I looked at my sweet daughter the other day and realized that she grew a good bit more over the summer than I'd realized. Her school uniforms still fit -- that is to say, she happily puts them on and doesn't complain about them being too tight -- but those skirts have passed being stylishly short and are now approaching indecent. For the third year in a row, I've found myself needing school uniform clothes at the "wrong" time of year, when they're not easily available in stores. Obviously, I shouldn't be trying to offer advice! But I have learned a few things because of my stupidity:
1) Uniforms are available in lots of stores – during the summer. Jo-Mar and Forman Mills have pretty good selections, as do Target and Wal-Mart. But somewhere in the week before I decide to go shopping, they run out of stock, usually on the small sizes first. But! There are several sites on-line where you can order uniform clothes year-round. They range from frenchtoast.com and oldnavy.com, with fairly reasonable prices, to more expensive (but some natural-fiber) options at landsend.com or gap.com.
2) For our family, there's no point in trying to buy "quality" uniforms that will last for more than a year, because what she'll wear changes. For two years, skorts were absolutely out. This year, they're her favorite. So we go for cheap.
3) Uniform clothes are not made of cotton unless you want to pay the highest possible price for them. If you're determined to have natural fibers, you have to be creative. There are clothes that are acceptably "dark blue and light blue" that aren't on the uniform racks, and they're usually higher-quality and better fabric. I've found sleeveless dresses that worked fine as jumpers. My most creative find – women's-size tank tops work as jumpers for little girls. Yoga pants are also a comfy option.
4) Light blue shirts are everywhere, and t-shirts are a lot more comfortable for the kids than the button-up shirts that are sold as "uniform." Plus, they're cheaper and wear better. Sadly, plain navy blue is not everywhere, so finding bottoms is much harder. I understand it's even worse for the boys, who don't even have the skirt/jumper options. Sorry, boys.
5) Keep an eye out for possible uniform clothes at all times. I am not a savvy shopper, but I've learned to glance through the girl's section at any store I'm in, just to see if there's something, preferably on sale, that could work for school.
6) There's no such thing as too many dark blue socks. For some reason, those are the only ones that disappear in the wash, and they are not easy to find in stores. Stock up when you see them!
If you have other suggestions, please add them on. Yes, I just ordered several new skirts for Helen, but I'm sure to need more in a few months!
Janet
