Dressing is one of my main creative outlets and I put much thought into what I wear, and how, and when. I express myself through my wardrobe and enjoy getting input on my outfits, both pure praise and constructive criticism. I learn from the feedback I receive, and always appreciate it.
But dressing creatively means bearing constant scrutiny. Most of it benign, but it’s scrutiny no less. Friends, family, co-workers, acquaintances, are all interested in what I wear. Sometimes rather intensely interested. And I’ve created my own role and I generally love it, but it means that I seldom feel like I can throw on a ratty sweatshirt and torn jeans.
As I was biking to work the other day, I realized that I feel completely unselfconscious about my body and how it is dressed when I bike. Completely. I mean, when it’s cold in the morning, I’m wearing a sports bra, wicking top, ratty hoodie, reflective yellow windbreaker, cotton scarf with a brown flower print all over it (my only washable scarf), leggings, shorts, a helmet and some cheap Target sunnies. I look like a rag doll on a one-speed cruiser. The windbreaker is a little too big, but it and the helmet are non-negotiable for safety reasons. The leggings/shorts combo both keeps my legs warm and presents no danger of getting caught in my gears. The scarf is vital to keeping my poor little neck from freezing in the self-generated wind. When it’s warm in the morning, I’m wearing what’s pictured above: A threadbare, oversized tee and cutoff sweatpant shorts. These clothes are for practical uses ONLY, and I couldn’t give a shit how ridiculous or lumpy or nerdy I look. Each item is chosen for a specific use, each piece does its job well, and all items are necessary for my comfort and safety. It’s totally freeing to know that.
And it got me thinking about uniforms. I’ve never worn one, at school or on the job, but I’ve heard people say that uniforms are simultaneously oppressive and liberating. Strict dress codes make those with creative dressing instincts cringe and dream longingly of sartorial freedom. Putting everyone in the same garb means that differences in figure shapes may become more obvious, which makes some people uncomfortable. But strict dress codes also create some unity among diverse populations, lift the pressure to wear flashy or trendy clothing, remove a choice factor that can be extremely overwhelming sometimes. I’d be miserable if I had to wear a uniform every day, but I love being able to don one when I bike. It allows me to dispense with all of my usual dressing-centric emotions in favor of sheer, unadulterated pragmatism.
I’m curious to hear from people who have been forced to wear uniforms: Did you feel oppressed? Liberated? Both? Nurses, do you feel like printed scrubs have made your dressing choices more fun? If you’re a lawyer who has to wear a suit every day, how does that make you feel about yourself? Your identity? What are YOUR thoughts on uniforms?
{ 65 comments… read them below or add one }
All I've experienced of uniforms involved another high school near mine as I was growing up. It was an all girls school, kind of a "sister school" to an all boys school. The girls school had uniforms, but the entire student body (if you were cool) had their skirts tailored so that they were significantly shorter than they were supposed to be. Meaning, skirts went from above-knee length to upper-thigh length. I remember one girl from my school transferred over there and had a near meltdown when her mom didn't let her. Then her mom caved and let her do it because everyone else was too.
This also relates to the modesty conversation in your previous post!
One thing that I always found worse than uniforms was very restricting dress codes. I had one all through middle school. I would have much preferred the uniform over trying to find proper clothes to conform to dress code standards (which often did not conform with whatever was "in style" at the time, making it even harder).
I guess now if you're in a formal business setting your options are technically more limited. But even for women wearing suits every day, you have a lot of options for expressing personal style through the color, cut, style of suit, or your blouse or accessories. Entire blogs are dedicated to enhancing a corporate woman's wardrobe!
I have never had to wear a uniform, but if I did I think I would like it and hate it. On one hand, it would make you really focus on accessories and that sort of thing, which would be amazingly stimulating. On the other hand, it would probably be just as exhausting, if not more so, to accessorize it in an interesting and unique way.
Oppressed! Absolutely oppressed for me! I worked at a hotel whose dress code was: brown dress pants, brown belt, brown shoes, and company issued navy blue button up. I hate button-ups, am not a fan of navy, and all that brown? Bleh! I tried personalizing it with bright camis, statement necklaces, fun patterned socks, pretty bracelets, and colorful eyeshadow but everything was met with utter disdain from management.
I used to work at a restaurant and the uniform there never bothered me. The difference I realized is that being on Front Desk you're the "face" of the property. I felt I had to live up to a certain aesthetic and that uniform just wasn't doing it (in my POV). It didn't help that the girl I most often worked with was really pretty. Standing next to her in the same uniform made me feel ugly and inferior. The uniform took away my self-esteem boosting tools and really made the work environment less enjoyable.
I've never worn a uniform, but my mother was a flight attendant. I grew up watching her and her co-workers wear uniforms. I'm not sure how other airlines organized their uniforms, but at my mother's airline, the women's uniform included a jacket, slacks, skirt and dress made from matching fabric, plus a blouse and scarf that were worn with the slacks or skirt. The jacket was required with the skirt & pants but optional with the dress. Shoes were required to be black. I have no idea what the requirements were about jewelry.
My mother wasn't much of a shoe person or a regular jewelry person, but she loved whimsical pins (like Santa or snowman pins for Christmas, etc.) She developed an entire wardrobe of cute, inexpensive pins for different holidays, plus a few that could be worn year-round.
Several of my mother's coworkers got creative with their jewelry, hair, and scarf-tying. A few got creative with their shoes, but that was limited by the practicalities of the job. (Several of them wore cute shoes in the airport and swapped them out for more practical shoes once they got on the plane.)
Right now, I'm working as a contractor in a jail. The uniform requirements for the correctional officers is even more strict. I see a lot of women get creative with earrings and hairstyles.
There's usually some way you can express creativity even when required to wear a uniform, if you have the desire to.
I think a lot of the time it depends on the type of uniform. When I worked in a movie theatre, we all wore the same exact thing. Same pants, same polo, everything was identical. That got old really fast.
Working in healthcare, I only WISH that I could wear the scrubs uniform that everyone else gets to wear (I'm "non-clinical" as an administrative assistant so my dress code is business casual).
