from my photo, they are thinner through the knee than a straight leg pants by about a 1/2 inch yet still have a boot cut bottom. These would be a nice option for girls that want to wear the currently fashionable skinny tight fitted pants if the school's dress code prohibit the fitted pants. They are made from cotton with 3% spandex which gives them the right amount of stretch. The do not have an adjustable waist. Instead they have several inches of sturdy elastic across the back to give them some wiggle room. Currently my daughter has been wearing a 6x in pants with any adjustable waist fully extended and no hem in the length. Her natural waist is a 22" while measuring the area where a waistband would hit her measures at 23". I ordered the French Toast girls size 7 pants which are labeled to fit a waist at 23 1/2" which seems about right since these are still just a bit too big for her. They fit nicely through the backside and the legs. They are labeled as machine wash cold, tumble dry low and iron when needed.

© 2014 Rene Shonerd

The peter pan blouses she'll be able to begin using right away. The fabric is 55% cotton and 45% poly. I ordered these in a size 7 also. Her similar blouses in a 6x are too short, showing her belly as she moves around and making it very difficult to keep her shirt tucked into her pants as her dress code requires. This short sleeve blouse fits her perfect. The long sleeve needs the sleeve turned up once which is expected as she is just growing into this size. The weight of the shirts are perfect for layering under a jumper or sweater; however, they are also thick enough to be worn alone or simply paired with a criss-cross tie. They are labeled as machine wash cold, tumble dry low and iron when needed. I put the "Wrinkle No More ™" fabric to the test. This photo shows the short sleeve blouse on the right straight from the dryer. The long sleeve blouse on the left I touched up with the iron. While I prefer the crisp look of the ironed blouse, I admit that I'd let my daughter wear it to school without ironing, especially if she would be wearing it under a jumper or sweater.

Overall, I had a positive retail experience with Ideal Uniforms. I am also pleased with the quality of the French Toast brand items I received. I like that they stock school uniform items year round so you can find the items you need in stock mid-year. You can connect with them online on Facebook or on Twitter to get a heads up when items go on sale and find useful coupons codes. To learn more about the items they carry, check out the details from the Ideal Uniforms post in the Retail Round up series.

Currently, Ideal Uniforms is sponsoring a giveaway that is being organized here on Uniform Mom. One lucky reader will win a prize pack which includes your choice of one top and one bottom of French Toast brand clothing for either a boy or girl! It ends on 1/13/14 at midnight ET. Enter now so you too can get a chance to pick out an school uniform outfit from Ideal Uniforms.

Related Posts:

Ideal Uniforms: Retail Round Up

Holiday Gift Ideas for Kids

Pass the Fingertip Test

During the development of a schools uniform dress code, there is typically some back and forth that leads to an common understanding of the policy between the school board and the larger community of parents and students.  Once the policy is adopted, enforcement can be a constant battle for school administrators everywhere.  Recent articles included in the "in the news" series show many examples of battles between administrators and students, and in some cases, a larger group in the community.

A policy with clearly stated expectations and guidelines makes it easier for parents to understand so they can guide the student's choices when shopping.  Consistent enforcement by different teachers make clear examples of what's acceptable and what's not acceptable.

The length of a girls hemline for shorts, scooters, and dresses is a huge area for consternation.  Many schools have tried to set a simple easy to understand rule of thumb which is commonly referred to as "the fingertip test".   A young lady passes the fingertip test when the length of the skirt is below the fingertips of the student while standing with her arms extended straight down.  The same test works for jumpers, scooters and shorts. Maybe its a backlash to the mid-thigh trend we've been seeing for the past few seasons, but this fall, I noticed a trend of several retailers offering new longer lengths. Lands End's fall school uniform catalog features girls skirts in 3 lengths: above the knee, top of the knee and below the knee.  The French Toast fall catalog page on girls skirts feature both "the long and short of it" featuring two knee length skirts and one long skirt.  This can make shopping easier if your school has adopted the fingertip test as a rule of thumb to guide enforcement.

