Don't loose Money replacing lost Uniforms - Get Clothing Labels Instead

My daughter came home from school with an extra sweater in her book bag. She told me that she didn't think it was hers, but that the teachers at the after school program kept putting it in her cubby. Upon a brief investigation, I found that it was a navy Land's End cardigan identical in brand and style to one she owns and wears often; however, it belonged to her friend. How did I solve this great mystery, I looked at the tag. Her Mom was smart and placed a label on the tag. Why I was the only one to check? Well - that remains a mystery. I sent it back to school with her with instructions to return it to her friend directly or to one of the teachers in her classroom pointing out the tag.  I'm sure her friend was glad to have the sweater returned.

This incident reminded me of an article I came across recently out of the UK. Research by label retailer, My Nametags, published in February 2013 "shows that the average family could spent up to £150 this school year replacing lost school uniform… yet 64% of parents don't bother to use name tags to prevent this." Twenty percent of survey respondents with children indicated that they regularly loose items of school clothing. The press release smartly implies that parents can save money in the long run by spending a small amount of money on clothing labels.

The findings of the My Nametag's research, although self promoting, were in line with a similar study by Sainsbury's, a UK superstore. This 2012 study found that "British primary school pupils lose a staggering £187m worth of uniform every year". They reported that "two thirds of parents polled said they lost uniform, which had never been found, while one in five said this happened in their child’s first week."

This problem is not unique to the UK. This spring as I was visiting the school for parent teacher conferences, the school had set up a clothing rack in the entrance and hung out all of the clothing  items from the lost and found bin in hopes that parents might recognize items they thought were lost for good.  Although I commend the school for their efforts to reunite lost items with their owners, I'm hoping to raise the odds that any our lost items will be returned to us.

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.

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.

Cherokee Girls' School Uniform
Flat Front Pant

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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Related Posts:

Cherokee School Uniform Scooter, a Review

Children's Place School Uniforms - Retail Roundup Series

The Children's Place was founded in 1969 and operates retail stores offering baby and children's clothing and accessories. There are over 900 stores located in US malls, strip malls, outlets and street front stores, as well as it's online store. Online purchases can be returned to the retail store, except online exclusives which must be returned via mail.  Free shipping is standard on orders over $75 and $5 flat on other continental US orders.  The loyalty program is called The Children's Place My Place Rewards!  where you can earn 5 points for each $1 spent.

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Boys Bottoms

Boys sizes run from size 4 through 14 in slim, regular and husky.  Boys pants come in khaki, light khaki, navy, and black.  Bermuda shorts come in khaki and gray in regular and slim.

Boys Tops

Short Sleeve Polos come in white and navy, blue and gray.  The long sleeve polos come in white, navy, blue gray, burgundy and green.  The long sleeve oxford come is white, yellow, blue, pink and peach. They carry a rugby style shirt in navy, burgundy and green; Turtlenecks in navy and white; a hoodie sweatshirt for PE in navy and green and a sweater vest in navy.  Navy blazers are available in 3 styles.

Girls Bottoms

Girls sizes run from 4 through 14. Pants and Bermuda shorts are available in regular, slim and plus sizes in khaki, navy, and light khaki. Scooters are available in regular, slim and plus sizes in 2 styles in navy and khaki.

Girls Tops

The short sleeve polo with a ruffle comes in white, pink and navy.  The regular short sleeve version comes in white, navy, blue, and bright pink.  The long sleeve polo comes in white, yellow, blue and burgundy. The peter pan woven is available in short and long sleeve in white and yellow.  A turtleneck, a sweater vest, and a cable hoodie zip up are available in navy.  They also offer a faux layered white short sleeve and long sleeve navy v neck sweater.

Girls Dresses

A knit polo dress comes in navy, pink and blue.  A jumper is available in regular and plus sizes in navy, khaki, light khaki, and black.  A sweater dress is available in navy.

