What's the Deal with School Uniforms?

It’s time for back to school shopping in my neck of the woods--only 19 days until school starts! When I was growing up, back to school was when we bought new clothes. Even though it was 100 degrees outside, I’d want to wear my newest clothes, most of which were meant for the dead of winter (Long-sleeved rugby shirts and thick, new jeans, just the ticket for the dog days of summer.) Do you remember the stress of trying to decide what the most perfect first day outfit would be? No? Just me?I’ve so far avoided the crush of new clothes tied to a new school year. You can chalk it up to my two oldest being boys, but they don’t really know that going back to school means a new wardrobe. And you aren’t allowed to tell them, deal?

Part of me wishes we attended a school with uniforms. How simple to wear a set combination of clothes every day without having to think about what they’ll wear. I didn’t have uniforms during my school years. Is it really easier like I dream it would be? Would I need to be organized enough to make sure the kids always had a pair of clean khakis with a navy shirt? One of my neighbors (with five daughters. FIVE) laments the lack of uniforms because she feels like she’s sending off fashion show participants instead of arithmetic students. She thinks that many of the social cliques would disappear with uniform adoption. I’m not so sure.

In any case, tell us what you think about school uniforms: Are you into them? Think they’re borderline fascist? Had uniforms and they changed nothing about the school experience?