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My two oldest will be attending a homeschool study center two days a week next year. They are required to wear uniforms - brown/black/blue skirts with blue/white oxfords or polos. My daughter who is a total fashion guru is not happy at all about this requirement.

 

There are some patterns I can use to sew her skirts but I'm trying to think of a creative way to add some personality to them. She is not permitted to have patches of any kind. Is there a creative way I can adorn her skirts adding some personality while still maintaining its conservative style.

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My two oldest will be attending a homeschool study center two days a week next year. They are required to wear uniforms - brown/black/blue skirts with blue/white oxfords or polos. My daughter who is a total fashion guru is not happy at all about this requirement.

 

There are some patterns I can use to sew her skirts but I'm trying to think of a creative way to add some personality to them. She is not permitted to have patches of any kind. Is there a creative way I can adorn her skirts adding some personality while still maintaining its conservative style.

 

My school had a strict uniform (stricter than you describe - the uniform all had to be bought from a particular supplier) and a lot of our creativity went into how we did our hair.

 

Laura

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. My daughter who is a total fashion guru is not happy at all about this requirement.

 

There are some patterns I can use to sew her skirts but I'm trying to think of a creative way to add some personality to them. She is not permitted to have patches of any kind. Is there a creative way I can adorn her skirts adding some personality while still maintaining its conservative style.

 

 

Why would you want to do any of this? The purpose of school uniforms is, in part, uniformity. Spicing up a uniform is contradictory to the intent. Further, this is the perfect opportunity to demonstrate that children need not be fashion horses. Seize it!

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The private school that I taught at did not allow ANY adornments. Must have plain backpacks, plain lunchboxes, plain shoes, plain coats, etc... Hairbows could vary in style, but were supposed to be school colors.

 

Their whole goal was to keep fashion, characters (My Little Pony or Hannah Montanna) and brand names from being a source of competition or focus.

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Kind of makes me laugh, independent-minded homeschoolers made to conform to uniformity.

 

HTH

 

 

Come on Tiffany,

 

Uniforms are for uniformity.

 

Independent-minded homeschoolers, when they wear uniforms, should do so properly. Demonstrate individuality with what is between the ears not draped over the shoulders.

 

I am an independent-minded homeschooler and I make my children conform in many areas, this in no way lessens the independance of my thoughts or those of the children. Nevertheless we do adhere to rules and if they wore a uniform in a group they would learn to do so in the spirit of that requirement.

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I'm sorry, pqr, it struck me as funny. She was asking about personalizing uniforms for her daughters and I imagined a bunch of "unique" uniforms on this group of homeschooled children. I agree that making the uniforms unique may be defeating the purpose, but apparently it is allowed in her circumstance, so what is the purpose of requiring uniforms in this situation? I didn't mean to bash uniforms or those who require them. :001_smile:

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I'm sorry, pqr, it struck me as funny. She was asking about personalizing uniforms for her daughters and I imagined a bunch of "unique" uniforms on this group of homeschooled children. I agree that making the uniforms unique may be defeating the purpose, but apparently it is allowed in her circumstance, so what is the purpose of requiring uniforms in this situation? I didn't mean to bash uniforms or those who require them. :001_smile:

 

Well when you put it that way it is a little funny.

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The private school that I taught at did not allow ANY adornments. Must have plain backpacks, plain lunchboxes, plain shoes, plain coats, etc... Hairbows could vary in style, but were supposed to be school colors.

 

Their whole goal was to keep fashion, characters (My Little Pony or Hannah Montanna) and brand names from being a source of competition or focus.

 

I went to a school like that, but like Laura mentioned above -- the creativity went into the hair.

 

This was in the 80's so I'm sure you can just imagine! :lol: I knew girls who would get what we called "French Braid Arthritis" by grade 9. The number of cans of Rave we went through was probably responsible for at least 3 feet of the diameter of the ozone hole.

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Why would you want to do any of this? The purpose of school uniforms is, in part, uniformity. Spicing up a uniform is contradictory to the intent. Further, this is the perfect opportunity to demonstrate that children need not be fashion horses. Seize it!

 

Because it's fun and I thought it would be a nice way to help my daughter transition. Thanks for the commentary, but I was really just looking for ideas not necessarily a debate.

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I'm sorry, pqr, it struck me as funny. She was asking about personalizing uniforms for her daughters and I imagined a bunch of "unique" uniforms on this group of homeschooled children. I agree that making the uniforms unique may be defeating the purpose, but apparently it is allowed in her circumstance, so what is the purpose of requiring uniforms in this situation? I didn't mean to bash uniforms or those who require them. :001_smile:

 

otherwise I wouldn't have asked. Anyway, the hairbows and backpacks might be a good way for her to express her individuality.

