The Code of Fashion

          Fashion is a mystery to me. A certain style of clothing will become popular then unpopular then resurface five years later. I just don’t understand why people have the need to wear what their favorite actress wears. High school clothing seems to be the most confusing of all. What you wear can show your social status but sometimes it doesn’t. Not to mention it seems silly to wake up early just to agonize over what will make you look cool or cute. Don’t even think about getting me started on make-up. I think the Japanese have made things a whole lot easier by just having almost all students wear uniforms. For elementary school, it depends on the area if they have uniforms or not. However, in Middle and High School, all students generally wear uniforms.

            Each Japanese school has a different uniform so the students can tell just by looking who is from what school. As with any uniform there is a dress code. For girls, the skirt must be a certain length and no accessories whatsoever. There are all kinds of different rules when it comes to a girls’ hair. A school may decide that all girls’ hair must be down or up in a ponytail or bun. Some schools won’t allow a girl to perm her hair and others have a certain length it must be. For boys they usually wear ties, buttoned up shirts, and their pants must be at an appropriate spot on their waist. Disobedient boys and girls will unbutton a couple buttons on their shirts or girls will shorten their skirts a few centimeters (since that’s what they measure in and not inches). Usually, if any student found with a tattoo, piercing, dyed hair will, maybe, get a warning and then expulsion. Of course all of this depends on the school; they’re all different in one way or another.

            An interesting fact is that some schools have their emblems or signs on the buttons of the boys’ uniforms. If a boy perhaps wants to confess to a girl, he might give her his second button from the top. This certain button is closest to the heart and signifies romantic importance. When a boy gives his button it’s the last day of the term. Sometimes a boy will just give his button to a girl who asks for it and he’s somewhat interested in her, though that doesn’t generally happen. This practice was made popular by a certain intense moment in a Japanese novel.

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Types of boys' uniforms

Types of girls' uniforms