Below are some examples of new longer skirts:

Lands' End
 Girls' Plus Solid Pleated Skirt (Below The Knee)

French Toast
Kick Pleat Skirt

Lands' End
Little Girls' Solid A-line Skirt (Below The Knee)

French Toast
Knee Length Straight Skirt

Lands' End
Little Girls' Box Pleat Skirt (Below The Knee)

What do you think of these knee length and longer styles?

Video Pick: The case for a School Uniform Dress Code

This quality video by French Toast School Wear makes the case for a school uniform dress code and addresses criticism of restricting individuality.

Related Posts: 

French Toast Dollars in Uniform Fundraiser Program 

School Uniforms at French Toast - Retail Round Up Series

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

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.

• Izod School Uniform Bermuda Shorts
• Cherokee School Uniform Pants
• Izod Flat Front Skirt
• Cherokee School Uniform Scooter
• Izod Short-Sleeve Woven Shirt
• George brand long-sleeve polos
• H&M's Organic Cotton T-shirts
• Lands End Girls Uniform Pleated Twill Skort
• Cardigan sweaters (Land's End, Cherokee and French Toast)
• Lands' End Knit Ruffle Front Dress
• Children's Place Active Skort and Fold-over Active Pants
• Myself Belt's Navy Canvas belt
• Lands End Kiki 3 Strap Skimmer shoes
• Saucony Radar LT LTT Sneakers
• Stride Rite Carla shoes 
• Cherokee uniform shoes (Falda Ballet)

(photo used with permission from Microsoft)

What to Wear Under a Skirt for Modesty on the Playground

I see London. I see France.  I see your little girl's underpants!

Egads!  You don't want to hear any kids singing that song with your daughter's name in it.  And as if that thought isn't motivating enough, here are three other good reasons you'll need to find a solution for what she can wear under skirts and jumpers at school:

• Your little girl will want to play on the playground at recess.
• Your little girl will have to sit crisscross applesauce at circle time. 
• And just in case, your little girl doesn't always act like a little lady.

If skirts and jumpers are in your regular wardrobe rotation, then you need another article of clothing to retain a little modesty.  I've found three options:

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Thank you for supporting Uniform Mom!

The Bike Short  

They are tight fitting shorts with stretch. You can find them at major retailers.  Over the years, we've had several pairs of these from various vendors.  The Circo brand bike shorts at Target (update - sorry this brand is no longer available) have held up well for us. The Children's Place leggings and bike shorts are my favorite because they seem to have just the right amount of stretch to them.  Gymboree brand are my least favorite because they don't seem to have enough stretch in them and they don't hold their shape as well as the others.  Here are links to you can check out bike shorts from these retailers:

• Children's Place
• Cat and Jack at Target
• French Toast brand at Cookies Kids
• French Toast

Bootie shorts

I'm not crazy about the name either, but that's what the kids call them.



They are the boyshort style shorts usually worn by dancers and gymnasts over practice leotards. We recently bought a pair of Capezio Girls' Boy Cut Low Rise Short at our local dance-wear shop. They are also offered at major retailers such as Amazon or at a local specialty retailer. We found they ran true to size. They are made from 90% nylon and 10% spandex. You can launder them with your other workout wear, but hang them to dry.

 

Knit Shorts

I have only come across a handful of uniform retailers that carry knit shorts made for the purpose of wearing under skirts. The Gap and their sister store, Old Navy, used to carry a 3 pack, but I no longer see them available.

This year, French Toast began to offer what they call "Kick Shorts". We haven't tried them yet, but they are described as  a fitted pull-on shorts designed to be worn under a skirt or jumper. The price is right at $4.98 each. They come in all sizes from 2T through a size 16.

Cartwheel Shorts

Children's Place added a nylon Cartwheel Short with 5% spandex. They are sold in a two pack and retail for $16.95.

Children's Place also has a knit cartwheel short.  They are made from 94% cotton with 6% spandex.   Compared to other Children's Place matchables, we found these to run small.  While they are intended to be short and fit snugly, I'd recommend you go up a size.

JC Penney also carries a  2 pack of Maidenform Playground Pals (R).  While we wish they were offered in 2 packs of solids in uniform basic colors, they do offer a set in navy and white, as well as other colors.

