Exploring: School Uniforms!


Every country has their own individual style of uniforms. Although I've only ever lived in England, watching dramas from different countries has made me notice the many different styles. Japan have their sailor uniforms that make them so famous after all. Although these are obviously not the realistic picture of what students wear in different countries, I thought it would be fun to look at some uniforms from different countries film and drama. Comparing the similarities and differences and picking some favourites!

KOREA
Because the header features the famous Korean drama - Boys Over Flowers - it makes sense to address the Koreans first! Here's Playful Kiss. Both Boys Over Flowers and Playful Kiss star SS501's Kim Hyun Joong.
Both uniforms are formal, basic and in my opinion~ very western inspired. They give off a "private school" feel to them. Particularly with the blazers. Playful Kiss' brown elements to their uniform make it more relaxed than BOF's...however, Boys Over Flowers is set in Korea's "top school"...so of course they'd make these look exclusive!
You can easily purchase replica uniforms both in stores and online, and I actually have a JanDi blazer! I personally really like both of these uniforms, the only thing I'd change perhaps is the shirts in Playful Kiss!

JAPAN
Sticking in Asia, but crossing over to Japan quickly! This is the Japanese drama RH Plus. Featuring typical Japanese style uniforms. Tartan everywhere. Knee high socks. Ribbon bow ties. Most Japanese dramas feature a pretty typical style of uniform. More playful than the Korean counterparts, they actually don't sport the sailor-fuku look as much as media plays out (or at least in my experience). As you can see here, the accent piece is the blazer - which is slightly over sized. Personally, I don't like the male uniforms as much in this drama - tartan trousers anyone? - but the girls one makes up for it.
Japanese style uniforms are everywhere. But I bought mine on Bodyline and Candy Sugar. I've got a full "nanchatte seifuku".

BRITAIN
Obviously, I can't leave out the British uniforms. The most famous really being Harry Potter - come on, I can't really deny it can I?
As crazy as Harry Potter seems, the uniforms are pretty close to what we actually wear. Loose the hat and the cloak and you've got it honestly. British uniforms vary from polo shirts to shirts and ties. That's about it. They're pretty basic. Nothing much to them. Usually sporting black/dark grey trousers as opposed to tartan ones like Japan - there are a couple exceptions.
Britain probably isn't far off the Korean look, except British uniforms have a more relaxed feel to them!
I own 3 full British uniforms...obviously... xD (one for each school I attended) I currently don't wear a uniform, but you can easily construct your own one! All that's needed is black trousers, white shirt and a striped tie. Simple!

TAIWAN
This is slightly unfair, I will admit. I'm basing my views of Taiwanese school uniforms on one school drama. Hana Kimi was the first drama I watched... and this uniform....
It's very grey isn't it? That's about all I feel. Notice the emblem on the actual shirts this time and the almost matching trouser x tie combination. This has a much lighter feel in comparison to the other 3 countries!

AMERICA
America have a slightly different take on the whole uniform scene. In case you weren't aware, Americans don't tend to wear uniforms~ unless you're at a private school that is! This one is from Glee. I only watched a couple of episodes of Glee for Darren Criss and these uniforms. I love them. They have almost the same feel as the Korean Boys Over Flower's one, but they're slightly more colourful.
They seem to have taken their inspiration from the perception of British school uniforms. Why? Because Americans think Britain is posh. Posh school uniform? Needs to have a British style! Anyway, I love this uniform. I like the fit and I like the colour scheme.

If there's any other country you'd like me to look at then please feel free to let me know! These were literally just the first shows and countries that popped into my head~ although please don't give me a list of hundreds of Japanese shows etc. I'll only do one per country! Just so it's fair ^^
Have a great day everyone!