This time last year I began to realise how hard it is to find school uniform for an itchy child.
For us, having an atopic child who suffers eczema on a daily basis, the search for one pair of cotton school trousers can be a nightmare. Unlike most families we can’t pop to the local supermarket for a selection of uniform in different sizes and styles and have it all sorted in one trip.
Finding out who stocked school trousers that didn’t contain any polyester or special coatings narrowed us down to Marks & Spencer skinkind™ range. We bought three pairs in the relevant size, taken up and the adjustable waist tabs pulled tightly (child with restricted diet and too many steroids!). Finally we were ready for the start of term!
Well, the elation of finding some school trousers for him was short-lived. 100% cotton really doesn’t survive the day well when it’s covering emollient-covered legs and crawling around the classroom floor. Early in September I noticed that my son was the one who came out at the end of each school day looking crumpled. Line him up with a bunch of Teflon-coated-trouser wearing classmates and ironically he looks like the kid whose parents don’t care about the state of his uniform. And that’s before the first hole appeared.
The first hole in his trousers appeared around February. Fair enough, he only had three pairs in rotation and try as we might, between emollients and climbing on walls on the way home and pasta sauce for dinner, it was rare for a pair to make it through one day let alone two. So, the laundry rotation was short, with a hot wash in between (see earlier mention of emollient usage).
After a hole appeared in the left knee* of each pair, we began once again to search every website ever known to sell school trousers to find more pairs of the same, 100% cotton, grey trousers. Finding the right material in the right size is hard enough in peak school uniform buying time, but mid-year, it’s a real struggle!
Imagine our delight when Everything for Eczema offered MyItchyBoy the chance to try a new pair of 100% organic cotton school trousers. They promptly arrived and were pressed into immediate service. From the outset I was impressed. The new trousers are made from a soft cotton, but have a sturdier feel to the material than the M&S ones. This helps them keep their shape much better by the end of the school day. Unlike the M&S skinkind™, there is a label in the back of the trousers but it is in a sensible place and it does include a space for the child’s name.
The hem is nice and smart, although I found them a bit harder to hem using iron-on tape (no sewing machine ability here). We got MyItchyBoy’s size in age but they are cut rather generously – especially in the leg length. They have washed well – no sign of fading on the knees as yet, which happened early on with the other ones , ironed well and MyItchyBoy certainly finds them comfortable to wear.
Overall, I would recommend these trousers for school and I definitely prefer them to the M&S ones.
*These have now been made into shorts with the magic of hemming tape.
We were given a pair of Ecooutfitters trousers by www.everythingforeczema.com for the purpose of testing and reviewing. MyItchyBoy will continue to wear the trousers to school.
Emily Mahon says
Any idea if they do a skinny leg range? My son is going secondary school in September and I’m desperate to find some super soft trousers (like the fabric they make girls school trousers out of) that are skinny leg! I’m at the end of my tether! My son doesn’t have a skin condition but has sensory needs and can’t wear anything except jog bottom/sweatshirt material so school trousers are so hard to find for him!
MyItchyBoy says
Hi, no, they only do regular I think. It’s worth contacting them directly though as they don’t always put stuff up online all year round. Good luck.
Laura Clark says
Thanks for this useful post. I had been struggling to find cotton school trousers for my daughter who suffers from eczema. After spending a fortune buying two pairs from Cotton Comfort/Eczema Clothing and having them disintegrate after one wear I am pleased to see that there are good quality alternatives available, I am going to give these a try instead now. Thanks again, Laura
MyItchyBoy says
Hi Laura, That’s great! The cotton ones never do last as long, but they do make a difference I think. Also, they are not covered with the coatings that some of the more mass markets ones have. Sometimes I wish he could have trousers that kept a crease in or were more stain resistant. Then I realise that cotton is really best for his skin.
Mel says
That’s good to know that there are brands out there that cater for children with eczema. My first does not have eczema so it has been easy to get his uniform, but my second and third have a lot of it in their arms and legs. One of them will start school next year and I am expecting it to be a bit of a challenge. Mel
MyItchyBoy says
We found that trousers have to be washed everyday – especially once he started putting cream on his legs during school (he has to do himself despite being only 4/5yrs old for daft reasons of…I actually can’t think what a good reason might be, but rules is rules apparently!) so he’d come home with the emollient on the inside and out. The other problem is the white polo shirts as we use a mild detergent for MyItchyBoy’s clothes but they are not so good at keeping whites white and getting rid of paint/pen/unexplained stains he comes home with.
Claire says
I love Ecooutfitters. My son (5) also suffers very badly. Think we are on the same washing regime too. The trousers last one day what with the slightly less tough organic exterior and the daily morning emollient application. I do cut them down now so we have plenty of shorts over the Summer. I use Eco balls on the white polo shorts but have had to accept that they will never look quite as white and pristine.
It’s a shame that your school can’t help with the application of cream. We’ve been lucky and the school has taken on the responsibility at lunchtime but am not sure how long that will last. We see an ezcema specialist nurse regularly and she felt my son’s skin and could tell which parts had had cream applied at lunchtime and which hadn’t and the difference in his scratching when he hasn’t had an application is very noticeable by mid afternoon. Particularly when he is worried or nervous.
Nice to find a site with kids going through the same thing.
Claire