Classroom Girls Narrow Leg Pants from Schoolbelles

The folks at Schoolbelles asked me to take a look one of the items from their value uniform line of clothing. They sent me a pair of Classroom brand narrow leg pants as the basis for this review. No additional compensation was received for this review.



Image from Schoolbelles
Used with permission.

Schoolbelles' offers a value line of uniform items at a lower price point. These uniform line includes most basics like solid navy pants and basic white polos and tops that work well with most standard dress codes. They state the value line products are created to be fashionable, durable school uniforms tested in real world situations with real kids. The value line is made up of Classroom brand items.

We tried the girls’ value stretch narrow leg pants. I guess I was expecting the value line pants to be of average quality. However, the first thing I noticed when I opened the package is that the quality of these pants would rival the higher end competitors in the US uniform market. The material is a soft yet durable blend of 53% Cotton, 44% Polyester, 3% Spandex. Have you ever noticed loose seams and threads on clothing at certain retailers?  Not these, on this pair of pants, the seams are tight using a finishing zigzag seam showing better quality in the workmanship.

(c) 2015 Rene Shonerd
All Rights Reserved.

My daughter has a slim, athletic build. These narrow pants flatter her girlish figure so she looks trendy without looking inappropriately dressed for school. These were a little long on her, but because they have a narrow leg, we simply rolled them up one turn, While I've found other Schoolbelles items from their brand to run larger than many national retailers, these Classroom brand pant were true to size. The cut of the pants have a contemporary look with a short fly and button closure. They have a mid-rise, pockets on the behind and a narrow leg. The description says the youth sizes (4-6XR) have a center back elastic waist, while the youth sizes (7-16) feature an adjustable interior waist. They are machine washable. They are available in navy and khaki and retail for $17.75 in youth sizes.

I'm a fan of these Classroom brand pants in Schoolbelles value line. I would agree that they are great quality for the price. The Girls Schoolbelles value line also includes the Classroom Stretch Fashion pants with a straight leg and the Classroom Flair Leg Pant with a boot suit leg. 

For the boys, they carry the Classroom Flat Front Pant and the Classroom Narrow Leg Pant.  I bet the narrow leg style would work well for a slim boy.

  

Lands' End School Uniform Perfect Fit Pants and Interlock Polo, a Review

I'm working with Lands' End as a Brand Ambassador during the 2014 Back to School season. They gifted me school uniforms for me to evaluate so I could share my opinion of the items with you. All opinions are my own.

Affiliate Links in Use

Thanks for Supporting Uniform Mom

(c) Rene Shonerd. All Rights Reserved.

Today we'll take a look at two classic wardrobe staples: the Girls' Perfect Fit Pants from the Iron Knee collection and the Girls' Feminine Fit Interlock Polo Shirt from Lands' End.



I love the updated fit of the School Uniform Girls' Perfect Fit Plain Front Blend Chino Pants. They aren't a skinny pant, but the cut of the leg is just a bit narrower than a straight cut style. I think this will be a popular choice for fashion forward young ladies that wear uniforms to school. My daughter is used to wearing boot cut pants because she really doesn't like the feel of skinny jeans or pants.  After putting them on, she pulled at the pant leg once noticing the difference in the style, but not being able to vocalize the difference at how they fit her closer in the leg.  I then paid close attention to see if she continued to tug at them, but she quickly got used to them not giving it another thought.



As a Mom, I also love the features and quality of these pants.  Because she is just growing into a new size, we had to take advantage of the adjustable waist and make it smaller.  This is her first pair of reinforced knee pants.  Back in preschool, she quickly blew out the knees on all her jeans and I had to resort to using iron on patches.  So, I know she's going to put these Iron Knee Pants to the test this year.  But the best part is the hem. 



Lands' End does the hemming for you! Yeah, it seems so old school for a retailer to hem your pants, but it makes so much sense.  I've never understood why women's pants are made all the same length while men's are sized both by waist and inseam.  With these quickly growing kids, it seems the standard pant sizes are either too long or too short.  With a custom inseam sized just to fit, it makes things simple.  Because beyond a simple button repair, I'm no good at sewing and I don't even have a sewing machine or have access to one. This is so awesome for me because most standard pants in my daughter's new size are a good four or five or more inches too long for her.



When you place your online order, you enter your child's inseam.  Now here's what's really important to know, there is no need to size up.  They make the adjustment for us to allow some wiggle room for the fabric to shrink under recommended laundering instructions and to allow some growing room. I measured my daughter's inseam at 20 inches and, as advised, entered her actual measurements when ordering.  The pants that arrived measure almost 22 inches.  And as promised they will give her room to grow, but they don't look noticeably long and are totally wearable at this length.

