Friday Feature: #Repeats

A long time ago, one of my elementary school students asked my opinion on school uniforms. When she asked me if I thought students should have to wear them, I said, "Only if the teachers can wear them, too."

I wasn't kidding.

While it's perhaps true that I'd get bored of wearing the same thing to work every day, I still think the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. I'd still have evenings and weekends to perfect my style and try out new looks, but getting dressed for work would be so. much. simpler.

The older I get, the more I move in the direction of uniformity, wardrobe-wise. When I find a style I like, I buy multiples. I haven't done the math, but I'd estimate that at least 75% of my wardrobe is/contains black, white, khaki or red (and at probably 10% is jeans) which makes mixing and matching (and packing) relatively easy. In my downtime, if I'm not going anywhere, I live in jeans or leggings and a tee shirt, sweatshirt or long sweater, depending on the season.

Billionaire businessmen like Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg famously wore uniforms of their own, but, with the possible exception of Hillary Clinton's pantsuits, it's rare to hear of a woman doing the same thing. Consequently, I was fascinated to read this article about Arianna Huffington wearing the same outfit repeatedly -- on purpose -- to make a point.

Whether we dress up or dress down, wear colors or neutrals, shop online, offline or as little as possible, it should be because we want to, not because someone else is dictating it, directly or otherwise. And that's the point Huffington, who can afford to buy as many outfits as she wants to, is making.

I suspect that, years ago, the elementary school student who asked me about uniforms already understood that, which is her answer was different from mine.