The use of school uniforms in both public and private schools has increased

exponentially over the last few years. J & R Clothing in Fayetteville

has grown with the trend.

Now in a new location on Ga. Highway 85, the store has doubled the sales

area for school uniforms, according to President and CEO Richard Dumas.

"We have over 4,000 square feet dedicated to school uniforms," said

Dumas, who cites the personal service that his staff can give their clients,

throughout the whole store, as one of the most attractive assets to potential

customers. Dumas's daughter, Donna, who oversees the school uniform

section and is vice president of computer operations, agrees, adding that

customers get good service, quality and prices and don't have to dig

around for school uniform items.

"School uniforms are increasingly popular because it takes away the

arguments between parents and children over what to where," said Donna

Dumas, citing one example. She added that school uniforms come out cheaper

in the long run because parents only need to buy one week's worth of

school uniforms and the clothes will typically last throughout the school

year.

The store began offering school uniforms four years ago. One of the employees

at the store had a child enrolled in a private school and to get the uniforms

necessary for the school, the employee had to drive up to Sandy Springs.

J & R Clothing saw an opportunity to be the only store on the Southside

selling school uniforms and got in the business at the right time. There

are a number of public and private schools in the area that mandate that

their students wear school uniforms, and J & R Clothing, which has been

a trusted name in the community for 38 years, has the materials to service

30 area schools. The uniforms can also be ordered off of their web site,

www.jrclothing.com.

According to Donna Dumas, the school uniform season has begun. The staff

in the school uniform section of the store has been very busy and they expect

things to get busier as the start of the school year and the upcoming sales

tax holiday, July 29-31, approaches.

In addition to the school uniform section, J & R Clothing also rents

out space to the Flint River Council of the Boy Scouts. It is the only place

for members from Fayette, Coweta, Clayton, Upson, Pike, Spalding, Butts and

Lamar counties to get uniforms, insignias, merit badges, tour permits, supplies

and more. Over 10,000 boys are enrolled in the Flint River Council of the

Boy Scouts and J & R Clothing has been their supplier of materials for

a number of years.

Donna Harper, a former employee of J & R Clothing, has staffed the Boy

Scouts section of the store for four years. She also sews patches on the

uniforms for a nominal fee. The hours of the section are different from the

store hours. The section is open Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Saturdays

from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. and Sundays from 1-4 p.m. For further information on

the Boy Scout section, phone 678-817-5554.

J and R Clothing is open Monday-Friday, 9:30 a.m.-8 p.m., Saturdays from

9:30 a.m.-7 p.m. and Sundays from noon-6 p.m. Phone 770-461-3440 for more

information.