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)

Izod Flat Front Uniform Skirt, a review

One of the first uniform items I bookmarked to purchase for my daughter was the Izod Flat Front Uniform Skirt. The flat front a-line style is a bit different from the standard scooters and pleated skirts.  Maybe I was drawn to it because it is a style I would choose for my wardrobe. It is available to purchase at JCPenney. It comes in navy and khaki in girls sizes 4-16. It is made from a cotton polyester blend.  

I ordered the navy one online. It has held it's color well through many washings, but it does need pressed to return to a crisp smart look.  The skirt has a zip fly with a hook and latch closure at the top that is easy for little fingers. But it also has a tab of fabric that snaps over to the left under, yes, under and between a double belt loop.  It couldn't be in a worse spot and is therefore difficult to button. Since it is a skirt and not a skort, I can assist my young daughter with this snap in the morning, and then she doesn't have to mess with it during restroom visits during the school day.  But that brings me to my second criticism of this item, I have developed a strong preference for my daughter to wear skorts or scooters instead of skirts. The convenience of a built in shorts beats having to wear bike shorts underneath.

Despite my criticisms, I do keep this skirt in her regular wardrobe rotation. Why? Because she looks SO darn cute in it.   In the warmer months, she wears it with bike shorts underneath and basic cuff socks.  As it got cooler, we switched to knee socks, then tights through the winter months.  The classic style of the skirt paired with a polo is just perfect throughout the school year.  At the regular retail price of $10, it is worth a little ironing. 

Disclosure – Affiliate Links in Use

Thanks for supporting Uniform Mom!

Related Posts:·

• Izod Flat Front Uniform Skirt, a review
• Review of the Girls Izod Short-Sleeve Woven Shirt 
• Cherokee School Uniform Scooter, a Review

Izod School Uniform Bermuda Shorts

When I began browsing school uniform clothing last fall, I was surprised at the offerings at JCPenney. They carry Izod and French Toast brand items and the prices seemed very reasonable to me.

As I planned out what items she'd need for school, I decided to get her 2 pair of basic shorts. The Izod brand girls shorts fit her well and appeared to be well made. I expected that they would hold up well to playground play and many spins through the wash. And so far, they have. They do not need any ironing as long as I remove them from the dryer promptly. Even when I forget, a quick touch of the iron and they look great again. They are flat front style which is available in navy and khaki. They retail for $10 and are currently on clearance for $7. They have an adjustable waist and an easy to use hook slide closure.

Here in northern Virginia, the weather turns cool in late fall and gets warm again in mid spring; meaning the "shorts" season for school clothes is basically 2 months in the fall and 2 months in the Spring. If we're lucky, these shorts we bought in the fall will still fit come Spring. If so, these Izod shorts definitely have enough life in them to last through the rest of the school year and then to be passed along to the uniform exchange program.

I am likely to buy this product again. I would recommend them to other parents looking for quality kids shorts at a great price.

Related Posts:

• Izod Flat Front Uniform Skirt, a review
• Review of the Girls Izod Short-Sleeve Woven Shirt
JC Penney - Retail Round up Series

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.

Review of the Girls Izod Short-Sleeve Woven Shirt

On my first back to school shopping trip last fall, I took my daughter to JCPenney.  I had scoped it out ahead of time.  They had created a School Uniform section in the store between the boys and girls departments.  I knew this would allow us enough choices to see what type of school clothes my daughter preferred and for me to figure out her size.

photo by Uniform Mom

I don’t recall that she had ever had a button up shirt previously, so she was excited about the Izod short sleeve peter pan woven top.  She noticed the little bit of a puffy sleeve and it seemed to make her feel special.  We even took a picture right in the dressing room when she tried it on.  At $8, I didn’t blink at the price.  We bought it and a few other items that day.

She chose to wear it on the first day of school with a navy skirt.  We were so in a rush to get to school on time that day, I only have one photo of her back taken in the elevator on the way out of our building.  I know you all can relate to those kinds of mornings.  Anyway, she wore the shirt a few more times last fall either with shorts or a skirt. One day in late fall when there was a chill in the air, I had her wear a white cami t-shirt underneath. 

I’m not sure exactly why, but it fell out of favor and is no longer part of our weekly wardrobe routine.  I see other girls from her school wearing that style shirt often.  Many times they are worn under a jumper style dress.  My daughter has always hated jumpers.  Even when she was a toddler and had no opinion of her clothes, if given a choice she would always choose to wear whatever other option I presented.  So honestly I’m not sure if she picked up on that or not.  Or maybe she simply prefers the softness and ease of the polo shirts.  

I had picked up the long sleeve version of this shirt at the school’s Uniform Locker exchange program, but she has never worn it. The long sleeve version does not have the same cap sleeve as the short sleeve version. It is unlikely I will buy this product again for next year, only due to my daughter’s current preferences and the flexibility in her school’s dress code. 

So here’s my Mom take on this item. If your daughter likes to wear jumper dresses or if it is a required part of your school’s dress code, this is a great blouse to wear underneath.  The shirt is well made but is thin.  It can be worn alone, but it looks better with a cami underneath or with a jumper or sweater over top.  It washed well and only needed a quick touch up with the iron to look crisp and sharp again. It retails for $8 at JC Penneys, so it doesn’t break the bank and you could stock up on several.  In fact, the full regular price of this shirt is typically less than similar styles offered by other brands.

Related Posts:

• Izod Flat Front Uniform Skirt, a review
• Izod School Uniform Bermuda Shorts

The Spend - our actual cost for School Uniforms

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:

Disclosure – Affiliate Links in Use

Thanks for supporting Uniform Mom!

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)

Related Posts:

Our Kindergarten Wardrobe
Modesty on the Playground
Building a Boys School Uniform Wardrobe