INDfamily

Head to toe

by Amanda Bedgood

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With options limited, kids show unique style even in uniform.

Uniforms don't offer much wiggle room in the self expression department. But, there are a few spots that allow personal style to shine and a lot of parents and kids are taking full advantage. This is something Stacy Lawrence knows. The owner of Goody Two Shoes has watched the few ways to personalize uniforms fly off the shelves as school arrives.

"Hair accessories and shoes," she says are the most common options for self expression. "Back to school - we focus on suppliers of hair accessories and what are all the different ways we can get, say, a navy bow. We check our school dress codes and see if there are changes and how we can push the envelope."

One of the easiest ways to do that and stay within code, she says, are with vividly hued shoes. She carries a line - Tsukihoshi - that boasts super bright shades and is machine washable that's hot for back to school.

And she hunts for a variety of belt options.

"We have just about every kind of belt you can imagine so kids can have some say," Stacy says. "To some extent conformity is good. But, if we're encouraging kids to focus on exploring individual talents we need to let them explore their individuality. I'm an advocate for uniforms - it helps bullying and it helps parents. But, they need to have some means of self expression."

For many girls, she says, that means hair accessories as some schools are pretty lax on what goes. And for the schools that require a bit more stringent guidelines - a line of bows created from uniform fabric.

"They've taken actual uniforms and cut them into pieces. There are so many options."