Preschool Boys

Sizes run from 6 months through 5T. Pants with an adjustable waist are available in khaki, navy and black. Bermuda shorts with and adjustable waist in khaki and navy. Short sleeve polos are available in white, navy, blue and gray. The long sleeve polos are available in white and blue. A sweater vest is available in navy. And Navy blazers are available in 2 solid and pinstripe.

Preschool Girls

Sizes run from 6 months through 5T. Pants with an adjustable waist are available in khaki, navy and black. Pleated scooters with built in shorts are available in  khaki, light khaki, navy and black. Short and long sleeve polos with a ruffle are available in white, navy, blue, pink and yellow (short sleeve only). The basic long sleeve polos are available in white, navy, yellow, pink and blue. A short sleeve knit polo dress is available in pink and navy. And white turtleneck is available.

Related Posts:

Children's Place School Uniforms - Retail Roundup Series

Children's Place Girls Active Wear - Great for PE Class

Children's Place Uniform Shorts, a Review

Children's Place School Uniform Cotton Sweater, a Review

New Phys Ed Wear from Children's Place

Featured Basic: Girls Uniform High-Low Hoodie

Lands End Girls Uniform Pleated Twill Skort

During the same shopping outing when we found the Lands End knit dress that is a favorite in my daughter's kindergarten wardrobe, we also bought her the Land's End pleated twill skirt.  I thought that this item would be a weekly staple. It has a flat front with pleating beginning on the front hip bones and continuing around the back. It can be worn with a top and cuff socks in the early fall and early summer, with knee sock during fall and spring, and with tights during the winter months.  The waist is adjustable with a side zipper and knit shorts built in underneath.


At the time, my daughter was just growing into size 6 clothing.  Trying to stretch the life of the uniform item, I had her try on both a 6 and a 6x.  The 6x fit only after I adjusted the waist to the tightest button.  We bought the  6x and she wore it to school the first week.  As I was getting her dresses for school that morning, I realized how small the button was on the top of the side zipper.  What was I thinking? A side zipper! She's never worn bottoms with a side sipper before.  And although she can manage buttons herself, large buttons are easier for her than small ones.  What if she struggles with it in the restroom and I'm not there to help her? I made it a point to show her how it worked.  Since she seemed unfazed, so I let go of my concern and thought, "we'll see".

She did not report back any issues getting in and out of it in the restroom.  It looked as good on her at the end of the day as it did that morning, so she then wore it again the following week before I washed it.  After washing, it needed touched up with an iron.  The pleats held their form fine, but the bottom hem needed ironed flat.  When we went to put it on her again, we couldn't get it buttoned.  I loosened the adjustable waist a few buttons and we tried again.  I loosened it to the loosest button, it closed but it was tight.  She didn't like the way it felt, so that was that.  She was done with that skort.

So because the item shrunk in the wash, we did not get the amount of use from it that I was hoping. At full price, it cost $27.  It is currently on sale for $14.99.  I doubt we'll purchase this item again. Because it otherwise seems to be a good quality and would last the school year, I would pick one up at a uniform exchange in a size larger than my daughter is currently wearing.  I'll be donating ours to our local uniform exchange program and hope that another girl is able to make good use of it.

I would be interested to here from others that own this skort.  Did you have the same or a different experience?  Please let us know in the comments below.

Related Posts:

Izod Flat Front Uniform Skirt, a review

Cherokee School Uniform Scooter, a Review

Lands' End School Uniforms in the Retail Round Up Series

Review of the Lands End Knit Ruffle Front Dress

Reviews of Girls Cardigan Uniform Sweaters

School Uniforms at Kohl's - Retail Round Up Series

Kohl's is a national department store with 1,146 stores in 49 states, as of February 2013.  Their online store features Kids School Uniforms in the secondary navigation making items easy to find.  They feature Chaps Brand items, almost exclusively.  The "No Questions Asked Hassle Free" return policy allows online orders to be returned to the retail store or via mail.