In this environment, each person is allowed to wear whatever type of scrub they'd prefer. There are a lot of options to express your personality and preferences with this type of uniform, different styles, different colors, different shoes, etc.
I can understand the use of a uniform in certain settings when people need to be "set apart", such as in healthcare with the scrubs, or in churches where the choir still wears robes or they dress uniformly.
But I do think that when too many limitations are set in place, it stunts creativity and individuality. There's a balance with uniforms, in my opinion. When I was a little girl in Girl Scouts, we had the option of pants, skirts or dresses. I was the ONLY girl who chose pants but it was fantastic to have that option to wear what was most comfortable to me and still be in uniform with everyone else.
I've only ever had to wear a uniform for a drama troupe I used to be a part of. We had a casual one for things like summer camps, and a formal one for more serious events. I remember hating the things at the time. We had to tuck in the casual ones and all do our hair in ponytails, which always gave me headaches because of my thick hair. And the formal ones just seemed like the worst possible option when you neede mobility: black dress pants and a black dress shirt with a leotard underneath? Not only uncomfortable, of course, but hot. And our leader wanted us to all have the same hair and makeup. And she favored the petite little blonde girls in the group, so as a comparatively tall brunette, I ended up wearing the same things they did. Can you imagine how hideous the makeup for a tanned, blonde, blue-eyed girl would look on a pale, freckled, brown-eyed brunette? Sheesh.
The uniformity in clothes I didn't mind so much. The uniformity in make-up? Well, I hid from our leader a lot before performances.
Sally: You've never had to wear a uniform in a choir? They are the great equalizer.
Euphman: Hmmm. We did have to wear robes in high school choir … but I dropped out of band before H.S.! And we did the choir robes like 2 minutes before going on stage, so little solidarity was built.
Sally, I think those of us who don't find dressing to be our preferred mode of creative expression create our own version of uniforms and wear them all the time. It's a great way to avoid anxiety, for those of us who aren't so artistic as you:).
I worked as a nurse in hospitals for 15 yrs and I LOVED wearing scrubs. Made getting dressed at 5 am so much easier. What can make it a little oppressive though is when one can wear only certain colors. It is much nicer to work somewhere that doesn't have a color code. They are cheap and require no special washing. Even nicer if one can work somewhere where they provide the scrubs. I never really felt the need to express myself at work with clothing. THe job was too busy and intense for such things. It's a job that requires extremely utilitarian clothing.
On the downside, after 15 yrs I discovered I had huge gaps in my non work attire. The rest of my clothing consisted of super casual wear. But believe me, this was very easy to fix:)
i wore a uniform to private school in K-12. i really never thought about it at the time because everyone i knew did the same thing. i distinctly remember my first day of college looking at my closet thinking "wow, i can wear anything i want today!" and it subsequently took me throughout college to get the "wearing what i want" down and figuring out i could have a style. the jobs i've had with uniforms; however, i found annoying (except as a camp counselor, where it seemed okay) and tried to break it with accessories – at one job that worked and the other two it did not.
SAL! That's twice in 3 days that you've hit a nerve, telling me to WRITE THAT POST about school-appropriate attire, whatever that means
The words "school uniform" make my students break out in hives worse than "summer reading". The truth is they DO wear uniforms – specific types of shirts, BRANDS of shirts, skirts, pants, shoes, etc. Choice is a double-edged sword – it's better to CHOOSE to conform with peers?
Ok, I'm trying to not to judge! We all show varying degrees of independence, interdependence, and dependence in our sartorial choices, based on the situation, our resources, state of mind/heart, and so on. Wearing my teacher hat, I conclude: school should be a safe place for children to explore and grow identity, so the dress code should serve that purpose.
roller coaster teacher: Well, you'd better get crackin', lady!
I wore uniforms from 4th grade through high school. In elementary school, everyone wore the same thing, and there were rules about jewelry, hair, skirt length, socks, and shoes. In high school, the possibilities opened up — we could wear the uniform skirt, khaki pants/shorts, or navy pants/shorts, with any of three different colored uniform polos. (No one wore shorts, as they had to be walking short length, and there weren't bermudas available at the time.) We could also wear school sweatshirts. There were some other rules, too — you had to wear socks at all times (even with sandals), your khakis couldn't be jean-styled (no studs allowed), etc.
I never felt very constrained by the high school uniform, as I did appreciate its making my morning choices so easy. In grade school, I thought the uniform was ugly (for a while, we had weird little ties involved; then we moved on to uniform culottes), but everyone had to wear it, so I didn't resent it too much.
I agree with LPC, too — having worn a uniform so much has made me think of my clothing now in a uniform-type way, and that's pretty much okay with me. I noticed in college that I'd get a little bit anxious when I deviated too much from my typical style. That style has changed some since then, but it hasn't become significantly more experimental or diverse in the process.
I went to private school and had a uniform, enforced with an extremely draconian policy. I still managed to get around it – that's when I started wearing my skirts midthigh! I got demerits but I didn't care. PS: It was liberating to know what I'd wear every day.
I wore an uniforme for four long years from 14 to 18 (that's high-school or lyceum
in my country). At the time, i was annoyed and rebelled, like everyone. The rules were gray skirt or pants, white button doun shirt, and navy jacket. I hated then the button downs! I dreamed about nice tees , like every teen-ager. But now, i am really grateful for all that. In the university, i didn't wore non-jean pants and button-downs at all (for another 4 years). But from that period i learn how to gracefully wear a mini, how to clean iron and line-dry my shirts, and in general, how to wear "suits". I see now myself a lot less awkward and more refined than other graduates , who are uncertain on the sexy-secretary to boring and frumpy scale of suit sexiness. I learned what kind of shirt works with different dresses, what kind of pants fit me, and most of all, the office look looks effortless on me.
