Same Uniform, Different Person, By Aatika Asad

Every morning, hundreds of students walk through the school gates wearing almost exactly the same thing. White shalwar, gray kameez, white dupatta, khaki trousers, blue shirt or the shiny blue games uniform. So, technically, we should all look the same, right?

Not quite.

A school uniform is designed to remove differences. It creates a sense of equality and makes it harder to judge someone simply by what they are wearing. But somehow, students still manage to make the same uniform look completely different.

One person has perfectly neat hair, while another somehow arrives looking like they fought with their pillow and lost. Someone has the newest pair of school shoes, while someone else is still trying to convince everyone that their slightly worn-out pair is “vintage.” There are different backpacks, water bottles, pencil cases, watches and hairstyles. Even the way someone wears their sash or drapes their hijab can become part of their identity.

Then there are the trends that nobody officially decided on. Somehow, one particular bag, hairstyle or water bottle becomes popular, and suddenly half the school has it. Remember the Stanley era? These trends aren't written in the school handbook, but students know exactly what is considered “in.”

And perhaps that's the interesting thing about uniforms. They can make us look similar without actually making us the same.

We are given the same basic outfit, but we bring our own personalities into it. The fashionista, the shy student, the athlete, the artist and the person who is permanently five minutes late - and yet never manages to polish their shoes - can all be standing in identical uniforms.

Maybe that's the real paradox of the school uniform: it gives everyone the same clothes, but it can't really rob their individual identity.