Last night as I was taking an inventory of my closet, I spied a crazy pattern. Crazy because unusually for me, my closet is being slowly taken over by the color blue.
To understand why it's so crazy, you have to understand 15 years of trauma of the dreaded school uniform. Ours was worse than usual, the color being what I not-so-fondly termed as Detergent Blue. Detergent as in the color of all the detergents at the time - Surf, Rin, Robin blue. The primary school frock had the added attraction of being edged with the kind of lace you see on the elastic of cheap undies. Ladies, I'm sure you know what I mean. The school was quite anal about it too, no other lace was allowed.
In high school, the uniform changed to a pinafore (jumper) with tie and belt. In the ugly blue. I know you are thinking it doesnt sound half bad, but try imagining this outfit on a vertically challenged, festively plump, short-torsoed body. I've burned every school picture I could get my hands on and which my parents have not squirrelled away.
And the color used to fade quite spectacularly to a dull dish-water blue by the time the end of the year rolled around. So, you see my aversion to the color. It appears that it took another 15 years for the automatic 'no blue clothing' instinct to be wiped from my mind. And for me to be convinced there are other prettier shades of the color around. Recently, I even bought kurtis in various shades of the color, so the Indian wardrobe doesnt feel left out.
The outfit set below contains some of the clothes presently on my lust list. I own 3 of them already (can anyone guess which?) but the others will soon, soon, soon be mine!!!! Maybe not the colored tights. I love and am instantly attracted to them, but have yet to figure out how to work them into my outfits ....
To understand why it's so crazy, you have to understand 15 years of trauma of the dreaded school uniform. Ours was worse than usual, the color being what I not-so-fondly termed as Detergent Blue. Detergent as in the color of all the detergents at the time - Surf, Rin, Robin blue. The primary school frock had the added attraction of being edged with the kind of lace you see on the elastic of cheap undies. Ladies, I'm sure you know what I mean. The school was quite anal about it too, no other lace was allowed.
In high school, the uniform changed to a pinafore (jumper) with tie and belt. In the ugly blue. I know you are thinking it doesnt sound half bad, but try imagining this outfit on a vertically challenged, festively plump, short-torsoed body. I've burned every school picture I could get my hands on and which my parents have not squirrelled away.
And the color used to fade quite spectacularly to a dull dish-water blue by the time the end of the year rolled around. So, you see my aversion to the color. It appears that it took another 15 years for the automatic 'no blue clothing' instinct to be wiped from my mind. And for me to be convinced there are other prettier shades of the color around. Recently, I even bought kurtis in various shades of the color, so the Indian wardrobe doesnt feel left out.
The outfit set below contains some of the clothes presently on my lust list. I own 3 of them already (can anyone guess which?) but the others will soon, soon, soon be mine!!!! Maybe not the colored tights. I love and am instantly attracted to them, but have yet to figure out how to work them into my outfits ....
Similarly, this year my list for shoes contains another banned-due-to-school trend, shoes with buckles. For the longest time, I avoided them because they reminded me of the dreaded Bata black shoes (similar here) which were mandatory. However, this year I find myself hopelessly attracted to and browsing only the mary jane styles. The set below are some of the ones I've been tempted by. I finally sprung for the black and purple trim pair below, I do hope they will look as cute as I think they are, otherwise back to no-buckles for me. Sadface.
And if you thought the blue lusting was limited to clothes, take a peek at the lovelies below.
The last set also contains the blue t-straps, which in theory might have been my ideal shoe, combining my love for all things blue+leather with the mary jane style. Two things against them. They're sold out at the store and being sold for exorbitant prices on ebay, no way will I pay even half of what is being quoted. And they're a bit too cutesy, not really my style. I think. I have not tried them so I cannot make up my mind. Though can anything be too cute?
I just thought it was funny that my fashion choices have taken such a childhood spiral - maybe it proves the fashion cycles bit, but I wonder if it's a deeply buried subconscious anti-ageing instinct. Oh well, this blog is not known for deep introspection (actually it's not known at all :) so we wont go there.
Anyways, what were your school uniforms like? Hideous, cute or not worth remembering?
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16 comments:
my uniform was a boring grey! I think the girls had it better with their white shirts and frocks... the worst was the tie... totally unsuitable for indian weather and an unwanted addition to manage... but the color on the stripe was a nice touch. I was in Red house... Guess I was being groomed into a Ferrari fan even before I knew it :D
What house were u in? Ever held a position of power in school?
This Q goes for others who comment too...
Ah! from 1st-6th class I was in a convent and we had this smart skirt & blouse plus this very smart tie! In fact the tie was so good that some of my relatives had bought it through me to wear it to their work ;-)
But once I entered Kendriya Vidyalaya I was doomed! Salwar Kurta & red ribbons on hair was the uniform!! Errr! I still can not forget the hedious rule of 2 plaits to be tied only with a thick red synthetic ribbon..
As far as the dresses...Hmmm I think u will have the 2nd one in the 1st row & from the 2nd row 2nd & 4th...now tell how correct my guess is!!! :D
May you get those lovely footwear very soon & may you find a way to fit into those blue leggings ;-)
As far as I am concerned I can not think beyond pink hehehe :D
very interesting post CP! my school unif was a forgettable shade of brown skirt with pale brown-white checked blouse, with the school emblem in the blouse pocket! erm, if u won't think of hitting me, let me confess-I used to adore those blue/white pinafore uniforms, simply because I was crazy about pinafore then and also because as u said, I was bored with tmy uniform! Only because I loved all other things abt my school, I stuck the same. I love them buckled shoes.. mine was the black bata ballerina.. I loved wearing them with stockings..
as for bags-i almost always stick to brown/black/grey, rarely maroon.. and I kind of like shoes with buckles! they look stylish I feel.
as for the ones you may have from the simply superb selection-my guess is the middle and last one in the first row.. I like them the best! and the sleeveless top, maybe?