Another good point of uniform was indeed the uniformity. We were a high-school renowned for academic outstanding results, and being the home of a lot of rich kids. The uniform took the pressure of cool jeans, and designer labels. Of course jewelery and shoes and haircuts remained, both to express ourselves but also to flaunt the parent's wealth. In a way i feel that uniformed learned us all to focus a little on the style, on the grace of a person, of her/his grooming, rather than how expensive and cute the clothes are.
In middle school there was a set dress code, but definitely not a uniform. Although I wish it had been a strict uniform instead.
I was attending the same school my dad was teaching at – I couldn't get away with any but the exact dress code by the specific rules. Everyone else got away with minor variations (flared pants, untucked shirts, slight color variations not technically allowed but usually overlooked) but my mom refused to let me wear anything but what was in the dress code.
I felt nerdy and awkward (middle school!!!) and wish everyone had to wear my by-the-rules clothing or that I could wear some variations on it. Or that the school would enforce the dress code more strictly.
It was a long time ago, but was sort of a big deal back then.
I wore uniforms in school, from elementary to high school and then was also in schools where they didn't wear a uniform and both were okay. I didn't have to worry about what I was going to wear, especially in my teen age years where most of us want to impress others, I didn't have to worry about the brand, again to impress others, I don't know if that still goes on but when I was in high school it was very important to wear the "IT" shoes or the "IT" clothes, so one less thing to worry about. No one really cared about wearing uniforms but it was always fun when we got a free dress day! I think uniforms are great.
Now on your post before about modesty, most people seem to have this negative perception of modesty "ooh they are forced to wear this and not that, they are opressed!" but in reality it's not that even close to that. I love to dress modestly and chic, I get lots of compliments and less unwanted stares from men and I feel very feminine and beautiful. It's a personal choice we all make, no one forces us to be modest. I think instead of being critical to the ones that cover up in 100 dregrees, people should just let them be, it takes courage to be different and stand up for what you believe when everyone else expects you to wear what they think is appropriate or "in" or "normal". Great post!
I've had to wear uniforms while waitressing and bartending and I was surprised how much it affected my confidence and thus my personality. Even working at a private country club for 8 years, I never quite felt like myself even though I knew the members forever! My unflattering uniform just made me more shy and unsure! I'm glad to be rid of it!
I'm with Brande. I've had to wear uniforms for work at times. The Marks & Spencer one was a hideous blue polyester shirtdress with a cheap plastic belt. The one I wore working in food services was a ghastly yellow golf shirt with a logo (GOLF SHIRT???? I would, and have, NEVER voluntarily put a golf shirt on my body, even in high school when those horrible alligator things were en vogue) and black pants/shorts.
In both cases, the shape and colours of the things seemed expressly calculated to make me look my nastiest – and emphatically underscored the difference between lumpy, cute-in-the-right-light me, and those lucky girls amongst my coworkers who were born gorgeous and slender, and would look gorgeous and slender wrapped in torn brown cardboard.
It was humiliating.
I forgot — my mom's theory on the strictness of rules at my Catholic grade school (with all of the details about no Sun-in/hair dye, one pair of stud earrings only, one necklace if it was a cross, no rings, socks that fold over, etc.) was that every one of those rules gave us the opportunity to rebel (where the consequences were minimal — demerits and, if you collected enough, detentions). And, I guess, the hope was that those little chances to rebel would keep us from acting out in other ways. She's worked at that school for going on two decades, so she knows the people in charge, and it's always struck me as an interesting theory.
It's funny… I've donned lots of uniforms in my day and have had varying feelings about them. Here are examples of uniforms I have worn and my feelings about them–
a) white, oxford shirt with black slacks, black belt, socks and shoes. I wore this both for orchestra and to wait tables! I think this getup is easily recognized as a server's outfit, besides which, makes the butchiness of it acceptable to me when people see it. Besides, black and white is snappy.
b) khakis and a polo in any color you like. Gross, gross, and double gross. Khakis are pretty unflattering on me and polos are horrific on me as well. Thanks for throwing me a bone with the color choice! Not.
c) Anything you want to wear but it must be entirely black. This one infuriated me the most, because if I were wearing what I wanted to wear, it would definitely not be black! Though I am enjoying the color a little more now, black saps the life right out of my face. All black to me looks heavy and funereal and servile. So, the big paradox is wear whatever you like in the color you like least… hmm.. so I ended up wearing clothes I didn't like in a color I didn't like, because if I ever ended up buying styles I did like in that color, they would translate to my non-work life. So they had little value outside of work. So I just ended up wearing black slacks and shirts I bought from the thrift store for like $1 apiece, I hated everything, but I still had $$ left over to buy clothes I actually did like to wear outside of work.
So, bottom line is, I like a dress code that is either so rigid that there isn't any room for fudging at all (in example a) or, if there is going to be personal choice involved, be relatively lax and step-in only when matters of decency are involved.
I wore a uniform in middle school, which I am eternally grateful for, because I had no idea what to do with my body at the time. It was a cute uniform, too: plaid skirt, white button up, sweatshirt or cardigan when it got cold. We couldn't wear any jewelry except crosses, "religious medals", and stud earrings. I LOVED it. I experimented with my shoes and started wearing two different earrings every day. I had a lot of fun with it, even though the uniform was the same everyday.
I now teach at a school where the students have to wear uniforms. In some ways, they have more choice than I did. Skirt or pants. Blue shirt or yellow shirt. Vest or sweater. Tie or no tie. But at the same time, the uniform is regulated right down to the shoes.
I love their uniforms because I no longer have to deal with exposed underwear and extreme cleavage. (This ties in so nicely with yesterday's post, which I've been thinking a lot about….) It's distracting as a teacher to have that type of thing going on in a classroom that depends a lot on group/partner work. At the same time, I sometimes sit in my classroom, look around, and think, "These kids are all wearing the same thing, but NONE of them are wearing it the same way."
I think the uniforms definitely give the students room to show some creativity, which they do.
It shows up in their socks, their hair, their make up, their belts, the sizes they choose to wear, and their jewelry.
Anyway, I'm a fan of the uniform, at least in a school setting.
