Uniform
A
uniform is a set of standard
clothing worn by members of an organisation whilst participating in that organisation's activity.
People performing religious activities have often worn standard costumes since the dawn of recorded history. Other early examples of uniforms include the clothing of the armies of the
Roman Empire and other civilizations.
Modern uniforms are worn by
armed forces and paramilitary organisations such as
police, emergency services,
security guards, in some workplaces and
schools and by inmates in
prisons. In some countries, some other officials also wear uniforms in some of their duties; such is the case of the
Commissioned Corps of the
United States Public Health Service or the
French prefects.
Workers sometimes wear uniforms or corporate clothing of one nature or another, including but not limited to
shop workers,
bank and
post office workers,
airline employees and holiday operators, and
bar,
restaurant and
hotel employees. The use of uniforms by these organisations is often an effort in
branding and developing a standard
corporate image. The first
service uniform registered with the
United States Patent and Trademark Office was the
Playboy Bunny outfit (U.S. patent number 762,884).
Across the world uniforms are worn in schools. School uniform varies from a standard issue T-shirt to rigorous requirements for many items of formal wear at private schools.
Countries with school uniforms mandated include
India,
Korea and the UK, as well as many other places. In some countries uniform types vary a lot from school to school, but in the UK most pupils under the age of 16 wear a formal jacket, tie and trousers for boys and similarly smart clothes for girls.
Most, if not all,
professional sports teams also wear uniforms, comprised of the team's distinctive colors, often in different variations for "home" and "away" games. In the
United Kingdom, especially in
football, the terms "kit" or "strip" (as in '
football kit') are more common.
In the case of uniforms worn by military personnel or civilian officials, there are generally several kinds of uniforms:
*
battledress, khakis;
* everyday work uniform, where earned
medals are typically replaced by
ribbon bars;
*
dress uniform: worn at ceremonies, official receptions, and other special occasions; medals are typically worn.
See the article
Prison Uniform.
Domestic workers are often required by their
employers to wear a uniform.
The Scout uniform is a specific characteristic of the
Scouting movement, in the words of
Lord Baden-Powell at the 1938 World Jamboree, "it covers the differences of country and race and make all feel that they are members one with another of one World Brotherhood". The original uniform, which has created a familiar image in the public eye, consisted of a khaki button-up
shirt, shorts and a broad-brimmed "Smokey Bear" hat. Baden-Powell himself wore shorts as being dressed like the youth contributed to reducing distances between the adult and the young person. Nowadays, uniforms are frequently blue, orange, red or green, and shorts are replaced by long pants in areas where the culture calls for modesty, and in winter weather.
*
political uniform*
dress code*
Uniform and insignia of the Boy Scouts of America
