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.

The Gap's School Uniform Polo Shirt, a review

During a post holiday sale about 2 years ago, I picked up two
Girls Solid Pique Uniform Polos from the Gap for my daughter that were on end of the season clearance. Normally, Gap polos are at the higher end of the price range. But I snagged them for 5 bucks each.   This time of year is a great time to keep an eye out for winter clearance sales.

My daughter is now outgrowing these Gap polos, but we got 2 good years of use from them. They held up very well. This polo is a traditional pique polo in soft stretch materials that is 94% cotton and 4% spandex. It has side vents at the hem and has satin trim inside the collar in a contrasting color. The tag inside the collar bothered by daughter, so we cut it out. The fabric is not as soft as some of her interlock polos in other brands, but it is not a traditional mesh feel either.

The girls version of the polo has feminine details such as a slim fit and longer front button placket. It is offered in 6 common uniform colors in sizes XS through XXL. It also comes in a plus size option or a long sleeve version. As an alternative, I really like this Girls Peter Pan Jersey Polo.

The Boys Solid Pique Polo is described as having a modern fit with a slimmer profile.  The  trim in the collar is in the same color fabric, and the placket is wider and shorter than the girls. The boys polo is offered in 10 different colors in sizes from XS through XXL. There is also a long sleeve version and a husky version.

Gap Inc - Retail Roundup Series

The Gap, Inc. is an American multinational clothing and accessories retailer. It was founded in 1969 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California. It is the largest specialty retailer in the United States with over 2550 stores in the US. In additional to the Gap stores, the company operates 4 other brands: Banana Republic, Old Navy, Piperlime, and Athleta. The Gap offers free shipping on orders over $50 and free returns on all orders.

GapKids carries a line of school uniform items.  If you've read a few of the posts from last summer's Best Bets series, you may have noticed that the regular retail price of the GAP uniform items tend to fall at the top the charts. However, if you're a smart shopper, you can score these items for deep discounts.  Last fall, I bought a few basic polos for may daughter for 5 bucks each off the clearance rack. 

Girls Bottoms

Girls uniform pants are offered in 5 styles: trouser pants, boot cut, skinny and capri and ponte styles. The shorts are offered in two styles, the traditional bermuda short as well as a shorter flat front style.  They also carry fold over yoga pants which would work for PE class and leggings.

Girls Tops

They carry short and long sleeve polos in several colors (white, blue and navy).  They carry a no-iron long sleeve button down, long sleeve oxfords, short sleeve peter pan blouses, and a ruffle shirt. The cable knit cardigans are offered in navy and white and the v neck cardigan in gray and navy.

Girls Dresses

The polo dress is a classic drop waist pleated style and offered in gray, navy, pink and red. The pleated skirt is offered in two styles: a GapShield and a more casual ponte knit. They offer two jumpers: one in Gapshield fabric with a shirred empire waist style and another straighter style in ponte knit. They sell  three packs of knit shorts that a can be worn under the jumpers, skirts or dresses.

Girls Outerwear

They also offer several jackets. A ponte navy blazer, a hooded fleece coat, a peplum coat and a rain coat.

Boys Bottoms

Boys uniform pants are offered in 3 styles: flat front, straight, and pleated pants. They carry a dress pant, as well as a wide-wale cords. The shorts are offered in three styles, the flat front, pleated and cargo.  

Boys Tops

They carry short and long sleeve polos in a nice variety of colors.  They carry a no-iron long sleeve and a short sleeve button down, as well as long sleeve and short sleeve oxfords. The v-neck cardigans is offered in several colors and mock zip cardigan.

Boys Outerwear

They also offer several jackets. A knit blazer, a knit peacoat, and a rain coat.

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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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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