I do find that dress codes sometimes just baffle me. For example, where I currently work, there's a no jeans policy. Okay, so does that apply to a dark denim pencil skirt? Our skirts should be knee length. Does that mean top of the knee, mid knee, or below the knee? We also can't wear t-shirts, and yet how many of my tops are really just glorified t-shirts? Argh! That kind of thing has me doing all kinds of mental gymnastics.
I've only had one job (waitress) where a uniform was required, but it did certainly make getting dressed for work easy! I used to envy my friends' plaid Catholic school skirts when I was a kid, but they HATED them.
There are days when I feel overwhelmed by picking something to wear. In those instances, I tend to fall back on my own uniform: jeans, 3/4 sleeve tee, sweater, flats.
I wore a uniform to high school, which caused me to develop a love for shoes! I also wore scrubs to work for the past 6 years and have only recently started wearing normal clothes to work.
The best part about wearing a uniform is on days when you are feeling less than motivated to get dressed (like today for me), you don't have to think about what to wear. You put it on and go.
But I really love to wear clothes and a lot of the joy in my life comes from being creative and expressing myself through my wardrobe so I can say I am 99% happier with less dress code restrictions.
At the one landscaping company where I work, I have to wear a uniform. On the one hand it makes it easy but it's still interesting to see personality come through even within the confines of a uniform. We layer the clothes with brightly coloured tanks, we found some vintage company hats from the 80's and wear them, we twist our tank tops all different ways to avoid tan lines, we wear knee highs when it gets cold but we can't let go of the shorts yet….
I think i've worn uniforms all my life!! Firstly at school, here in the UK pretty much everyone has to wear them and then in my chosen profession as a nurse. I used to hate the horrid polyester uniforms from my first ward job which I had to wash myself but when I moved to ITU, it was so convenient all I had to wear were scrubs that were washed and pressed ready for me! I now miss this as I am in a much less clinical role – so now I have the daily wardrobe battle of what I am going to wear!
It was so easy and liberating to not care about what to wear for work – I found it also let me focus on doing my job. The other advantage for me as a curvier woman is that uniforms usually have a modest neckline and are not particularly fitted meaning I don't have to suffer visual harrassment by men staring at my chest area
So its not a true uniform, but as a soon-to-be lawyer (days away from the bar exam!) I've worn almost exclusively business formal during my jobs. Since I was in court many days at the prosecutor's office I wore suits the majority of the time. I love wearing suits most of the time but once in a while I would love to be able to throw on a cute sundress or even some jeans! Dark suits can be somewhat oppressive but I've learned to get creative especially with shoes. Basically, this is the job I want and I'm willing to wear what I have to to do it!
The husband is a cop and so he wears a uniform about half the time. I think its interesting the way uniforms work in law enforcement. Patrol officers wear uniforms but detectives (like husband) can wear suits to work and to court. Its funny but when he's wearing the traditional patrol uniform I notice a different attitude in him – he slips into stereotypical tough "cop mode." Its fascinating how the uniform can have an effect on how he acts!
My best girlfriend works in health care and so wears scrubs all week and sometimes I envy her ease of dressing. I wear professional office clothes all week.
When we get together on the weekend, my friend the former tomboy dresses up cute as hell, while I rock jean, converse, and a t-shirt. It's funny to see what the other one considers a refreshing change.
I had to wear a school uniform for grades 1-8 (Catholic school) and though I, like the other students, complained about it at the time, I really appreciated not having to decide what to wear every morning and not having to deal with the fashion/labels/designer class; the uniforms didn't look all that great on anyone, but didn't look that bad on anyone either, so it was a good leveler. There are plenty of other times/places to "express yourself" other than at school when you're supposed to be concentrating schoolwork.
However, I usually had to iron my pleated skirt and blouse every morning and to this day, I loathe and avoid ironing like the plague. Running them in the dryer with a damnp towel, hanging them in the bathroom during a steamy shower, rolling them in a suitcase…I do anything to avoid ironing clothes unless it's absolutely necessary
I also find dress codes to be somewhat baffling. I know they try to define the boundaries–what is not allowed/appropriate–but sometimes are so vague as to be confusing and tend to bring out the inner child/rebel in adults as they try to split hairs and find the loopholes
Back to 6th grade again!
I was a server during high school and when I started college, and had to wear black or khaki pants, a white mens button up shirt, and black shoes. No nailpolish, no earrings, no room for self-expression. On one hand, it was nice not having to think about what I had to wear, but on the other, it sort of made me feel like a clone.
The hospital I am at has color coded scrubs depending on your occupation. Nurses wear blue or white scrubs (and of course, I never wear white scrubs!), aides wear tan, respiratory therapy wears burgundy, etc. It's nice because they provide the scrubs, but it allows for no personalization at all.
I wore a uniform my elementary school years and then at work about 10 years ago.
The good part about the uniform is that you do not spend money on clothing, give you more time in the morning (you don't have to pick outfits) and kind of puts everyone in the same level. Avoids competition.
Nevertheless when I wore a uniform to work I would make it MY uniform,
I would add scarves, pins and accessorize as much as was permitted.
It was a stage in my work life I would not like to go back to.
I adore being able to chose what I will look like, even if somedays I have no inspiration at all.
It's like everyday you have an opportunity to have a better version of you.
in HS i used to wish we had school uniforms so it wouldn't be such a who has what, etc. nowadays i'm so glad i'm not restricted by dresscode at work.. sure most of the guys where shorts and tshirts.. but if i feel like dressing up in heels and skirt. i go for it.
My mother is a nurse in her 60s. When she was getting started, they all had to wear the all-white uniforms. Eventually they fought and won the right to wear casual-no-jeans. So now she is amazed at the young nurses wearing those scrubs all the time. Why choose to go back?
The only uniform I ever wore was in Catholic high school, a singularly unflattering skirt, shirt, sweater combination with saddle shoes and white socks. But it was absolutely wonderful not to have to think about what to wear, and we all looked equally awful. We rolled our skirts up but unrolled them when the nuns noticed (only to roll them again as soon as it was safe). I wonder if I would have resented the uniform more if it had been a co-educational school.