Girls' Perfect Fit
Plain Front Blend Chino Pants

Features

• Improved fit for comfort and flexibility
• Little Girl & Big Girl sizes: New! reinforce patched Iron Knees for longer lasting wear
• Wrinkle-resistant 60% cotton/40% polyester blend
• Front & rear pockets
• Little Girl & Big Girl sizes: adjustable inner waistband to fine-tune her fit
• Little Girl sizes: easy-on elastic back & snap button close
• Big Girl sizes: no-gap contoured waistband & FREE hemming available!
• Women’s sizes: Contoured waistband prevents gaping at back

These pants are available in classic navy, khaki and black.  They are available in sizes to fit everyone: Toddler 2T - 4T,  Little Girls 4-7 (regular and slim), Big Girls 7 - 16 (regular, slim and plus), Junior and Adult (regular and tall). The regular retail price is $40.00.

(c) Rene Shonerd. All Rights Reserved.

The pants pair well with the School Uniform Girls' Short Sleeve Feminine Fit Interlock Polo Shirt. Personally, I prefer the feel of the interlock polos to mesh polos.  And this polo is SO super soft, made from 100% cotton.  It is by far the nicest kids' polo I've seen.  If your child is fussy about the texture or feel of fabrics, you should definitely check this one out.



I always advocate that you look for brands and items with the word "resistant" in its product claims.  This polo is said to resist stains, resists shrinkage and resists piling. No boxy fit either; the fit is distinctly all girl and shaped to be flattering to a young girls figure. It is machine washable for easy care. The other feature worth noting for uniform kids is that this polo hits the top of the hip, allowing the right amount of fabric to properly tuck in your uniform polo. 

Girls' Short Sleeve Feminine Fit

Interlock Polo Shirt

Features

• She-shaped, plush 100% cotton
• Enhanced fabric keeps colors true
• Resists stains and shrinkage
• Top-of-hip length with side vents
• Shaped: Not too slim or too loose
• Sized to allow for shrinkage, please wash before wear

This polo is offered in a dozen different colors, so you're sure to find your school's colors.  It comes in sizes for Little Girls 4-7, Big Girls 7 - 16, Junior and Adult (regular and tall). The regular retail price is $18.00. And when required or desired, you can get your school logo added to this polo. 



I really love both of these school uniform items.  These are high quality wardrobe staples that will last through the school year.

Related Posts:

• Girls School Uniform Double Knit Blazer from Lands End, a Review

• Lands' End new Ponte School Uniform items- knit skort and blouse, a Review
• Lands’ End Phys Ed Performance T-shirt and Yoga Pants, Reviews
• Lands' End Uniform Girls Solid A-line Skirt, a review
• Review of the Lands End Knit Ruffle Front Dress
• Lands' End Backpacks for School

 

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

Best Bets on Girls Pants for Back to School

Updated: This post has been updated for the Back to School 2017 season. This post was originally published in 2013, but is reviewed an updated regularly to ensure the links and ensure pricing is still accurate.

The regular retail price for basic girls school uniform pants at the major retailers range from just under $10 and up to $30 a pair. Based on my comparison reviews, you should set a target price to find girls uniform pants for under $15 each. When you are watching the Back to School ads or out shopping and you find a pair that at or below that target price range, make the purchase with confidence that you've found a good sale price.

There are several features you should look for in girls uniform pants to get the best value for your dollar:

• Adjustable Waist 
• Stain Resistant 
• Wrinkle Resistant 
• Reinforced Knees 
• Adjustable Hem

Disclosure – Affiliate Links in Use 

Thanks for supporting Uniform Mom

Best on a Budget

George Girls Flat Front Pants at Walmart

• George Girls School Uniforms Flat Front Pants with Stain Resistant Scotchguard Treatment
  Navy, Black and Khaki
  60% Cotton/40% Polyester.
  Stain Resistant. Adjustable waistband.Machine Wash Cold. Imported.
  $12.97, also available in 2 pack (featured on right)
• CookiesKids Lee Uniforms Big Girls' Original Straight Leg Pant
  97% Cotton/3% Spandex. Machine Wash Cold.
  Made in Vietnam.
  $16.99

Best Bets for Slim Fit

• Children's Place Girls Uniform Skinny Pants
• French Toast Girls Adjustable Waist Pants Slim Fit (7S-14S)
• Gap Uniform Ponte Pants or Uniform Stretch Skinny Chinos  (Slim fit)
• JCPenney Izod Skinny Pants
• Lands' End (various options)
• Old Navy Girls Stretch Skinny Khaki Uniform Pants
• Walmart George Girls Skinny Pants

