Aliena, Julie, Camille and Necy
SM MOA, 2010
One of the things that you and I cannot escape from is the school uniform. Every high school in this country sets rules and regulations regarding how students will be wearing this piece of clothing. In private schools, students are required; in public schools, the uniform is optional. Lucky for us, the parents in our school buy for their children. So every assembly time, everybody wears the same thing.
This is Chelsea, Din Din, Julie and me during last school year's Nihongo Quiz Bee. Notice that our uniform uses three colors: white, blue and maroon. The necktie features the school's logo and a year level bar. Take a look at the shoes. Our mayor gave the children even the shoes that they have to wear. Now that's what I really call uniform.
Now this is how the Japanese look like when they're wearing their uniform. Mark here is wearing an all-black winter uniform for boys. Jaymie is wearing the girls' summer attire, and the bag on her hand is an authentic Japanese high school girl's bag. Hanami Sensei wears a Japanese college uniform-inspired attire. So cute!
Let's take a closer look at the clothes:
The material for this cloth is really thick. It's really good for wintery school days.
Look at the details of the buttons!
In contrast, the material for this is very light.
Check out the folds in the skirt. Maybe I can ask my tailor to make me one like this.
The waistline is adjustable through this belt.
Here are more images from the internet:
This picture by Masami.H.M for Wikipedia shows a Japanese girl's winter uniform.
Students from Tokyo wear sailor fuku with white shoes. Photo taken from Wikipedia
Sometimes Japanese high school students pair up their uniforms with long black socks or stockings.
Photo from 1-designer clothing
This variation of the uniform shows a big bow tie in red / maroon.
How adorable! Check out the sailor-inspired uniform of these kids!
If only I have legs as beautiful as theirs ;-)
Japanese girls wear short skirts even in winter time. They just need a scarf to keep them warm.
Photo taken from 1-designer
I don't know how this girl takes the cold out there, but as for me, I surely won't walk in the snow in those short skirts! Photo taken from Wikipedia
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Sometimes I wish we have the flexibility of having two sets of uniforms like the Japanese. いい な！
Here are some uniform-related trivia for you:
According to 1-designer, the Japanese wear brightly-colored hats for their protection, especially when crossing very busy streets. The bright colors ensure that they are seen even from afar.
Since there are hardly any utility workers in Japan and since students themselves maintain the cleanliness of their classrooms, they use the uwabaki. According to this article from Wikipedia, the uwabaki is a type of Japanese slippers worn indoors at home, school or certain companies and public buildings where street shoes are prohibited. It's very much like our own foot socks. If you're from a public school, you know what I mean. Traditionally, Japanese people dislike wearing the same shoes indoors that they wear on the street, so they take off their shoes when they enter the genkan or entrance hall and put on footwear designated for indoors use.At the entrance of every school, from preschool to college, there is an assigned locker for each student to put his or her uwabaki.
Remember my post about Japanese school bags? I'd love to own one of these randoseru from Heiwa Elementary School as shared in Wikipedia.
Well, that's all for now. I'm ending this post with a wallpaper showing an anime character in a Japanese uniform which I got from wallcoo.com
バイバイ！！！！！