My daughter, in contrast, attended a Catholic co-ed school and hated the regulation clothing (a dress code, involving yuppie-esque polo shirts and hysterical staff members measuring her skirts – skirt length is always such a big deal – in an effort to impose their idea of propriety without having the ammunition of a regular uniform requirement to back them up). She is a born clothes horse and cares mightily about how she presents herself most of the time – the more daring the better, generally. I think she got her grandmother's genes.
When I worked for a corporation, I resented the "uniform" expected of every woman who wasn't a nurse or other medical provider – heels, makeup, stockings (even on the hottest days – it was always 70 degrees inside, so my hour-long commute wearing the darn things was miserable both ways), and tasteful suits – no sundresses, no sandals, no jeans, and pants were discouraged. I was told I had to put my hair up because it was somehow unprofessional to wear it down past my shoulders. These restrictions felt painfully artificial and weird. This was during was the late sixties and seventies, and my other life was as a student, where I wore what I enjoyed and dressed appropriately to the weather in the greater world where we saw the sunlight.
Finally, even as I write I am wearing my own chosen "uniform" – crisp white shirt and dark blue jeans, which I prefer over almost everything else. But I work at home, so I can show up to my computer in my underpants and bunny slippers if I so choose. When I go out, I have been trying hard to remember to accessorize with a scarf or jewelry or something because that can be fun and I want more fun in the years I have left.
I wore a uniform for 4 years as a Sgt in the USAF. I loved to transition from hair up/no makeup uniform to long hair down, nice clothes & make-up so that some people didn't recognise me or were surprised I could look like a beautiful woman!
Hey there, it's Susanna from Brooklyn. As a knitter I must respond to your statement that the cotton scarf is the only one you can wash.
You can absolutely wash almost all natural fibers including silk, wool, angora, etc. For instance, the sheep get rained on many times before they are shorn
There are some exceptions like raw silk and some blends, but if we start with your basic wool scarf you have 2 really good options:
Option A: Hand wash the scarf with mild detergent or shampoo in the sink, blot (rather than wring) with a towel and lay flat to dry.
Option B: Throw it in the washing machine on a cold/delicates cycle. This may cause the garment to shrink a little bit or get a little bit felt-y. However, if it is your designated biking scarf, that should be fine. And wool is so much warmer than cotton!
Dry cleaning is not great for the environment and it's expensive. For some things–liked lined garments–it is great.
If you want to get really fancy pants and express a lot of loving kindness towards your knitwear you can put a drop or two of lavender in the sink-bath as you gently agitate your cashmere sweaters…
In summary if you love your cotton scarf and its washability is a bonus then awesome. But if you'd like to introduce a wool scarf into your biking uniform…why not try washing it in cold water and see what happens?
Hello, been reading for a while now, first time commenting — really enjoying the space you've created here.
With that out of the way…I wore a uniform in K – 12 Catholic schools. I loved it. You didn't have to think about what to wear and those skirts really didn't have to be washed more than twice a month…I'm sure they had some kind of plastic in them. I know my mom appreciated not having to buy us a lot of clothes, too. As a result of 12 years of uniforms I didn't have a sense of style until college, and I'm still developing one at 27. But one good thing is that I think it discouraged from being judgmental about other females' clothes. Of course in uniformed schools there's still teasing, mean girls, etc., but speaking for myself, I think the uniforms beat the fashion judgemental-ness out of me during my formative years.
And on a related note…now I think it would be quite the achievement to wear my old high school uniform skirt without looking like a Halloween slutty schoolgirl costume or someone who's desperate to recapture her teen years. I'm not sure it's possible, might have to give up on this style dream, but I'm gonna keep trying
Well I had to wear uniform as a pupil and during my first years of college (beware, what we call college in France means between,say,11 and 15 years of age,4 years of college in all actually): I was attending a catholic public school (what we call private school in France because one has to pay for it). A girl only school but soon boys started to be allowed,first in school and then to college and next to the whole years.
So uniform was a thick solid long sleeves button down navy blue over-all for every pupil and next navy blue jacket,grey skirt, white socks and black shoes,blue shirt.
I never had trouble wearing uniform especially the over-all (sorry that is the best english I could manage to try to translate it,if anyone could help me to find better?!) because rich or poor,tall or small or whatever,we were all the same with the same fabric. And it was very useful to have it as children tend to get dirty,have chalk stains (when there were still black board) or paint or other.
When we eventually dropped the whole uniform then the over all,I felt bad because then started the competition for the best clothes, the most fashionable… I felt uneasy about it but true I then develop my own fashion style.
I wore too uniform while working in fast food restaurant either american like (ahem won't drop ANY name at all) or french.I did mind those uniform because they were ugly and poorly made with very bad quality fabric and no fit.
So I am not adverse to uniform ant to me they do no mean to quit one's freedom (one has always the possibility to custom one's uniform,even a little bit) but rather kind of comfortable feeling.
Now I do not wear uniform albeit while working I do tend to wear the same kind of professional attire even if mixed with my own fashion style.
But aren't suits kind of uniform after all?
I wore a uniform at Aunt Chilotta's Tacos. It was an orange polyester smock with a brown racing strip. The men wore white food service hats and the women wore orange poly scarves. The women were not allowed to wear a food service hat. I/male was allowed to wear the ladies scarf. I wore it in solidarity for my oppressed female coworkers. Yes, I got looks from the customers.
I do not have to wear a uniform now, but I made one for myself: Jeans, Quicksilver short-sleeve button down shirt, glasses. In the winter I add a zip-up cardigan. I bet I could wear the exact same shirt and pants all week and no one would notice since I look so similar everyday.
I find it freeing. I remember in 1984 that all the upper class wore jumpsuits as a class symbol. Maybe it was Brave New World, I forget.
-HM
We wore a uniform at Victoria's Secret. In fact, I recall being given a guide to looking my best on the job, which included advice about manicures, "sexy yet appropriate" pantyhose choices and makeup/shoe suggestions.
