Fashionable Eye for the blind guy... & gal

Covergirl Kara in a warm white jacket and fur hat.

Winter 2009

School Uniforms. An Exposé (part 2).

These pics were held back for Part II, Stephanie, Dawson and Allison posing at Sydney's Hyde park, Do you agree? We look younger! Well...by at least 3 months? Yes/No?

I know you have all been waiting in eager anticipation for the past 3 months for part II! So here it is! Dawson Ko's School Uniform Exposé!(If part II makes no sense, please refresh your mind with Autumn's edition).

Terry, a Cheltenham Girls alumnus says: "The uniform was already too disastrous to ever make it to look good, but actually, I became quite fond of it during my senior years! *smile*. I thought our winter uniform was absolutely great - it was a sky blue long-sleeved shirt with a maroon-coloured tunic dress which was worn with a tie and sky blue socks - I thought that was hot! *smile*. And of course, I also made the dress a shorter, sexier length", she laughs.

Well, to finish, we quote an extract of what the President of the Federation of Parents and Citizens Association of NSW said. She believes that uniforms "should be comfortable, kids should be warm when it's cold and cool if they're hot". With this, we turn to Kelly's account.

Kelly, an MLC alumnus recalls: "The MLC senior girls' uniform was a sky blue short-sleeved shirt with a navy blue and faint white pinstriped skirt. The skirt was supposed to come below the knee, however in typical private girls' school style, everyone wore it just above the knee (if not half way up the thigh!...) You could either wear this with knee-high navy blue socks, or with navy or black stockings. Most girls wore it with knee-high socks, unless very very cold, in which case I would layer on 2 pairs of stockings. Hmmm....we also had to wear a navy blue straw school hat when outside school which was very 'private school style' but most girls disliked wearing it, as it would mess up well-put-together hairdo's. Black shoes were compulsory and usually a navy bag of sorts. A school bag was preferable, however hardly employed by any of the students.

As for me, I hardly added or did anything to my school uniform. In winter when it was cold, I'd put a long-sleeved white or black tight T-shirt underneath which would then show under my short-sleeved school shirt. I don't think that was allowed, but in year 12, you get away with a lot more. When it was very very cold, I'd wear my school jersey on top of my uniform and put my blazer on top, haha. These things were mainly done for practical reasons, rather than to make any fashion statements. Oooo...hahaha, I used to roll the sleeves up on my shirt in Summer, but most people do that. I'm not sure what that was supposed to achieve. Some act of rebellion I guess".

Reliving the High School days, sun! Food! Friends! Goodtimes! (you can so tell that this pic was taken in warmer days!)

So it seems like Kelly's "acts of rebellion" were not really attempts to rail against authority but in reality, were simply a practical reaction in a situation where there were expensive school uniforms which may have looked good, but were not practical against the elements, and did not "keep kids warm when it's cold and cool when it's hot". So, we must ask ourselves, do these school uniforms really serve their main purpose?

And Kelly, Kelly, Kelly we collectively shake our heads at you - here's what she told me: "Our school was fairly strict on uniform though, so it was hard to get away with much more. As school prefects, we had to stand outside the school gates every morning and afternoon to make sure girls were wearing the correct uniform, including having their top button done up, hat on, socks pulled up, etc, no excess makeup or jewellery. So MLC was a tough school if you wanted to lash out and wear something extravagant".

Oh, we all remember those power-tripping prefects who pulled us up for every uniform violation, don't we? But my anger isn't justified, sorry about that Kelly, I think I still have that chip on my shoulder because I was never elected prefect... just wasn't popular enough. Hang on! That isn't true! I dropped out of school at year 11! haha.

Anyway, this marks the end of our school uniform exposé. Dare I say that millions of dollars are spent yearly by parents on school uniforms, so that we can at least look like the good diligent boys and girls our parents want us to represent. However, within each neatly-aligned tartan tunic and pressed white shirt, lay an individual who was waiting to break free from sterile uniformity....and what we have found and discussed in this article reflect just how feeble those attempts were!

Dawson Ko.

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A typical day at the office for Fashionable Eye! Not bad hey?!

End Credits

11 seasons! Can you believe it? We've done this for 11 whole seasons!!!

Like always, I'd like to take this time out to thank all the contributors to Fashionable Eye Winter 2009.

First of all, I'd like to thank Sang our web administrator, he is undoubtedly the hardest working Fashionable Eye contributor by far! And we thank him for uploading all our articles, pics and graphics not only for Fashionable Eye, but also for Global and Lifestyle. thanks heaps mate!

Secondly, to thank the behind the scenes contributors. Karen and Virginia for sub-editing all our work! And for the team of photographers who stood behind the cameras to capture our poses. Your work is not visible to the public, nevertheless your part to play is equally vital! Without you our articles wouldn't be refined, and without photographers, the models wont be models, but a few people just standing around smiling.

Next I'd like to thank the team of writers who took the time out from their busy lives to write and provide their pics. They have done an outstanding job, and I'm always surprised and blown away by the level of professionalism in which they conduct their work. So a huge thanks to Stephanie, Erin, Kara, Tina, Melinda and Mike. Thanks heaps guys!

And lastly, thank you to the models! Thanks Pamela and Craig for providing your glamorous shots for us. Thanks Frances for your first time pics! And thanks to Kara, for providing us your Aspen pics at short notice!

But I reserve a huge thanks to you the reader! Thanks so much for taking the time-out to read our articles, view our pics and telling your friends about our mag (which you will *smile*). Thanks so much! You the reader is why we do what we do, and we thank you for motivating us to keep providing you this FREE service.

Until next season, keep well, keep warm, and we look forward to meeting again in Spring!

Dawson Ko.
Fashionable Eye for the Blind Guy... & Gal.