@eisi-have never held a position of power in school, always used to be in the neither popular, nor unpopular lot.. and I were in green house;)
EISI - I was red house too, though no Ferrari grooming was involved :D And I agree about the tie, such a useless piece of clothing for kids, though boys I sorta/kinda understand, why did the girls have to wear them too???? I did have various positions of 'power' (lol) through my school life, how about you?
Smita - I've seen the KV uniform, poor you! I agree the ribbons were awful, even we had the two plaits/tails rule but we had black/white ribbons ugh!! I wonder which fashion challenged person thought them up!! Show us your pink outfits sometime :)
Bubbles - I used to envy the skirt-blouse uniforms lol!! And stockings?? So cool!! We had to wear calf-length socks which could not be rolled in any interesting ways, but had to pulled tight. Right, you can see I hated every single bit of my uniform :)
Ladies, you got two of the clothes I have- the 3rd top in the first row and the 2nd dress in the lower row (I have in black and blue will be bought the day it goes on super-super sale). The last one is the doggy cardigan (1st in 1st row). Everyone seems to like the chevron stripes & roses sweater, I'm crazy for it but it has yet to arrive in stores :( Actually, it's a good thing, this way I can budget my spending :D
I find the tie to be more useful for girls whats ur reason for boys? :D [you know where i'm going with this, right?]
I didn't have any position of power... The only 'power' thing in school I mastered were the power naps I took in History class... They refreshed me for the English class that usually followed history. Although sleeping in history was very hard coz the history teacher's daughter was in my class and we all feared she probably would go home and tell her mom who was asleep :P
Let me guess.... were you the head girl?
PS: I did check the test papers for the English teacher, who was also the vice principal of the school. I idolized her and it helped me stay on top of my literature...
I had the same navy blue skirt and white shirt along with hideous tie.
After school, it took me ages to actually accept a skirt as a valid dress option.
On sports days (once a week), we had to wear white skirt+ shirt - even more traumatic option :D
I had the same navy blue skirt and white shirt along with hideous tie.
After school, it took me ages to actually accept a skirt as a valid dress option.
On sports days (once a week), we had to wear white skirt+ shirt - even more traumatic option :D
such a fun post :) and yay i was spot on : i really liked the 3rd top in the first row and thot that wud be yours
eisi : i was in the yellow house - daffodils once and i really liked that school but no position of power.
cp : you are good with the camera girl - and i love your shoes even though i only only wear flats.
Bubbles - Forgot to add, I have purses/bags only in the colors you listed too. Which is why I have been eying those bags for over a year without actually buying. Every time I think of pulling the trigger, I wonder what I will carry them with. Now, with the blues, theoretically they should match, but the fashion trend these days is to stay away from the 'match-much' syndrome. So, basically, I'm right where I started. Thanks for the endorsement of the buckled shoes :)
EISI - Nope not head girl. I held various 'minor' positions, and that's the extent of how specific I will get!! That was sweet of you, for offering to help your English teacher, no doubt she knew exactly what was in your head :P
Nishita - Welcome to my blog!!! Ogod, we had the white skirt/shirt combo too, though the kids I felt most sorry for were the blue house ones. I bet their color trauma is for life :) I know what you mean about wearing the uniform later, I have a hard time trying to accept the pinafore look, even though it's the rage out here. I tried once and looked so hopelessly child-like I wont try it again.
Yword - Thanks, the blog is really becoming almost exclusively book and fashion related :) Until I can think of new things to post about. The top looks so adorable and fits so well, that I was upset I didnt buy even the second color offered - a saturated orange-red. I generally dont buy multiples but was tempted this time only to find it was sold out grrr. Camera? Do you mean for the pics in the post? They're taken from the internet, I wish I really could take such lovely photos :(
nooo... u got it wrong... It was pure unadultrated adoration and just that. Perhaps an intellectual crush at most... nothing more than that... for everything else, we had the geography teacher whose dressing sense would make a perfect example of why girls were made to wear ties in school - she could give competition to Mallika Sherawat and is the reason why I cannot spot Hyderabad on the map... :D
My school uniform was a white shirt & navy blue shorts, and the girls had this white shirt & navy pinafore combo. Neither was remarkable, but I think the girls hated theirs. The boys just hated shorts, and could not wait until they went to Jr College so we could wear trousers (bell bottoms, anyone from the 70's). And to your point about coming full circle, there is nothing I would like more than being able to wear shorts to work, especially in summer.
EISI - Re. your teacher, I didnt get it wrong, that's exactly what I meant. And as for the tie, I was in an all girls school, so your scenario doesnt apply.
Samir - You should have been in academia. One of our profs wore shorts year round, even in winter with 2 feet of snow on the ground :)
Mine was detergent blue and grey combo....yuckkkk with a stripped belt in those colors...even yuckier....
and then it got worse....blue and white with red hair accessories.....ewwww...also now u might have guessed the school i went to...oh the joy!!
As for blue..its supposed to calm you down...so enjoy ur wardrobe :)..let the calming begin :)
Angel - Were you in school in Bangalore? I'm hopelessly underinformed about other cities. Anyway, a couple of schools with the same combo come to mind, but I'm thrown by the red hair accessories. I wonder why shades of blue are so popular as school uniforms. Maybe for the calming effect reason, though I'm pretty sure it never had the desired effect, in my school atleast :) I do hope it works for me now.
i'll resist the temptation to dvelve further into the conversation, but i'l say this.... being in a girl's school doesnt change anything...
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