My manager expected every girl working the floor to have a well-cut black suit, with slacks, and a tailored black dress in her closet. Those were our two options, uniform wise, and it was mentioned–multiple times, casually–that cleavage-amplifying tops were the best choice under those suits.
I saw my manager send girls to the stock room to work there for the remainder of the day due to their unflattering/non-uniformish dress.
The so-called best dressed girls worked the front room and the fitting room.
Unfortunately, body size, hair and other completely inappropriate aspects of each girl's appearance were often (quite obviously) factors in my manager's decision to put a girl on the floor or in the back room.
I guess I didn't find it particularly liberating. In fact, after a while (once I had become a supervisor, had received a most-sales award, etc) I started to rebel against the uniform. I stopped trying to tame my naturally wavy/frizzy hair, I wore flats instead of heels, I wore blouses under my suit jacket in place of a nude, lacy camisole.
And they put me in the back. So I quit!
I was an exchange student in high school and wore a uniform for the 8 months I was away. I actually loved it. I love to dress creatively and always have, but the uniform (at least for my school in this particular country) was really sort of a way to level-set the entire population of (all female) students. People found other ways to be expressive and creative (hair, jewelry, pushing the uniform code's boundaries) but it really felt like no one was staring at your clothes because they were wearing the same thing. When I came back to the states, I was shocked at how designer-label-centric everything was at my HS. I ended up in a sort of uniform there too (sweater, jeans, comfortable shoes) because I was so comfortable that way.
Plus, being a lazy teenager, it was nice to wake up at the last minute and throw on the uniform before running out the door!
I wear hospital issued scrubs. At first I missed dressing up for work. But I don't have to do work laundry and I leave most of the hospital ickies at the hospital.
The only time I've worn a uniform was in K-8 but I am SO GLAD that I did. I was a hugely nerdy child and on top of that, my family wasn't as well-off as most children in my school. It was embarrassing enough to be harassed because I was wearing $15 shoes from Value City instead of whatever ridiculously expensive shoes the other kids had. If that problem spread the rest of my wardrobe, grade school would have been more hellish than it was.
And I could see a similar thing being comforting to adults – uniforms are equalizing to a point.
But if I had to wear a uniform now…I think I would feel totally oppressed and depressed IF it wasn't something I would normally wear outside of work. For example if I had to wear a Target uniform, I'd cry. But if I worked at a stylish boutique and we all had to wear fitted grey dresses with v-necks, 3/4 sleeves, and a pencil-skirtish bottom…well, I'd love that and would relish playing with accessories
Oh, my! I've been mulling over an e-mail to you on this very subject for weeks, now!
I recently started working full-time (or as full-time as a freelancer can get) as a sign-language interpreter, and although there's no standard-issue uniform, the dress conventions feel quite… limiting. To wit:
- Dark solid colors. (Or light solid colors, if your skin is dark; the idea is to create contrast between your arms and your torso so that your signing is maximally visible.) By "solid," I also mean no embellishing, visible lace, etc.
- No "distracting" jewelry. In practice, this means no bracelets, virtually no necklaces, and only the tiniest of earrings. (I used to wear a very small, delicate, lace-like Hebrew-calligraphy necklace, and got a pointed comment about it on my licensure exam results.) I do wear one ring, but it looks like a plain matte-silver band unless you get up close, and I think people think it's a wedding ring.
- Short nails, and minimal-to-no nailpolish and makeup. ("Natural look" only – if anyone sees your makeup, ur doin' it rong, as the kids say.)
- Basically professional (usually a little under business casual, though different settings may require different levels of formality). In practice, I've found that anything that doesn't look like clubwear or gardening wear is generally fine.
- Basically comfortable. You need a good range of motion in your arms and shoulders, and may also need to stand for up to half an hour at a time.
The idea, more or less, is to dress for invisibility. The Deaf consumer needs to be able to look at you, but see the message. (And, ideally, nobody else should want to look at you at all.) The problem is that it's tremendously difficult to express yourself when your Self is pretty much the last thing anyone wants to be made aware of. It's especially difficult for me as I transition out of grad-school dressing (which, as the Academichics prove, can be beautifully attention-getting) and into interpreter uniform full-time. I've taken to joking that, if my clothes end up boring someone to death, at least I'll be properly dressed for the funeral.
Anyway, back when this was going to be an e-mail, it was also going to end with a cry for help. When even the small, subversive flashes of customization – jewelry, makeup, accessories – are unavailable, what do you do to stay you on the job? Or should I just resign myself to being a real, three-dimensional person only in my spare time?
Marigami – c'est quoi ton "overall" en français? Ce qu'on appelle des "overalls" (toujours au pluriel) en anglais, c'est une salopette; en Angleterre ce serait une paire de "dungarees." Une combinaison, c'est plus comme ce qu'on appelle un "jumpsuit."
Par contre, si tu parles de … bon, de cette affaire de jupe-et-tablier, ça, on appelle un "jumper" aux É-U/Canada, et, apparemment, "pinafore" en Angleterre.
——-
And, for English-speakers:
Marigami – what's the French word for your type of "overalls"? What we call "overalls" (always plural) in English, is a "salopette" in French; in Britain, it would be a pair of "dungarees." A "combinaison," in French, is more like what we call a "jumpsuit."
On the other hand, if you're talking about… well, the thing that looks like a skirt, with an apron-top attached, that's what we call a "jumper" in the U.S./Canada, and, apparently, a "pinafore" in Britain.
I never had to wear a school uniform, but I have had several work uniforms. As a waitress this was usually black pants, black shoes and a company Tee. Whatever jewelry as long as you didn't get it in the food or distract too much. My Houlihan's was the best- it was a black polo and we each got different words on the back. Mine said Taste. I thought it was erotic and funny.
