My Take on Uniforms & Appearance Requirements

By the time this article is out, school would’ve started for a while now, and I want to take this opportunity to talk about my take on school’s appearance requirements for students, inspired by a stand-up competition show that was playing in China throughout the summer.

The show had so many great stand-up comedians talk about their experiences either back when they were still in high school or at the workplace, and there was this one lady who talked about her experience being a flight attendant. Her company had this rule of only allowing flight attendants to have 6 pins on their head, not matter their hair length or whatever, only 6 pins allowed. She once got randomly picked for a check and found using 7 and not only did she get points deducted from her behavior record, she also went into a meeting with all the executives. This sounds just like my school now if a students shows up with blue or pink hair. Obviously, the company’s rule is useless, and one more pin would not hurt anything for the company, and I think this is just like how my current school (like many schools in China and the world) would control their students.

Just for the background, I come from a school with no requirements whatsoever on students’ appearances. There was no uniform, and anyone could get any piercings, dye their hair any color, wear whatever makeup they want, get their nails done, and just be free about what they wear and show themselves as. Oh, and everyone could also bring their phones in secondary school. Sure, there were people with pink and green hair and nose rings and crop tops and shorts, but people knew that it is school and that the sky is not the limit to their freedom of choosing what to wear. People also had discipline and knew what was okay and what was not.

I am now at a school where there are lots of rules on student appearances along with uniforms. There are rules such as: no makeup, no dying non-natural hair colors (natural as in for other races? I don’t know what they are trying to do here), no getting your nails done, and no piercings (as in don’t wear anything that goes through the piercing). To me, those rules are really extra and useless, because if a student doesn’t want to learn, he or she won’t start to learn just because they don’t have crazy hair or piercings—this won’t motivate or “undistract” them. And, for students who want to learn and do their best at school, even if they wear makeup and want to make themselves look good for schools, I am 120% sure that they will manage their time properly and ensure that they do not get completely caught up in just their appearance. Because of this, school uniforms are only present for only one plausible reason—to make the school’s brand look more cohesive. Just like how uniforms were first establish at the Christ’s Hospital in London as a visible social marker, it was made to distinguish students at the institution from the wealthy and privileged, as it consisted of a long blue coat (ankle-length), yellow stockings, and a leather belt with blue fabric being chosen because it was a cheap and common dye at the time. So if uniforms are made to differentiate social classes, why are people thinking that it is going to solidify students’ perceptions of “we are all equal”? Schools make different uniforms for a reason—to differentiate. This differentiation is what will make students feel that they are different from others in society, which will only achieve the opposite of making students feel more inclusive and equal.

I also want to talk briefly about girls' uniforms here, as my school currently only allows girls to wear dresses, which I understand because school uniforms were first made for boys only and girls' uniforms were very rough at first before there were special designs made for girls. However, I don't think this is a reason to say that "this is why girls only have this one option" because its 2026, and I think that we should all acknowledge that not all girls feel safe and comfortable in a dress just because they are a girl, contrary to traditional belief. My school's brand is a boys' school in the UK, so I guess they are still not used to designing clothing appropriate for girls yet (FYI the pants they designed for boys at my school is also a little not-so-suitable for all boys).

I have debated about school uniforms with my head of school multiple times by now, and I would just like to say that I have nothing against the school itself, just its requirements on students’ appearances and uniform rules, which is a very minor part of education here, although it is a big cultural thing. My head of school said that according to his observation, students tend to do better when they are in uniforms as opposed to their own clothes, but that is only because they don’t usually wear their own clothes and when they finally have the freedom, they will obviously pay attention to it and cherish it more than usual.

My main “arguments” on this I guess, is that in society, everyone wears different clothes and some people will obvious have more expensive outfits than others, but we have to acknowledge that and know that that is how is the world works but that doesn’t change ourselves and who we are. This is a mindset that we need to start developing at school. Some people also say that this will result in us always thinking about what to wear for school in the morning, but all I have to say is that if you really care what you wear, you can plan your outfits beforehand or do what I did back at my previous school—wear the same outfit everyday for the entire season (only in Fall and Winter when I am sweating everyday obviously).

Many jobs do have uniforms, but that is only for a practical reason. For example, flight attendants and security guards need to wear special uniforms for people to notice them in the crowd and in case of an emergency, they would also need to have short hair or their hair in a bun to ensure convenience in their movement. Office jobs usually only have a dress code, like formal, business casual, or casual. Learning to dress to a dress code is an important skill in life, and learning to do that in school is an effective first step as mistakes are allowed and tolerated here, but not in the workforce!

Oh and also, I don’t really get why Sixth Form students get special privilege for being older such as taking the elevator, having their hair done, getting their nails done, buying stuff from the café, etc. This makes them seem superior to the rest of secondary school and makes the rest of secondary school like they are still kindergarteners who don’t know how to make good decisions. Okay, I guess this logic does make sense in a way as in back at my previous school elementary schoolers can’t bring their own phones and secondary school students can. However, that is a different phase—we are talking about the same phase here, and this is essentially creating a whole different social status at school. Oh, and they wear a different uniform to differentiate themselves, I don’t know why, but it seems pretty extra.

Let me know in the comments what you think about uniforms!