As a private Catholic school attendee for the last 13 years, I have always worn a uniform to school.As many of us uniform wearers do, I constantly pushed the boundaries of the dress code and celebrated every non-uniform day awarded throughout the school year. In high school, I would have given anything to have the chance to ditch my pleated skirt and school crest-adorned polos for "regular clothes." Now, in my first weeks of college, where I have to pick out a different outfit everyday, I have been forced to face the reality that I don't know how to dress myself. My limited deviations from the normal uniformed look enforced by school have crippled my fashion sense and overall wardrobe choices.
On behalf of the many throngs of students hailing from Catholic schools, I need to address several concerns and questions of the formerly uniformed. First, how do you match colors that aren't your school colors? I can throw together innumerable combinations of white, navy blue, and light blue, but throw in any other hues and I'm lost. I'm not sure how so many people seem to constantly look put together while I continually find myself just resorting to wearing a dress to avoid the problem of matching tops and bottoms altogether. Second, are blazers socially acceptable to wear in everyday life? Am I allowed to wear the aforementioned blazer on a non-mass day? Third, is it really true that if I wear leggings to class, I won't get sent back to the dorms to change? Now I realize this may seem silly to non-uniform wearers, but some part of me can't shake the eerie feeling that some authority figure will apprehend me, scold me, and insist that I change my attire. My final and most important question, is rolling your skirt "still a thing" even if it isn't a knee-length khaki skirt? Follow up question: Which faculty member is in charge of insuring our skirts are regulation length and will proper length be measured by yard stick, the finger tip test, or forcing us to kneel down and have our skirts brush the floor?
Among the questions I stated above, some other issues still concern me with this whole dressing myself business. What did I do with all my free time when it didn't take me 20 minutes just to figure out what clothes to wear in the morning? As my roommate will tell you, it takes at least three different outfit switches to get me out the door. While I enjoy the variety, I never knew how much effort went into choosing your own clothes each day.
In the future, possibly a course or at least style guide can be offered for those of us still getting used to this whole non-uniform-day everyday thing. For my other former-uniformed cohorts struggling with their new fashion freedom, you are not alone. Remember that when in doubt, black goes with everything, a big baggie sweatshirt or t-shirt is always acceptable, and no one really cares what you wear to class anymore so you do you.