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Can you put a buckle or something that looks like a belt on the skirt? I live in Mexco where everyone has to use uniforms, the girls do this a lot, and it looks cute. Also they use school color ribbins in their hair, braiding and parting it in different ways. Other options are scarfs, bretts and all the other things you put in hair...I'm sure her creatice mind will come up with something.:)

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There are some patterns I can use to sew her skirts but I'm trying to think of a creative way to add some personality to them.

 

If you're sewing them, can you make them in their own sorta unique style? Like, use the colours they want and have it knee length or whatever (just assuming that's what they'd say) but who says it has to be a plain straight skirt? I've seen some pretty neat skirts before, some that come down in a V shape in the front & back, or have interesting lace around the bottom or funky shaped pockets or whatever. You could maybe experiment with different fabrics, combinations of fabrics, etc, as well. :)

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Our children were in a similar situation. I looked around for fun skirts in the appropriate colors. If you are going to sew find a fun pattern. The older girls just wore tight shirts. lol I'm not sure one can win this one! We also used hair things and fun socks. :)

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We went to a school with uniforms that was lenient too. They required solid colors, no prints, but didn't care if it was the exact same Khaki, white and blue as every one else.

 

 

I would look into finding clothes that had a little style to them instead of plain lines.

 

A cute skirt with a bias cut, maybe sew the pocket in a star shape and line the inside waist seam with a star ribbon. Just a few stitch details may be enough to let her feel like it has a 'style' but still within regulations.

 

Look at women's patterns and see what you can modify to make the style more appropriate for a little girl. Spring skirts often have more flair than winter designs. If you use a mid-weight fabric you could also line the skirt in a patterned fabric, so she knows it is there but it shouldn't show too much.

 

You can also let her pick the fabric that you make the pockets out of, on the inside of her skirts. So, you may have a navy blue skirt, but have Hanna Montana fabric for the pockets. No one will see them but her. :0)

 

If you look around you may be able to find polos with puff sleeves instead of flat. Maybe switch out the buttons with something cute and colorful.

 

If you can't get enough style into her clothes, maybe you can accessorize her book covers and back pack. Dd10 covered her back pack in cute buttons on year.

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My friends who went go Catholic high school in Baltimore always wore giant earrings, funky bracelets, and fancy hair.

 

Could you add some trim to the skirt hem? Maybe a fancy collar with lace on the shirt? My mom adds small machine embroidery to my littles' polo type shirts. So instead of the Polo logo, they have a little t-Rex, or pink pony, or flower. Since it is so small, it just looks like the brand logo as opposed to a patch. Or maybe some embroidery on the collar?

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I went to a school like that, but like Laura mentioned above -- the creativity went into the hair.

 

This was in the 80's so I'm sure you can just imagine! :lol: I knew girls who would get what we called "French Braid Arthritis" by grade 9. The number of cans of Rave we went through was probably responsible for at least 3 feet of the diameter of the ozone hole.

 

LOL!

 

I knew a woman who kept her 80's hair well into the 90's. She finally got a normal hairstyle, and she looked more fashionable, but I missed her "big" hair. It really was her, she was a "big" hair type of gal.

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Perhaps she might like to attend the school for a week or two before making any big decisions about her attire.

 

In my experience groups often institute a dress code of this nature because of one of three reasons.

 

First, it is a general philosophy about how children should dress based on the religious convictions of the school.

 

Second, they have found in the past that fashion is a distraction and competition for the students and have therefore decided to eliminate the source of the problem.

 

Third, the income variation among the students is so great that the less economically advantaged children end up being targets due to their clothing.

 

Most of the kids I knew in schools with uniforms had plenty of time outside of class to express themselves through their wardrobe. If your daughter is new to the school she might like to check out the group before making huge wardrobe choices.

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How about embroidery? Some decorative embroidery down the sides, along the seams, or at the hem could be fun. Even just a blanket stitch in a slightly contrasting shade of an allowed color (dark brown against khaki, for example) around the hem could jazz it up a little and make it more personalized. If there's something in particular your DD likes, such as hearts or stars, you could embroider some on pockets or such.

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My older 2 go to a private school with a very strict uiform code. Everything has to be bought from a certain store, logoed and even their hairbows must match. The girls there wear earrings and stuff like that for individuality. The kids dont love it, but I do! Makes getting ready for school much easier!

Edited by EarleneW
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