Anyone in the mood for a What to Wear to School post? We shot these photos last month, on the day before school started, which I’m just now realizing is almost 6 weeks ago. I can hardly believe it. Sometimes it feels like life is on fast forward, you know?
Today’s post features Oscar, 8th grader, age 13, and Betty, 7th grader, age 12. Their school requires uniforms, but it’s not too formal. The rules are: 1) Tops must be navy or white (no prints), with a collar. 2) Bottoms — shorts, pants or skirts — must be khaki.
That’s it. There’s no particular style of top that’s required, there’s no particular shade of khaki for the bottoms. There’s nothing special that needs to be ordered, and no particular store where our “uniform” is stocked. Plus, the students can wear any kind of sweater or hoodie or topper that they want — which is basically a daily necessity here in Oakland.
It’s Betty’s first year at this school, and she was not happy about the idea of a uniform. She pictured putting together back to school outfits and it sounded super boring. But in reality, this uniform allows for much more flexibility and personality than you might expect. Of the outfits we picture here in this post, all are uniform-approved, except for one outfit for Oscar and one outfit for Betty — sometimes the school offers a Free-dress Fridays where no uniforms are required.
Betty Outfit #1: Betty is wearing heart socks and a khaki circle skirt from Uniqlo (the skirt has pockets! and it comes in women’s sizes! and it’s on sale for $19!), a white peter-pan collar shirt from Target, a blue ribbed sweater from Zara, plus red and white checkerboard Vans.
Oscar Outfit #1: Navy button-down from H&M, ombre hoodie from Abercrombie Kids (marked down to $23!), khaki pants from last year (they still fit at the waist, but they’re getting too short, so he rolls them up — that way, they look intentionally cropped instead of just too short), striped socks from Gap (on sale right now — a 3-pack for $11).
Betty Outfit #2: Betty is wearing paper-bag-waist shorts from Uniqlo, a navy polo top from Gap (only $8!), an army-green ruffle bomber jacket and no-show liner socks from Target.
Oscar Outfit #2: Oscar is wearing a navy stripe sweater from Zara, a white polo and striped socks from Gap, khaki jogger-cut pants from Uniqlo (these are from last year), and red New Balance sneakers.
Betty Outfit #3: Betty is wearing wide-leg trousers from Uniqlo, a long-sleeve navy polo shirt from Gap (only $9!), a color-blocked sweater from Abercrombie Kids, and Stan Smith sneakers.
Oscar Outfit #3: Oscar is wearing a white woven top from Old Navy, khaki shorts from Target, camo shark ankle socks from Gap (on sale, 3 for $8), and a Casio watch (Oscar doesn’t have a cell phone yet, so he uses this watch to tell time and as an alarm clock).
Betty Outfit #4: Betty is wearing a white long-sleeve polo from Gap, trousers from Uniqlo, and an actual Members Only jacket (Hah! Remember those? I was so surprised to see them again. We found this one in the boys department at Nordstrom Rack. Only $32!)
Oscar Outfit #4: Oscar is wearing a henley and jeans from H&M. Plus black and white checkerboard Vans. This is one of his Free-Dress-Friday options.
One more bonus outfit for Betty: She loves this jumpsuit! We found it at Zara and she wore it on her first Free-Dress day. I love that shade of green on her.
—-
Alrighty. That concludes our What to Wear to School Tour — School Uniform Edition. See what I mean about the uniforms rules still allowing a lot of flexibility? Now it’s your turn. Have your kids ever attended a school with uniforms? Or did you attend a school where uniforms were required? What was it like? Strict? Casual? Do you have strong opinions on uniforms one way or the other? I’d love to hear.
P.S. — Here are all our What to Wear to School posts — going back many, many years!
P.P.S. — For the first time, Betty is tall enough that she is able to fit into some items from the women’s department. That was super helpful as we looked for variation in khaki bottoms.
The post What to Wear to School: 7th & 8th Grade — Uniform Edition appeared first on Design Mom.