NEW YORK -- Due to school restrictions, it's difficult to make uniforms fashion forward, but that doesn't mean they can't be fashion friendly. Uniform companies are modifying the hottest apparel looks and bringing them into the classroom this season.

"We have wrap skirts and skorts and peasant-inspired blouses that could also be paired with a pair of jeans;' said Gigi Perkins, marketing coordinator for French Toast.

Three stylish French Toast uniform options include a girls' cable front duster sweater with a longer thigh-length, rounded collar and flat-knit tie waist belt; a boy's cell phone pocket pant, featuring a mobile device pocket on the back right leg; and the girls' hooded capelet, with cable-knit, large front buttons and fringe trim.

Dickies' popular, more trend-driven items for fall include a girls' tie-back interlock top, with cap sleeves, tie-back bodice and empire waist; a girls' long carpenter skirt with front side pockets and a girls' inverted pleat skirt. Dickies also has its own boys' version of the cell phone pocket pant new for boys.

Durability and fit are two other important factors for uniforms, according to Rick Crosland, gm of school uniforms for Dickies.

"Every season, we make sure we are up to date in how garments should fit," Crosland said. "We also evaluate the garment's performance. We evaluate what the garment might need and do our best to give it those attributes."

Key features in Dickies uniform pieces include stain release finishing, wrinkle resistance and micro-sanded fabric for increased softness. A hot fabric for girls' uniforms this year has been stretch twill, Crosland said.

French Toast's pieces include similar fabric finishes, including a Teflon-French shield stain protector. These finishes allow for more comfortable, fashionable uniforms, according to Perkins.

"People tend to think of uniforms as formalized, crunchy and wooly," Perkins said. "But the troth is with these new fabric finishes, our uniforms are breathable and are just as durable."