TIME FOR SCHOOL

Sweat clothes and ’90s styles are coming back

Back-to-school shopping is simpler than ever with ’90s styles and comfy clothes coming back into popularity.

Plenty of parents were out on Labour Day weekend to finish up back-to-school shopping and for many, like Kim and John Birt, it’s a simpler prospect than when they went to school.

They were shopping with their two children Hannah, 9, and Landon, going into Grade 2, who both attend West Royalty Elementary.

For starters, kids aren’t going back with all new wardrobes to wow and impress their friends, so clothes shopping doesn’t come with a huge price tag, said Kim.

“It’s not getting what they want, it’s getting what they need.”

But what do the kids want?

Sweat clothes and a certain ’90s style, with scrunchies and fanny packs making come- backs.

As for why, Lexi MacLaren, 10, who goes to L.M. Montgomery, put it bluntly. “Because, comfort.” There’s also a desire to be more environmentally conscious, so kids are using metal water bottles and straws, and some classrooms are starting to go paperless, said Hannah.

“To save the turtles.” Paperless classrooms mean tech-heavy classrooms, but it’s not a burden schools are putting on parents.

Instead, students are typically provided Google Chromebooks to work on.

Though the kids aren’t asking for them, both Hannah and MacLaren’s parents said they might look into buying them in the future to make it easier to do work at home.

Schools are trying to lift some of the back-to-school burden off of parents in terms of getting school supplies too, said Lynne O’Sullivan.

“It’s so much easier now because we pay at the end of the year and the schools take care of the supplies.”

She has two boys, one who goes to Stratford Elementary and the other to Glen Stewart Primary.

The Birt family did the same thing, as many elementary schools are offering the option to pay a flat fee per child, so there’s no more arguing between a $20 binder and a $2 one.

And it’s another way for parents to save money.

Because of the money there were able to save, Hannah and her brother each got to pick out a new toy, which they were both very happy about.

MICHAEL ROBAR/THE GUARDIAN Hannah and Landon Birt posed with their goodies while back-to-school shopping with their parents Kim and John on Sunday.

MICHAEL ROBAR/ THE GUARDIAN Lynne O’Sullivan balancing a stack of lunch containers she was getting for her two boys while they shopped for clothes with their dad on Sept. 1.