School Uniforms?

[NotUrsula]

... [snip] ...
Interestingly, DD can wear any headband and shoes she likes, so picture dark green polo, dark plaid jumper, navy tights, and hot pink glitter ballet flats and a hot pink HUGE flower headband. I did buy her the coordinating plaid headband and scrunchie but she wanted nothing to do with them....this uniform thing is truly saving me $$$$ for her wardrobe....

That's fairly typical of most parish parochial schools, and the girls tend to run with that shoe/hair accessory freedom any time they get a chance.

The other common "individuality" trend (especially among middle-schoolers) is the wearing of flannel character PJ pants on the way to and from school in the winter. At our school, wearing them inside the building is strictly forbidden, so you see all these girls in the morning class lineup outside trying to modestly wriggle out of the PJ's that they have under their skirts. It's pretty funny to watch.

FWIW, when I was in parochial school we had required shoes: oxblood-colored penny loafers (which replaced the previously required black/white saddle oxfords). These days I almost never see a specified shoe on parochial school lists; most of the kids wear sneakers, though boat shoes are fairly popular with HS boys. There are a few rules re: shoes at our schools, however: no sandals, no backless clogs, no open toes, and no boots inside the building. They also have to wear some sort of sock or other foot covering inside the shoe; no going without.

 

[Colleen27]

Wow, I'm glad DD's school is so permissive - khaki or navy pants, shorts (May through Sept only), or skirts, with a white or navy polo or white blouse. A blouse and skirt or jumper is required on Friday for mass. We got the few uniform pieces I couldn't get at the school's swap from Old Navy for $5 (polos) & $10 (blouses & pants) a piece, and dress code compliant Mary Janes from Payless for $13.

Younger DD (preschool) doesn't need uniforms yet, thankfully, because none of the acceptable styles - all button-waists and shirts that need to be tucked in - would be manageable for her when it came time to use the bathroom.

 

[NotUrsula]

Wow, I'm glad DD's school is so permissive - khaki or navy pants, shorts (May through Sept only), or skirts, with a white or navy polo or white blouse. A blouse and skirt or jumper is required on Friday for mass. We got the few uniform pieces I couldn't get at the school's swap from Old Navy for $5 (polos) & $10 (blouses & pants) a piece, and dress code compliant Mary Janes from Payless for $13.

Younger DD (preschool) doesn't need uniforms yet, thankfully, because none of the acceptable styles - all button-waists and shirts that need to be tucked in - would be manageable for her when it came time to use the bathroom.

... And this is where Mommy's workshop comes in. I spent two hours on Saturday re-styling DD's skorts to remove the buttons and zippers and change them to pull-up elastic waists.

I really think real skirts are best for the littles; who cares if classmates see the princess undies? (In preschool they have co-ed bathrooms, anyway, since they can't reliable interpret the sign or remember which bathroom to use.) With a skirt they are less likely to need to change the whole outfit if they have a minor accident.

When I was in parochial school we had plain navy knife-pleated skirts, but around here I don't know a single parochial school that uses solid-colour skirts/jumpers for girls. Now that so many public schools have gone to those colours for their uniforms, the Catholic schools seem to sticking strictly to the plaids so as to differentiate.

Our local newspaper likes to run a fun annual feature for back-to-school: the Plaid Quiz. It's a full page of 2-inch square photos of the plaid patterns used by the 21 religious high schools in the metro area, so that you can see how many you can identify by sight. The average native Catholic knows them cold.

 

[snarlingcoyote]

Wow, I'm glad DD's school is so permissive - khaki or navy pants, shorts (May through Sept only), or skirts, with a white or navy polo or white blouse. A blouse and skirt or jumper is required on Friday for mass. We got the few uniform pieces I couldn't get at the school's swap from Old Navy for $5 (polos) & $10 (blouses & pants) a piece, and dress code compliant Mary Janes from Payless for $13.

Younger DD (preschool) doesn't need uniforms yet, thankfully, because none of the acceptable styles - all button-waists and shirts that need to be tucked in - would be manageable for her when it came time to use the bathroom.

Even the public schools around here require uniforms and most of the manuals state that Kindergarten and preschool may wear elastic waist uniforms and belts are not required. Some go even further and note that these ages do not have to tuck in their shirts so long as they are wearing polos.

It is kind of cute though when you see the little 4 year olds in their school uniforms, with their tiny, earnest, serious faces!

Around here, it's P.S. by Aero or Aero uniform clothes that the kids (public school anyway) want. You have to start buying them in July and stalking the website as well.

The private schools vary, depending. Catholics all wear plaid from specific vendors, and it's all over the board for the others, but in Baton Rouge proper, unless you've managed to get your kids into a charter, you almost have to send them to private, so it's an expense to figure in.

 

[Ginny Favers]

Just wanted to say thanks to everyone for all the advice! With your help, she went off to her first day of school today, fitting in perfectly with the other kids.

I've found the Catholic school is pretty strict with what they allow the kids to wear. No skorts or skirts until middle school, so the girls must either wear the jumper or the walking shorts, and most girls refuse to wear the walking shorts, since they are boyish. So I got her 4 jumpers, and with the gym uniform, that gives her enough for one week. She has several blouses but I also discovered they can use the Lands end polos as well, so if they're more comfortable, I will get her some of those. From what I could see, they did allow variety in hair bows and in shoes, but I got her the matching plaid scrunchy and black shoes, just to be safe.

She looked great! Again, thanks to you all!

 

[BernardandMissBianca]

I hope she has a good day today!!!

Did you remember to take pictures this morning?


Y'all are lucky with the shoes and hairbows. We have to have black or brown shoes and hairbands need to match the uniforms.

They can wear what ever socks and sneakers on gym day though so seeing the neon sneakers Tuesday was funny.