At Rambling Ranch, today is
Sunday - May 20, 2012

The Merits of a
Uniform Dress Code

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Here in Collin County, most schools have a dress code for students. Some schools, especially the private ones, have gone further and require student uniforms. I feel there’s merit in that policy because it can set a precedent for adults. Why not make a rule that everyone must wear uniforms?

Even without a rule, I would wear a uniform voluntarily – if it weren’t for my wife, who sets the rules in our house. She possesses fashion sense and attempts to instill it in me. I’m still struggling with the finer points of fashion finesse but I believe I have a grasp on two fundamental principles. If I understand them correctly, these two principles consist of wearing something different every day and going to some trouble to arrange that those items in which a person is clad match one another in color.

Although I don’t understand the necessity for a daily variation of attire, I do embrace the philosophy of matched garments. Perhaps my wife and I could reach a compromise. If she will strike the provision for daily variety in clothing ware, I will concede the principle of matching adornment, a principle consistent with what I already advocate: uniforms for everyone.

Dress wise, things were simpler when I was in the Army. That was because the Army required uniforms of everyone. In the morning, I didn’t have to expend time trying to decide what to wear or how to color coordinate my attire. Because the Army dictated the uniform of the day, I needn’t bother to select something myself. And since the uniform of the day didn’t vary that much from one day to another, I could reach into the closet, feel around for a shirt, feel around for a pair of pants, and when I pulled them out, I could be pretty sure that I had the proper attire and that the colors wouldn’t clash.

But lest someone thinks the Army is too authoritarian in regard to color coordination, let me hasten to add that it isn’t absolutely rigid in regard to color. In addition to traditional olive drab, the Army also offers uniforms in a khaki color and in an attractive camouflage pattern. But, as a general rule when you’re in the Army, selecting something to wear doesn’t involve a lot of head scratching. If the social highlight of your day is crawling in mud, under barbed wire, and with live machine guns firing over your head, you’re likely not too concerned with making a fashion statement. Furthermore, you aren’t likely to agonize over what to wear when your fashion accessories are a rifle and an entrenching tool.

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