Uniforms

A stranger in a tea shop once commented on the general cuteness of The Child's school uniform, then hastened to add that she considered uniforms "demeaning to the human spirit". I suppose she had a point. The military, for example, puts people in uniform precisely because the emphasis is on the unit, not the individual. And those connotations would certainly be offputting to someone who believe in unadulterated freedom to express who you are through every vehicle available.

But I like school uniforms for two basic reasons: they level the playing field between (economic) classes and they save a heck of a lot of time in the morning. When you're a kid it's a good thing to have your biggest daily fashion choice boil down to pants or skirt, cardigan or pullover. Besides, The Child has a particularly strong spirit and I haven't noticed it being at all dampered by the fact that she has to wear a uniform to school.

When you think of it, though, practically everyone wears a uniform- ball players, police and firefighters, nurses and doctors, the plumber who came today to tell me that I have to replace part of my sewer line, Harry Potter and all the kids at Hogwarts. Church choirs wear robes, priests wear albs, fashionistas wear Manalo Blahniks, business people wear suits. Uniforms are about order and discipline, sure. But they are also practical. And they serve to identify one's belonging to a particular group or community.

Even when it is not required, most of us have our own version of a uniform. It might be jeans and tee shirts. It might be denim jumpers. My neighbor always wears suits to work but she almost always also wears a scarf. This signiture statement is also part of her uniform (in that she actually wears scarves both for work and for the rest of her life). Can it in fact be argued that our "style" is our "uniform"? Discuss.

SAHMs have a kind of uniform, too. But when The Child was born I swore a solemn oath that I was not going to wear sweats for the next 18 years. My uniform consists of skirts and trousers. It doesn't matter if I'm baking, chauffering or sitting in a meeting, I feel comfortable and "put together". I have proven to myself that it is possible to look nice and still keep a clean house.

But still, today, I decided that my "uniform" does need a new component, one I anticipate wearing, with intention, at least one day a week (probably Mondays, if you're keeping track).

Here's the thing: on Monday I usually do the "big" housework of the week. What FLYlady calls the "Weekly Home Blessing". It only takes an hour but we're talking here about mopping and dusting and sweeping. I can and have done this in heels and a kicky Parisian style skirt but you know what? It can get a little precarious. I think my my fashion sense, in this one instance was getting in the way of more practical (sweaty, dirty) considerations. Knowing I wanted to get some of the more heavy lifting, if you will, done today, I put on a more casual outfit. And when I got down on my hands and knees to clean the baseboards in the bathroom I didn't have to worry that I was putting a hole in my fishnets. Which is not to say, again, that I will dress like this every day nor am I planning on tossing the fishnets. But today I'm styling my green kakhis, pink tennis shoes and new (birthday) "Team Aniston" tshirt. Practical and yet, adorable.