Best Bets for Plus Fit

• Children's Place Uniform Pants - Plus
• Cookies Genuine Girls Straight Leg Flat Front Pants (Plus sizes)
• French Toast Girls Adjustable Waist Pants Plus Fit (10.5P - 20.5P)
• JCPenney Izod Bootcut Flat Front Pants - Girls Plus
• Lands' End (various options)
• Walmart George Girls Plus Flat Front Adjustable Waist Pants

Related Posts:

Best Bets for Kids Polo's for Back to School

Best Bets for Girls Sweaters for School

Best Bets in Girls Blouses for School

Best Bet in Girls Scooters for School

Best Bets in Girls Shorts for School

Best Bets for Boys Pants for Back to School

Updated: This post was originally published in 2013; however, it has most recently been reviewed and updated in July 2017 to update links and ensure pricing is accurate for the Back to School Season.

There are a few features you want to look for when shopping for boys pants for school.  Top quality boys school uniform pants will contain all of the following features:

• Adjustable Waist - boys can grow quite a bit over a school year.  Ideally you want to buy new pants a bit on the big side and be able to adjust the waist smaller for a comfortable fit. Throughout the year, you can let out the waist as needed.
• Stain Resistant -  The playground and the lunchroom are all places your son will visit daily and they are the most likely places to encounter spills and acquire stains.  The stain resistant fabrics make it easier to keep the laundry regiment simple.
• Wrinkle Resistant - When you drop your son off for school in the morning, you want him to look his best.  However, few of us have time for ironing the laundry.  Wrinkle resistant pants look great right out of the dryer.
• Reinforced Knees - Kids spend a good deal of time on the floor of the classroom or library, running around in PE and on the playground at recess.  Basic pants aren't meant to take that type of abuse.  Lucky for us many of the uniform retailers make school pants with reinforced knees to help prevent wholes in the knees.

Regular retail prices for the basic boys school uniform pants range from $10 to $30. Based on my review, your target price should be to find boys uniform pants for under $15 per pair. When you are watching the Back to School ads or out shopping, when you find a pair that at or below that target price range with the features listed above, make the purchase with confidence that you've found a good sale price.

Disclosure – Affiliate Links in Use

Thanks for supporting Uniform Mom

Best on a Budget

Walmart George Boys' Flat Front Pants
(featured on right)

Navy, Black, Gary, Granite, & Khaki
Cotton blend.
Reinforced knees for durability.
Treated with Scotchgard protector.
Adjustable waistband. Wrinkle resistant.

$12.97 or 2/$25.00

CookiesKids Genuine Flat Front Twill Pants

Navy and Khaki
60% Cotton, 40% Polyester.
Machine Wash Cold. Made in Bangladesh
$14.00

CookiesKids U.S. Polo Assn. Boys Flat Front Pants
Navy and Khaki
60% Cotton, 40% Polyester.
Machine Wash Cold. Made in Bangladesh
$14.99

Best Bets for Slim Fit

• Walmart George - Slim Boys' Pleated Twill Pants
• Children's Place Boys Skinny Chino Pants
• French Toast Adjustable Waist Double Knee Pant
• Lands' End Slim Fit Iron Knee Plain Front Chinos

Best Bets for Husky Fit

• Walmart George Husky Boys' Flat Front Pants 
• Children's Place Chino Pants Husky
• CookiesKids (various options)
• French Toast (various options)
• Lands' End Husky Fit Iron Knee Plain Front Chinos

Related Posts:

Best Bets for Boys Oxford Shirts

Best Bets on Boys Sweaters for School

Best Bets in Boys School Blazers

Best Bets in Boys Shorts for School

Lands' End Iron Knee Pants

This picture was taken to commemorate the first day my daughter tied her shoes "all by herself". However, it also shows the dreaded knee patches that had become a signature accessory in her wardrobe during her last year of preschool. She blew out the knees on every pair of pants she owned. I don't know how, but she also managed to tear off or tear through the patches I'd iron on. By the end of the Spring, I'd found some success by ironing a patch on each knee on the inside of the fabric, as well as the outside of her pants. So when I saw a recent promotion for Land's End Little Boys' Pleat Front Iron Knee Blended Chino Pants - Classic Navy, I could relate.

Disclosure - Affiliate Links in Use

Thanks for supporting Uniform Mom

This product was recently awarded the 2013 Good Housekeeping VIP (Very Innovative Products) Award. For boys, they offer these in a few styles that would like be acceptable for various uniform dress codes. The flat front chinos are available in little boy and big boy sizes for $30.

For Girls, they are only offered in basic uniform pants in several styles and for jeans in toddler sizes, little girls sizes and big girl sizes 7 and 8. They retail for $34. Do you have a pair of these for your son or daughter? If so, please tell us what you think. I also found boys pants that seem to get at the same knee blow out issue by French Toast called Double Knee Pants.