Free Dress

Should I wear black pants with a red shirt today?  Or maybe the white shirt with khakis.  This decision was made everyday while I went to Seoul Foreign School in South Korea.  It did not matter if I was a boy or girl; I was wearing a combination of either black or khaki pants, with a red or white polo shirt.  I am sure Deborah Tannen could agree that this uniform seems "unmarked" for both genders.    After a while, this uniform got extremely boring.  In addition to the fact that it was wildly uncomfortable for middle and elementary schoolers to wear all day.  Recognizing that fact, the administration would often offer up “free dress days” as a way to reward and motivate the students.  A “free dress day” is exactly what it sounds like.  A day where students can wear whatever they like for that day as long as it is within a standard dress code.  So, did your class raise the most money?  Free dress day!  Standardized test day?  Free dress day!  Students celebrated these days and valued them very highly.  They could not only wear comfortable clothes on these days but they could also express themselves through what they wore.  They could “mark” themselves if they wanted.  Contrary to Tannen’s claim, that it is bad that clothing marks people.  There is a desire to dress the way that you want and to express yourself.