But I am totally against uniforms and EXTREMELY strict dress codes. I mean, dress codes are cool, I understand a need for some office rules, but right now I'm a cashier and I have to wear a chef's jacket, white shirt, black pants and NO JEWELRY or MAKE UP of any kind, not even studs to keep my earring holes from closing. No nail polish at all. And this stupid teeny little black bucket hat. I hate it. I feel so ugly and lumpy and overheated and unpretty and gross. I love being able to chose my outfits, I always have, and I think it's wrong of a company to deprive you of any decision. I mean, at least have a casual friday, for crying out loud.
Oh and it's rather tedious because I only have two pair of work pants, so I'm doing the wash every other day now, to the dismay of the rest of the people in the building who need the washer.
The only time I've had to wear a uniform (outside of service jobs in high school, which felt oppressive for other reasons) was a brief stint as a volunteer EMT.
I couldn't dress up the uniform–no jewelry or fancy hair–but I didn't mind. I loved wearing it, it was easy, and I felt more confident, oddly.
Plus, it made it that much more amusing if I had occasion to see any of the guys when I was off duty. I do so love the, OMG she's a GIRL face.
Up until recently at work we had to wear a uniform jacket over our clothes. This was an ugly, shapeless scrub jacket with the snaps up the front in dark blue or beige. But now we can wear our normal clothes and it's wonderful! I feel so much more professional and confident without that smock covering me up! And I get compliments nearly every day on my outfits. It's just so much more fun to dress up for work these days!
Keep up the great writing, Sally, your blog is right up at the top of my list of favorites!
Kelly
I wore a uniform to high school which was a huge relief for me after feeling constantly awkward for not having the right clothes in middle school. I felt that in a way it promoted unity in our school because everyone wore the same thing. However, there was also room for competition in the brands that some girls wore (lacoste polos, nike sneakers). We did get to have monthly "out of uniform" days where we could wear whatever we wanted and ironically we were all still in "uniform" then, too.
I'm a nurse and work for a very large internationally known hospital system here in MN (can you guess
. In the hospital we wear scrubs-there are "authorized" solid colors and the RNs on each unit choose the color for their unit. I wear navy blue. We are allowed to wear white or navy tees underneath scrub tops. No prints-no other colors. Your socks are even supposed to be navy or white. Appropriate shoes are white, back, brown, or mostly white athletic shoes. Some people get away with navy Crocs. I love it. We buy our own scrubs so I get to choose styles that suit me, but beyond that don't have to think about what I'll wear to work. It helps that navy is a great color for me.
I have a tougher time with the rules for non-scrub attire. For meetings and classes we can dress business casual and there is a "dress and decorum" section in our intranet that defines what business casual means. The rules are very detailed with photo illustrations. No bare legs, no sandals, no cropped pants, no sleeveless anything unless it is an underlayer, no denim ect… I couldn't put anything I felt good in together so I wore scubs to ACLS yesterday.
For me the scrub rules which leave less choice or room for self expression are easier than trying to shove my personal style into the business casual rules.
I never had to wear a uniform for school. I used to think it might be neat, that it would equalize everyone, but I'm sure that's not true. There would always be those who wear the uniform "better" – who have a flair for accessorizing or can alter it to be more stylish (while still conforming to the letter of the dress code), or who are just lucky enough to have a body type that fits into it well.
I'm uncomfortable with the kind of uniforms meant to standardize people as members of a group and reduce individuality. The people most often required to wear uniforms are a servant class – domestic and housekeeping staff, restaurant wait staff, customer service employees. A uniform shows that a person's job is to serve those who have more power and more freedom of self-expression. Even police and military (who may command more respect, at least in theory) are still defined as civil servants, bound by strict rules of conduct and having little autonomy on the job.
Wearing a service-job uniform (which I have done) states clearly "I am your social inferior." Some people – often those whose only perceived advantage is not having to wear a uniform – are all too eager to abuse that inequity.
However, I've long been intrigued with the idea of a personal uniform – a signature set of items that uniquely suit an individual's body, taste and lifestyle. I'd love to put on a version of the same thing every day – because I've found what works perfectly for me, not because some rules require me to – and build outfits around it to fit every occasion. Andrea Zittel was one of the first inspirations that got me thinking about this; The Uniform Project and its offshoots are another great example. I've been trying something similar myself lately. I enjoy both the ease of not having to make complicated choices when getting dressed and the freedom of knowing I alone dictate how I choose to wear my "uniform".
The worst uniform situation I've heard of was put in place in the early 90s by the public HS my father had attended. Public school uniforms were a bit of a fad at the time, but instead of the usual khaki-and-polo number, this school decided that all the students should wear plain fleece sweatsuits every day. Kids got to choose between black, white and red. The campus must have looked like a prison yard.
I wore a uniform in high school. The only way to express anything was through my shoes (white loafers…hmmm). I LOVED wearing a uniform. The last thing I wanted to think about at 7 am was what outfit to put on. Every day it was the same thing. Voila. It made my life as a teenager much less stressful. No lables, no crazy styles, no being reprimanded for wearing a shirt with a bad word. I think it made everyone's lives easier. They were very UGLY uniforms too.
I have to wear a "uniform" for work. The official policy states that unless you wear business attire you must wear the uniform – which is more comfortable at a desk for 12 hours that's for sure.
The uniform rules state:
black or khaki pants – full length. If they see sock it's too short.
Black socks – which is absurd because how would they know?
Solid colored black or white shoes. No contrasting color.
Belt. Even if you don't have belt loops as the shirt must be tucked in. Management does not enforce the belt though, thankfully.
Polos as provided by the company. There are lots of colors but no difference in style aside from long sleeve or short.
IF you are cold you must wear a black cardigan (no sweater coats though) or a fleece jacket that will provide once you hit 5 years at the company.
Jewelry is to be understated and not noticeable. Body jewelry is ok as long as we are talking small studs.
The irony of all this of course is that NO ONE sees us. Few of our customers ever come in for a tour. Everything we do is over the phone. But whatever. I'm usually too busy to care much about how I look. I just wear the polo to be comfortable.
