When I was at school I hated wearing a uniform. I thought they were ugly and uncomfortable and repressive and totally vile. I resented wearing the same thing every day and couldn't wait to get out of it. But, somewhere along the line since leaving school I seem to have devised my own uniform. It is, mostly, denim skirts.
Summer uniform is denim skirt, block coloured t-shirt, colourful flat sandals or wooden clogs, small earrings. Sometimes t-shirt is striped. Sometimes I wear a dress, usually made by me, usually in same colours (denim, black, navy, red).
Winter uniform is denim skirt, jumper (block coloured or striped. Sometimes spots, to be daring), scarf (stripes, spots, geometric pattern). Worn with either opaque tights and boots, or leggings and ballet flats. Small earrings. Ditto occasional dress, which is also worn with the same boots / tights / leggings / scarf.
The advantage of the uniform is that it makes getting dressed quick and everything goes with everything else. I usually have a fairly small number of clothes, which I wear on high rotation until they wear out, and then replace them. The disadvantage is that it feels a bit predictable, and since I also dress the children in denim and stripes we look like a bad 80s family portrait when we all go out in coordinating clothes.
The denim skirts I have made myself are definitely the most-worn things that I have sewn. There's the tulip skirt, the slanted pocket skirt (much more faded now than in the original post!), and this pleated-front skirt that I made in December but haven't posted here yet (Simplicity 2451, made up in nice cotton/linen denim from Tessuti).
What they all have in common (apart from being denim skirts) is that they have quite high waists or waist details, so I need to tuck my tops in to them. This works fine in summer, but in winter I tend to wear looser jumpers, and so I need something more fitted on the bottom to balance out a voluminous top. I was planning to get some jeans, but the skinny jeans that are everywhere at the moment (interesting Guardian article here on how the skinny jean trend refuses to die) don't suit my figure, so I've downloaded the Grainline Moss pattern and bought some nice dark Japanese denim from Tessuti. Hopefully there will be a new denim skirt coming soon to pad out my winter uniform wardrobe.
How about you? Do you have a uniform?
