Girl's Gone Child: Uniforms for Unicorns

Three years ago, Archer was about to start Kindergarten and I was very worried about uniforms. I think I spent a good several months writing about it, actually. (Sorry.) And then Archer started school and I realized that it was no big deal. Because Archer didn't think it was a big deal. Because it wasn't... a big deal.

He actually loved it. It made getting dressed in the morning a very efficient thing indeed. And three years later, Archer has become such a fan of the uniform to school policy that he wears one even on free dress days. Weekends, too.

(ED: Our kids attend public school. Apparently any public school can decide to go uniform if the principal decides to go uniform. Which our principal did. More about that here in this post.)

But Fable is not Archer. Fable cares. She told me the other day that "looking like a rainbow is the best way to have a good day" and, sure, there are many ways to rainbow it up, but head to toe navy and white feels very un-Fable to me and I've been thinking how to, oh I don't know, furnish her wardrobe with some school appropriate flare between now and August when she starts TK (Transitional Kindergarten)?

(Fable missed the cut-off for Kindergarten by ONE DAY. Or more frustratingly, THREE HOURS. If only I would have pushed harder, right? IF ONLY MY VAGINA WAS A BETTER BIRTH CANAL!)

Anyway.

TK it is.

Uniforms it is.

For those new to this blog, Fable has been dressing herself alllll by herself since age two. (Or as she calls it "decorating herself in fashion.") She clips and ties and wraps bandanas around her arm, wears a thousand necklaces to school, forty hair clips and layers with as much color as she can. She wore one of my tee-shirts the other day to school, belted, with a cardigan and tights.

She's a unicorn. A rainbow-power unicorn who beats to the sound of her own drummer made entirely of sparkle rainbow flowers.

And because of that I've been sure to remind her (daily) that come August, she'll have to stick to a more humble wardrobe for school days. Which, frankly, sucks, because getting dressed for Fable is a lot more than just getting dressed. It is a huge part of how she identifies herself. Which I am 100% behind.

I don't want her to think for a minute that life has a dress code.

And yet.

Certain things in life do have a dress code.

And yet.

She's my kid. And I want her to be EXACTLY who she is at all times. And telling her how to dress makes me feel like I'm stifling her. Even if it isn't me (exactly) who's doing the telling.

So. I'm trying to work within the system, except, you know, AROUND the system. Attempting to compromise with the dress code by seeking things out that Fable can feel herself in. Which is not easy because uniforms, by nature, kind of suck.

But they don't have to, right?

I mean, if Sue Ellen taught us anything... (And by "anything" I mean "everything".)

SO, WWSED style, I've made it my mission to find the most amazing navy things that exist in the marketplace today.

Starting now. At Target. Where we went shopping for soap and toilet paper yesterday and ended up purchasing Fable's entire school wardrobe. (Damn you, Target! Every time!)

Here is what we have so far in our quest for Fable's "not as uniform" uniforms:

1. Navy dress over white tee-shirt layered over shorts, topped with a cardigan:

2. Tee shirt (+ sparkly tee shirt?) with cardigan over blue lace skirt (over tights):

3. Dress layered with tee and/or shrug + mix-matched with skirt:

ED: Fable's school isn't crazy strict about uniforms. So long as the kids wear navy and/or white, they're good to go. And they can wear whatever they want in their hair and on their legs as well. Which brings me to the next section: Accessories!

Ribbon princess clips Via Etsy

felt bow hairclips via etsy

Rainbow clips via etsy

felt daisy hair clips via etsy

rainbow Goody barrettes via Target

Second to hair clips, tights are everything. And socks, too. But let's talk tights for a moment. Actually, scratch that, it's May. Nobody is selling tights right now. But legwarmers for babies? Always en vogue.

(ED: Fable wears leg warmers on her arms. Here are some favorites, all available for purchase on the Baby Legs website.)

And, because I'd be remiss not to recommend them, unicorn horns. In rainbow assortment.

via etsy

I do realize that most uniform-enforced schools aren't as lax as ours but I wanted to post some options, here, in case your school (like ours) is okay with sticking to color schemes instead of enforcing a more strict "uniforms from French Toast only" approach.

Or maybe you just want some cool ideas for accessorizing c/o Fable and her "rainbow power" color scheme. This post about temporary hair color is another great resource for kids (and parents) who like to rainbow it up.

What about you guys? Do your kids wear uniforms to school? How have they dealt with it? How have you? What are your thoughts on dress codes in general? Do you let your kids dress themselves? At what age did they start to want to? (Revi is already trying to pick out her own clothes and it's BLOWING my mind. And yet. With Fable for a big sister? I'd be inspired to do the same.)