@Katrin: I thought The Uniform Project was cheating, rather. Every time I wandered over to check the pictures, she seemed to be wearing a whole other outfit, including skirts, tops, or entire alternate dresses, plus elaborate accessories, on top of/under her uniform dress, which makes the whole exercise rather pointless.
I'm glad someone mentioned The Uniform Project- seems appropriate in a discussion of uniforms within a fashion context. Totally stimulating to look at and a great cause! http://www.theuniformproject.com/
I wore a uniform for 12 years of Catholic school. As a poor person in a rich-kid school, it definitely made my life a lot easier. Sure, I felt a need to compete with the purses and shoes, but that was a lot easier than competing with a whole wardrobe. The uniform was strict, and of course we "hated" it, but I also was very grateful. I rebelled by having as messy a uniform as possible.
woops…
For Linguist Barbie:
what I called overall was what I believed to be "une blouse" or a kind of long "coat" that cover the body from the neck to,say,mid calf,made of sturdy fabric.
i could not find the proper word in english so that was the best option for me in an attempt of translation…
Well I failed in this.
So what is the word for that then?
For me, being forced to wear a uniform would give me a REASON to rebel against conformity. And wear wacky accessories.
But somehow, I have an uniform skort from elementary school that I LOVE. Which is odd, because I hate the restrictions of skirts and dresses, but I still want another skort like that. It had a zippered front pocket like the kind you find on utility jackets and a cool buckle, but was made from the typical school uniform material. And it was short. Cool, but I don't know why the school let me wear it. We did have a rather relaxed uniform policy though(most of the time I wore trousers).
Marigami – ah! That's a shirtdress or a smock dress, I'd say. :c)
This is a really interesting discussion … I wore a uniform for all my schooling until age 16 (3 different schools). The ones in New Zealand, where a uniform was what I think of in my head as a 'real' uniform (e.g. it does not say "a white blouse" it says "the white blouse which you buy from the school uniform shop") I really liked. Even at the time I quite liked them. They were a real leveller – yes, they were a bit pricey, but you bought your uniform which was enough to see you through a week and then … that was all you had to spend on clothes for a couple of years (so long as you didn't grow too tall too quickly!).
I never had to think about whether my clothing was fashionable or up to date (which it wasn't – my parents spent their money on things like music lessons for us rather than on clothing, lots of our clothing was hand-me-downs or charity shops) – in fact I've never really had to do that, because after 16 I was in a social group where people were pretty accepting, so there wasn't any judgmentalism there.
I didn't like the uniform I had in the UK though – that was "you go to a shop and buy some black trousers / a white shirt / etc etc" and all you bought from the school was a tie and a badge to put on your blazer. So there were differences in cut / fit / style / which I felt meant it didn't work as well.
I like the idea of uniform as a social leveller, at least in a school context. You're not there to express your views on fashion, you're there to learn, and everyone should be equal. And it's really nice not to have to think about what to wear and what people might think of it – after all, you have all the rest of the day after school and on weekends to wear whatever you like.
I have had uniform jobs and non-uniform jobs.
The pizza place (black t-shirt and nice jeans, khakis, etc on the bottom – could be a skirt, decent shorts, or pants) got really old, but it was nice not to have to think about what you were wearing too much.
I have worked in a casual office setting where the only uniform was the "medical vest" that all the assistants wear with my name appliqued on it. It was nice because there were endless options, but it was a little vague too. Was the dark denim pencil skirt too casual? My dressier business clothes were definitely out b/c of being too dressy…
My favorite dress code was at the professional office where I worked for 9 months. On Mondays and every other Friday we wore our uniform shirt (we could order basically what we wanted from Land's End Uniform Wear) with your choice of dress/casual bottoms (slacks, khakis, or skirts). Every other Friday was casual Friday. The rest of the time we got to wear whatever we wanted within the dress code – business casual or more dressy if we felt like it.
I liked that dress code the best b/c there was the uniformity sometimes and then we could be creative and dress "fun" on the other days.
I like uniforms in the workplace in some instances–given that they are not hideously ugly and don't rob you of your dignity : )
My experience is from the management perspective. I was a customer service manager at a bank. For over a year it seemed like my primary job was fashion cop. It seems like no one in the group understood that business casual meant "not the clothes you wear to clean out the garage". We had a dress code clearly defined in our HR policy, but it was largely ignored. I was constantly having to remind employees that Old Navy flip flops and stretched out leggings were not work attire. Even though many of them were not customer facing, we are in a downtown location of a major city and everyone in our building has to wear a security badge that has our name and logo clearly visible. After a year of this, a group of managers, including me, petitioned to have the dress code changed to require uniforms. We chose a selection out of the Lands End Uniform catalog and each employee was given a credit equal to one set of uniform pieces. We basically co-opted the dress code policy/standards of our branch employees. The uniform set for the women included button down shirt, polo shirt, cardigan, blazer/jacket, slacks, and skirt. We allowed jeans or a denim skirt on Friday. As you can imagine, there was a lot of grumbling the first few weeks, but after that, we started to get lots of positive feedback. I actually ended up liking it more than I thought because it made getting ready for work MUCH easier. Since the skirt and pants were black, if I went out after work, I just changed my top. One unintended but welcome side affect is that work performance improved significantly. Both internal surveys and our client surveys showed increased courteousness and professionalism on the part of our CSRs. It seems that once people were dressed professionally, they behave more professionally. I mentioned this to our HR manager and he found some studies that back it up. One thing that was interesting was that one employee in particular who always came to work looking like she just rolled out of bead actually began styling her hair and wearing makeup and jewelry.
On the flip side, an instance of uniforms that I don't like at my current company (hospital) is when people who are not doctors, nurses, or technicians are allowed to wear scrubs. There are administrative assistants and other non medical support staff in other departments who have begun wearing them. However to a patient, scrubs imply that the person is medical staff of some kind so when they need assistance they don't hesitate to stop someone in scrubs. I've seen some uncomfortable situations like this and I don't like it. I don't allow anyone in my department except the doctors, nurses, radiation technicians, etc. to wear scrubs. Everyone else dresses in business casual attire.