I have attended so many different schools with such varied uniform policies; I am probably one of a select few with personal experience of both sides of the argument.
I attended, in total, eighteen schools during the course of my education, due to my parents' habit of moving every few months.
Someone once asked me if my parents were criminals on the run from the law, to have moved so often, but in fact my father was one who always took the opportunities offered him and as a result my brother and I led a somewhat gypsy like existence for the better part of our early childhood.
The problem always is, I think, a question of extremes.
Either schools opt for a ridiculously rigid code and a complicated combination of colors and badges, or they decide not to have any uniform whatever, leading to outrageous dress code violations, especially amongst young girls.
I attended two different boarding schools as a child and both had strict uniform codes.
Our Sunday dress at the first, English school, was green scratchy woolen material shaped into a dress with long sleeves, and starched detachable collar and cuffs which had to be as stiff as plastic.
White gloves were to be worn at all times and a straw boater, completely the wrong shape for any human head and which left red wheals on the forehead, with green ribbons hanging down the back.
We all looked like slightly demented Morris Dancers.
The second school I attended as a boarder was in New Zealand and they had adopted a kilt for winter wear, a tribute to the ethnic origins of the headmistress.
You could choose from either MacGregor or Campbell tartan.
This was combined with a royal blue shirt, a blazer in a different shade of blue, a hat in yet another shade of blue and an overcoat in guess what, another shade of blue.
Summer wear was blue and white striped dresses, thankfully without boaters.
Later on I attended a school which had no uniform code.
I felt a bit lost, trying to compete with girls who had extensive wardrobes (of course, they had not spent the last four years in boarding school without the requirement for trendy outfits) and wishing myself back in my uniform.
I eventually grasped the idea that it did not matter what you wore as long as it was too short, too long, or accompanied by one inch thick make up.
The very best uniform idea I ever saw was a school who decreed that uniform would be grey on the bottom and white on the top, any style or shape, with accompanying grey sweater or sweatshirt, and in the summer a striped dress of designated material, also any style or shape.
That way, people who were too thin or too fat could choose something which flattered their particular shape.