Top 10 Ways to Go Back to School in Style

From school supplies and water bottles to sun hats and haircuts, we’ve rounded up all the essentials to make Back to School 2016 the best one yet, mama

With August just around the corner, families are starting to trickle back from their July holidays, and with them comes the tide of questions about where to find school supplies. We’ve rounded up some of our faves – both mainstays and newcomers alike – to make back to school 2016 a breeze for you, mama. Happy shopping!

Check out our gallery to find out where to snag back to school essentials!

Few things get more wear (and seemingly come under more scrutiny!) than school shoes, so it’s worth investing in a quality pair. Check out the brand new, mama-owned Ten Feet Tall in Holland Village, which is now Singapore’s largest shoe retailer, and specialises in children’s school shoes with 16 styles for girls and 10 styles for boys from some of the world’s top brands. They’ve also got expert fitters on hand to help your child stay comfortable, and have even started partnering up with a number of Singapore’s international schools. We also like their shoe bank initiative: taking into account that kids’ feet grow quickly, they ask that when you go in for a new pair of shoes you bring your old ones so that they might be sent to schoolchildren in need elsewhere in Asia.

Other shops to try include Bata, Clarks and Stride Rite. 

Find it: Shoes at $90 – $140, Ten Feet Tall, 211 Holland Avenue, #02-16 Holland Village Shopping Centre (Next to Lim’s), Singapore 278967,  [email protected], Tel: (+65) 91269544 / 90125585, www.tenfeettallshoes.com

The first day of school is all about making a good first impression on teachers and looking sharp — and maybe just a tad more grown up than you did last year. Check out our roundup of the best kids’ haircuts in Singapore for more inspo, mamas, though we’re loving the styles for little dudes that we’ve seen from newcomer Greasy Monkey Barber Garage.

Find it: Cut for students from $30, Grease Monkey Barber Garage, 15 Mayo Street, Singapore 208312, Tel: (+65) 8717 1515, www.facebook.com/greasemonkeybarbergarage

What better way to get kids excited about their books and engaged with them than through this super fun bookshelf from Deer Industries? They’ve also got a nice range of kids’ desks, not to mention lots of fun poufs and rugs for some seriously stylish study time.

Check out our Guide to kids’ decor in Singapore for more places to find kids’ desks and bookcases, mama!

Find it: Tipi Bookcase available at $479. Find it at: Deer Industries, 315 Outram Road, Tan Boon Liat Building #07-05, Singapore 169074

A lot of schools require that kids bring a particular school-issued backpack, but if your little one’s got some flexibility, why not give them some freedom of expression? Key features to have are side pockets (great for carrying water bottles), sturdy shoulder straps, and multiple compartments (bonus points if there’s a place to keep lunchboxes in place!).

We love this child-size model from Tinydipity that’s made in the USA out of sturdy, phthalate-free material; some other spots to check out in Singapore include Kid2Youth, Motherswork, Smiggle, White & Black Trading, and Takashimaya.

Find it: Beatrix NY Big Kid Backpack Fei Fei Panda from Tinydipity available at $83.50.

We all know breakfast is the most important meal of the day to get kids’ motors running, but bringing a yummy snack and/or lunch is just as crucial for the mini set. You can find lots of handy products out there everywhere from Mustafa to Mothercare, but we particularly like these two finds: a BPA-free, totally sleek sandwich case, and some very cute and happy little Bento compartments.

Find it: Cool Gear EZ-Freeze energy Sandwich Container from Howard’s Storage World (top), Kokeshi Bento Manekineko Big – Black by Bento&co from Hipvan available at $37.90 (bottom)

Water bottles are a must for little ones in Singapore; for toddlers you can’t go wrong with the ever-popular Skip Hop Zoo collection — they’re nicely sized, come in a wide variety of fun colours and characters, they’re BPA- and Phthalate-free, and the price isn’t too bad, either (a nice change, huh?).

For older kids, Takashimaya and Mustafa both have tons of styles to choose from, or you can hit up one of the many outdoors-themed stores at Velocity Novena.

Find it: Skip Hop Zoo Straw Water Bottle (available in 14 designs) from Pupsik Studio available at $10.97.

Sun hats are crucial here in the tropics. If your kiddo has a school uniform chances are they’ll have a school-issued cap, but if not, we love the rugged, water-friendly options at Patagonia.

Find it: Girls’ Trim Brim Hat from Patagonia available at US$39.

After buying up water bottles, lunch boxes, and all the other school supplies, make sure your little one can keep track of it with ever-crucial name tag labels, whether in sticker or iron-on form.

In addition to the cute labels above from Stuck on You, other places to check out include Muakids, Sticker Kid, Qoo100, and Tiny Me. Just remember to order well in advance, mama, as a number of these places are outside Singapore and shipping can take a while.

Find it: Penny Scallan Name Labels from Stuck on You available at $45.95.

One of the best parts of a new school year was always getting to crack open those fresh, clean notebooks (or even better, TrapperKeepers!). Stationery stores likes Evergreen, Popular, Mustafa and NBC all have lots of lovely paper options to choose from, but if your little one wants something a bit more fun and colourful, head to your nearest Smiggle.

Whether munchkin needs to keep art supplies on his or her desk at school, or you just anticipate lots of art projects in the year ahead, chances are you’ll need to stock up on crayons, magic markers, coloured pencils and other art supplies.

Art Friend is the go-to spot for a wide range of art supplies in Singapore, while Spotlight is the mecca for all things crafty (including paints). You can also find well-priced crayons and markers at Popular, Toys R Us, and – where else?! – Mustafa.