Purple is the new Navy!

[yendi]

So Elayna didn't have any clean clothes in her school uniform colors (imposed by the moronic fascist commissioner who doesn't realize that the experiment has failed almost everywhere else), other than warm-weather ones and stuff she's already worn this week. So I decided that she could wear purple today. If the fascists complain, I'll tell them I'm colorblind.

Comments

[gothwalk.livejournal.com]

I see this opposition to uniforms all over the US, but I'm not sure I understand it. I had a school uniform - an actual uniform, not a dress code like Elayna seems to have - for secondary school (high school). Most schools in Ireland have uniforms as well. Ours was (for guys) black shoes, grey trousers (trousers, not jeans, slacks, or anything else), white shirt, bottle-green tie, and bottle-green v-neck sweater. The girls replaced the grey trousers with a bottle-green skirt, and were allowed optional black tights. All of these goods came from one particular shop in a nearby town. None of us liked the tie; the rest of it was fine.

In hindsight, the uniform was a good thing - it allowed me to get away with knowing nothing about current fashion, and ensured that I wasn't miserable because of trying to keep up, clothing-wise, when my family couldn't possibly afford it. We had occasional non-uniform days, and many of us didn't like them.

I can't think of a secondary school in Ireland, off-hand, that doesn't have a uniform. Perhaps it's because I grew up with it, but I think it saves the kids hassle and peer pressure, and saves the parents money. What are the problems with it?

[woodrunner.livejournal.com]

I went to a high school that required uniforms. As far as I know, they still require uniforms... Ugly blue blazer/long skirt combinations for the girls and suits with ugly ties for the boys and a whole assortment of silly rules about how long your hair's allowed to be, how much makeup you can wear, what type of shoes, earrings, jewelry...

Ahh, the memories of Catholic school and the ruler-smacks from the nuns...

[blueingenue.livejournal.com]

Haha, use the "guy excuse" of saying you accidentally washed it with something red.

[branwynelf.livejournal.com]

My kids are in school uniform - dark blue pants, white or red polo or turtleneck tops, blue or grey sweaters/sweatshirts, and they can wear whatever shoes they like.

I have no issues with it at all. I like that there are no arguments over what they kids can/can't wear to school (I let them dress themselves as they please on the weekends), anything that survives my son can be passed down to my daughter (this happened more when he was younger - go figure), and it's A LOT easier on my budget than keeping up with regular clothes would be since the school has a uniform exchange program as well as our being able to pick up the pieces at practically any Kmart or Target or whatever (um, think Woolworths-type store but on a larger scale). I think it costs me a total of $50 to keep my kids dressed most of the year.

I'll be really bummed if the school drops back to normal clothes instead of uniforms.

[podling]

Yeah, I live here and I've never understood the opposition. I mean, it makes life easier for various reasons (though I suppose that's an individual thing, it was easier and cheaper for us not to have to buy entire new wardrobes that often, whereas I suppose if you were already into that cycle, having to break off and buy uniformy clothes would be a pain too). The reasons I usually hear against it... well, I don't agree, that's probably the best way of putting it. I wore a uniform until I went to college. I'd like someone to try to tell me that I'm not creative or individual or whatever it is that people are going on about lately. Personally, I never minded the uniforms, I just had to have other clothes with me to paint in after school.

[crowyhead.livejournal.com]

It seems to me, from personal observation, that in schools where uniforms have been the norm for years, the kids actually like them, or at least don't mind. The opposition seems to come in when a school decides to switch to uniforms after never having required them before -- it's a big adjustment. I mean, it would've driven me absolutely batty with rage if I'd had to suddenly switch from wearing whatever I wanted, to wearing a uniform halfway through higschool or middle school.

I also get really annoyed by the gender normativity of some of the required uniforms -- I don't think girls should be required to wear skirts. For that matter, I don't think guys should be required to wear pants, but that's a little harder to get people to agree to. ;)

[silme.livejournal.com]

Same here. Very few British schools, other than sixth-form colleges, don't have some sort of uniform. Ours actually is fairly casual. Blue or black trousers, white blouse/shirt, school sweatshirt. No blazer. In the summer, they can wear the school polo shirt. They girls can wear skirts, but very few do. School tie for boys; year 11 girls petitioned to be able to wear a tie, so they're allowed. A few do.