What colors will your kids have to wear to school next year?

Beaufort County middle and elementary schools have selected colors for next year's mandatory school uniforms, and local vendors are stocking their shelves in expectations of strong summer sales.

Uniforms will be required at all elementary and middle schools this fall and at high schools in the fall of 2010.

All county students will wear plain, polo-style collared shirts in solid colors, and khaki, black or navy pants, shorts or skirts.Each school chooses its own color combinations.

Several schools will recommend students wear shirts with school logos, but no schools will require them, school principals say.

Lesley Perry, owner of Teaching Carolina in Beaufort, said logos typically add $4 to the price of tops. At her store, shirts start at about $7 for the smallest sizes, she said.

At Uniform Work and Sport on Hilton Head Island, shirts with school logos cost $12 to $15, said director of operations Chris Wells.

David Eichelbaum, owner of The Uniform Source in Bluffton, said an elementary school student can buy a week's worth of clothes for $75 to $80 at his store.

For middle school students, the range is $80 to $85, and high school students will pay $120 to $125 for adult sizes. The cost of plus-size clothes is higher, he said.

Eichelbaum said he expects business to be briskthis summer, and he hopes to open a location in Beaufort.

"The first year is always the best," he said.

Wells said parents and studentsalready have been at his store to check out prices and try on uniforms. Several stores are offering early-bird deals to reward parents who plan ahead, but Wells worries too many students will still wait until the last minute to start shopping.

"I think you're going to have a mad rush in the end," he said.

WHAT ARE YOUR REQUIRED COLORS?

Here's a list of what colors schools in the southern part of the county will require students to wear next year. A few schools recommend preferred vendors or shirts with school logos. No school, however, will require logos or work exclusively with any vendor.

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Bluffton Elementary: Royal blue, red, white or yellow tops can be worn with khaki bottoms.

Daufuskie Island School: White, red, blue, yellow or green tops can be worn with khaki, navy or black bottoms. The school hopes to offer shirts with school logos but has not found a vendor.

Hilton Head Island Early Childhood Center: White, light blue, light pink or hunter green tops can be worn with khaki bottoms. Uniform Work and Sport will sell shirts with school logos.

Hilton Head Island International Baccalaureate: White, yellow, light blue or navy tops can be worn with khaki or navy bottoms. Shirts with school logos are recommended and can be bought from the Salty Dog T-Shirt Factory or ordered online from the Uniform Depot in Georgia.

Hilton Head Island School for the Creative Arts: Any solid-color top can be worn with khaki or navy bottoms. Uniform Work and Sport, Lands' End and the Salty Dog T-Shirt Factory will sell shirts with school logos, which are recommended.

M.C. Riley Elementary: Navy, gold, white and red tops can be worn with khaki or navy bottoms. The parent-teacher organization will sell shirts with the school logo.

Okatie Elementary: Red, white or navy tops can be worn with khaki or navy bottoms.

Red Cedar Elementary: Red, yellow or white tops can be worn with navy bottoms. The school is working with several vendors in Bluffton.

MIDDLE SCHOOLS

H.E. McCracken Middle: White, green (except lime green) and black tops can be worn with khaki bottoms. Shirts with school logos will be sold through the school.

Hilton Head Island Middle: Navy, white and gray shirts can be worn with khaki, black or navy pants. Shirts with school logos will be available through the school's preferred vendor, Uniform Work and Sport.