(photo used with permission from borntobewild1946)
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French Toast Dollars in Uniform Fundraiser Program

Wouldn't your school like to Earn 5% Cash Back for your school when you shop at French Toast today! The French Toast program does not require the school to enter a contract. A school administrator can complete a simple sign up form online to get started.

French Toast offers bulk discounts to schools and can provide embroidery set up for the school logo.  The embroidery set up is free if the school logo is digitized.  If not, French Toast can assist for a one time $95 fee.

Participating schools are assigned a school code. If the school provides details on their uniform dress code, French Toast creates a customized online shopping experience for parents filtering the uniform items to just display the ones that comply with your school's dress code.  The school can also order customized catalogs to provide to parents.   I love how that can simplify the "Back to School" shopping for all families.

A friendly school marketing representative told me that over 5,000 schools participate in this program with French Toast.  Schools can receive royalty checks twice a year in August and February.  Checks are issued once a school's total sales reaches $2000, or a royalty of at least $100.  If a school doesn't reach that sales total in a period the amount rolls into the next period until that threshold is reached.  If your school is not contractual obligated to an exclusive contract with a specific vendor, then you have nothing to loose by registering for the French Toast Dollars for Uniforms program.  Participation can simplify shopping experience for the parents and the school may receive a royalty check in return. A Win, Win!

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Below is a 3 minute video highlighting the program:

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• Myself Belts School Fundraiser Program
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School Uniforms at French Toast - Retail Round Up Series

French Toast Official School Wear™ proclaims they are "America's leading brand of school uniform." Founded in 1958, the mission of the company is to provide families with quality children’s wear and boys and girls school uniforms at great prices."  If your school is considering implementing a school uniform program, their Partnership For Education Program™ offers assistance and an educator's toolkit is available for download. 

According to their website, they carry over 1500 items in their official School Uniform Wear line. Sizes include grouping Toddler (2T - 4T), Girls (4 -14), Junior (3 - 13) and Young Women (10-20). Several styles of pants are available in the slim fit. They carry a plus fit for many types of items.  Their website for on-line shopping makes it easy to find items by gender, size and category for items. If your school has registered their dress code with French Toast, you can use the Find Your School Code feature on the retail website which will then filter the selection to show only items that meet your school's uniform dress code.

Their return policy allows returns within 30 days with a receipt for any reason, except embroidered items unless the product is defective. French Toast uniforms can be found at retailers across the nation. You can likely find French Toast brand items at your local JC Penney or Kmart, or use their retail locator to find a store near you.

Normally for the Retail Round Up series posts, I list the items available in the current school uniform collection by gender and clothing type. French Toast offers too many items to list.  Instead, I'll link you to the major groupings and featured product lines:

ISO Feedback on School Uniform Fundraiser Programs

So naturally, I'm curious to hear feedback from schools that participate in school uniform fundraising programs.  Do parents take the time to enter the school code in their online orders, and if so what kind of royalty does the school receive for their efforts?

If your school has promoted a school uniform fundraising program in the past year and are involved with the administration of the program, I'd like to hear from you.  Please complete the survey below.  If you participate in programs with several brands, please feel free to complete this brief 4 question survey multiple times.

If you weren't involved with the program but you know who was, please forward this link to them so they can complete the survey.

Based on the feedback collected, I'll plan to share the feedback in a future post.

Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey , the world's leading questionnaire tool.

JC Penney - Retail Round up Series

JCPenney is an American department store chain that operates  more than 1100 stores in the US and Puerto Rico. Most stores are located in suburban malls and they have an online store which makes it easy to find kids school uniform items through the secondary site navigation.  The online store offers free shipping for orders over $75 and free delivery to your local store.  Online orders can be returned to a local store or via mail. The uniform items feature Izod and French Toast brand items.  For the purposes of this post, I will highlight only the Izod brand items since the French Toast brand items will be covered in their own post.

I shopped in a local store during back to school season this past fall when they featured a sizable uniform section between the girls and boys departments.  I visited again later in the fall to find one lonely rack of uniform items.  However, I have also had success ordering from them online.