It’s that time of the year when everyone’s getting ready to go back to school. Students and their families might feel they have a bit more time before they need to click into gear. But schools and retailers will already be well into their planning, to make sure they have everything ready for the new semester.
Getting ready means you need to think about what clothes the kids will be wearing to school this year, whether they’re yours or your customers. For that, you need to stay on top of fashions, and dress codes. If you know what kids want to – and are allowed to – wear, you can get ahead of the game, but that isn’t always easy. Not only do school rules change, but students always look between the lines for things they can get away with, and schools come down hard on some breaches, but let others slide.
Athletic wear often comes up in this regard, and is something that businesses and parents need to think about. For one thing, kids need clothes for gym class, and any sports teams they’re part of, or would like to try out for. Sports clothes are also increasingly in the realm of everyday clothing, and depending on the school may be permitted, or overlooked at least. So if you’re stocking up on clothing for your family or your customers, you need to know what they want, and what they’re allowed.
What Do Schools Allow?
Dress codes in schools can be a controversial topic, especially in recent years, since gender and religious discrimination with clothing has been brought more into the limelight. While certain rules are pretty much universal, dress codes vary greatly from school to school. They’re changing all the time too, as fashions and social norms change with the generations, so you need to check your school’s policy for the new year. Some examples of where school policy can differ are:
Football Jerseys & Other Sports Kits
A lot of kids love wearing sports kits to school– whether for the school team, or the home of their favorite stars. Normally you’re not allowed to wear jerseys for other teams, but you might be able to wear your own. Other schools ban them altogether for being too unprofessional. Some kids like the style of a football or baseball jersey, even if they can’t have their team logo, so blank sports jerseys in the right colors are definitely something to consider.
It’s a similar story with varsity jackets, although most schools are more relaxed about outerwear, as you can always take it off once you arrive if it’s not appropriate. Cheerleader clothing is similar, but can break a bunch of other rules regarding adequate covering, so is less likely to be accepted.
Sweatpants, Yoga Pants & Leggings
These are another source of disagreement between many schools and their students. Traditionally it was common to ban all of these, but as they have become more common in regular attire, more students are pushing back and asking why, a question that often isn’t easy to answer.
Sweatpants are banned based on being too casual, and sometimes too baggy, but students will always try to find a way around the rules, and many sweatpants are a little more formal looking, that help students sneak under the radar. For leggings it’s the opposite, they are considered too tight by some schools, but as they’re often worn (and sometimes required) under skirts it’s a bit complicated.
Yoga pants are neither too skinny nor too baggy, and from a distance they look a lot like formal slacks, so they’re very difficult to prohibit. In one school a ban on yoga pants caused all of the students to join forces and wear yoga pants to school. Eventually the higher-ups caved in, and the dress code was changed.
Hoodies & Zip-Up Sweatshirts
Some schools ban these because they’re too informal, some because they’re too baggy, and students could hide weapons under them. Some will let you wear them to school, but consider them outerwear, and make you leave them in your locker once you arrive. More and more schools are relenting on this one though, since these are other garments which are more normal these days, and are even accepted in many places of work.
One thing that’s true– if your school has a gray area when it comes to hoodies, keeping them plain is a good idea. Any design on a sweatshirt attracts attention, in case you’re breaking another rule, so plain sweatshirts are more likely to stay under the radar.
How to Prepare
If you’re getting everything the kids need before they go back to school, or making sure your store has everything your customers will be looking for, how do you make sure you’re not missing any athletic apparel before the semester starts?
Get the Gym Gear
Clothing for gym class is a safe bet, as kids tend to grow each year, and no school bans athletic wear in the gym. Shorts, track pants, leggings and yoga pants. T-shirts, performance sweatshirts and jackets, ideally with moisture-wicking. Depending on the location, you might also need thermals. Even if the school doesn’t allow this type of clothing outside of gym class, they’ll most likely wear it in their free time, so it’ll still get plenty of use.
Supply the Sports Teams
It’s big business, providing all the sports and athletics teams with all the t-shirts, jerseys, tracksuits, jackets, and bags they’ll need for the new year. Even if you don’t have the contract to provide them officially, sports clothing in your school’s colors always sells well this time of year, and many parents are happy to have a low-cost alternative to the school team uniform. Check with the school rules too, if kids are allowed to wear sports jerseys to class, they’ll be much more popular.
Remember the Rules
When you’re buying clothes for the new year, it’s always worth keeping up to date with any rule changes, or rules that are increasingly overlooked. If you’re a parent, you’ll probably hear about all of these from your kids or the teachers. For retailers, you might have to do a bit of digging, but it’s worth it. Keeping up with the latest fashions has always been a surefire way to sell more clothes, if you can catch trends just as they become allowed at school, you’re on to a guaranteed winner.
Are You Ready Yet?
If you haven’t got everything in order yet then don’t worry, there’s still time. Fortunately we can help with all your sports apparel. We’ve got jerseys for football, baseball, soccer, and much more. We’ve also got leggings, tracksuits, varsity jackets, bags, and anything else your children or students might need when they go back to school.
Figuring out exactly what is considered appropriate clothing in your school, we’ll have to leave to you I’m afraid. But we can say that it’s definitely worthwhile if you own a clothing business, or you have kids that you don’t want kicking up a fuss on the first day. Athletic wear has become part of what we consider normal clothing, and that doesn’t look like changing any time soon.
We hope this article, along with our massive range of athletic wear, helps you to get everything you need for the new year. Besides sports clothing, we have thousands of other products on our website, so take a look, and you can do all your shopping in one go. If you need more ideas, check out our Instagram page @wearewordans.
