Service and work uniforms
Workers sometimes wear uniforms or corporate clothing of one nature or another. Workers required to wear a uniform include retailer workers, bank and post office workers, public security and health care workers, blue collar employees, personal trainers in health clubs, instructors in summer camps, lifeguards, janitors, public transit employees, towing and truck drivers, airline employees and holiday operators, and bar, restaurant and hotel employees. The use of uniforms by these organizations is often an effort in branding and developing a standard corporate image but also has important effects on the employees required to wear the uniform.The first service uniform registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office was the Playboy Bunny outfit (U.S. trademark number 762,884). However the term 'uniform' is misleading because employees are not always fully uniform in appearance and may not always wear attire provided by the organization, while still representing the organization in their attire. Academic work on organizational dress by Rafaeli & Pratt (1993) referred to uniformity (homogeneity) of dress as one dimension, and conspicuousness as a second. Employees all wearing black, for example, may appear conspicuous and thus represent the organization even though their attire is uniform only in the color of their appearance not in its features. Pratt & Rafaeli, (1997)described struggles between employees and management about organizational dress as struggles about deeper meanings and identities that dress represents. And Pratt & Rafaeli (2001) described dress as one of the larger set of symbols and artifacts in organizations which coalesce into a communication grammar.
Schools
Uniforms are required in many schools. School uniforms vary from a standard issue T-shirt to rigorous requirements for many items of formal wear at private schools. School uniforms are in place in many public schools as well.
Countries with mandatory school uniforms include Japan, India, Australia, some schools in China, and the United Kingdom, among as many other places. In some countries, uniform types vary from school to school, but in the United Kingdom, many pupils between 11 and 16 of age wear a formal jacket, tie and trousers for boys and blouse, tie and trousers, skirt, or culottes for girls. The ties will usually be in a set pattern for the school, and jackets will usually carry a patch on the breast pocket with the school's name, coat of arms, and motto or emblem. Jackets are being replaced in many schools by sweatshirts bearing the school badge. Children in many United Kingdom state primary schools will have a uniform jumper and/or polo shirt with the school name and logo.
Sports
Most, if not all, professional sports teams also wear uniforms, made in the team's distinctive colors, often in different variations for "home" and "away" games. In the United Kingdom, especially in soccer, the terms "kit" or "strip" (as in 'football kit') are more common.
Security and armed forces
Military personnel or civilian officials generally wear several kinds of uniforms:
· Battle dress, khakis;
· Dress uniform: worn at ceremonies, official receptions, and other special occasions; medals are typically worn.
· everyday work uniform, often with abbreviated forms of embellishment (such as using duller buttons or replacing medals with ribbon bars);
Civilian officials
From about 1800 to after the Second World War, diplomats from most countries (and often senior civilian officials generally) wore official uniforms at public occasions. Such uniforms are now retained by only a few diplomatic services, and are seldom worn.
Domestic workers
Domestic workers are often required by their employers to wear a uniform.
