School Clothes

As Kids in the southern and western US go back to School now (the local schools up here go back on August 29^th so they can get a week of snow days if needed) I have seen lots of people posting going Back-To-School Clothes Shopping. Some have to wear Strict Uniforms, some have to wear Generic Uniforms and most can wear anything.

From 1^st through part of 5^th Grade I had to wear a Strict Uniform. Boys and Girls had their separate requirements (Girls had to wear either Skirts or Skorts and Boys had to wear Pants and Ties) and there was a Winter Uniform (with a Sweater or Vest) and a Spring Uniform (with Short-Sleeved Shirts) and it was based on the Calendar and not the Actual Weather.

You couldn’t change your Uniform at all. If you were in the Spring Uniform Time of year you couldn’t wear a Sweater or Vest even if it snowed and if you were in the Winter Uniform Time of year you couldn’t wear Short-Sleeves even if it was very hot.

From part of 5^th Grade to part of 9^th Grade I had no Uniforms, but there was a Clothes Hierarchy. At the top (ie the Best) were the clothes bought in-person from the United States. Then came the clothes bought by catalog and shipped from the US. In the middle were the clothes bought at the PX/BX. At the bottom were the clothes bought in German or other European Stores. Where you got your clothes also had an impact on your Parents’ Jobs and Promotion Chances (as was how you acted.)

From part of 9^th Grade to 12^th Grade there were no Uniforms again, but an even stricter Clothes Hierarchy than before. At the top were all the expensive name-brand clothes stores (Old Navy, Gap, Tommy Hilfiger, etc.)  If you wore a shirt from Tommy Hilfiger and pants from the Gap you were looked more down as someone who wore both a Tommy Hilfiger shirt and Tommy Hilfiger pants. At the bottom were those that wore clothes from K-Mart, Wal-Mart, etc.

Having gone to Schools with different Clothing Requirements I personally like the places where you have to wear a Generic Uniform. A Generic Uniform means the District decides the basic color of what the Students have to wear, but lets them decide on what they wear: Boys and Girls can wear shorts, pants, long-sleeved shirts, short-sleeved shirts, a sweater, etc. and can base their decision on the weather for that day. The only Requirement is wearing the right School Color.