AIBU to think the new sixth form outfit looks like something from "The Handmaid'sTale"

Cross-post!

Yes sorry just checked and added a comment to that effect!

Badminton sixth formers wear their own clothes with a tweed blazer.

Actually I’ve just checked - the girls private schools in Bristol are redmaids and badminton, and neither have uniforms for sixth form. Badminton has own clothes worn with a specific tweed jacket, and redmaids has “smart business attire”. Both allow trousers.

So @joanjett I think you’ve been misinformed?

Yes, but that's a well known part of the ethos! My DH went there, and still likes wearing breeches (don't ask).

You’re definitely allowed to name the school. But in Bristol presumably it’s Badminton?

Because some people don't like wearing trousers and don't find them more practical. To be honest, I feel sorry for the boys who are bound by society's conventions to wear trousers.

It would be helpful if OP could come back and confirm this because if it's the school I think it is then she is mistaken.

True - I had a step through bike.
Doesn't alter the fact that you can't cycle at all in a short skirt.

Ooh Maxi skirts coming back? I remember the fad in the late 60's/early '70's.

I do too. But this material looks heavy to me.
I have found it interesting so many are in favour, while I - from a modesty culture- am not!

Well, the fact that there's no trouser option is unacceptable.

Otherwise, I think if you're going to have a skirt option then a non-wrap-around, mid calf option in a mid to light-weight fabric is the most practical.

This is very similar to the uniform for years 7-11 at Cranbrook School in Kent. But girls wear business clothes in the 6th Form.

My DD’s school introduced culottes as part of their uniform. They look really smart and can’t be rolled up too far. DD says she wasn’t too sure at first but likes them now.

I was talking to a friend the other day about uniforms like this. When I was younger I thought they looked hideous but now im older I think they're all great looking!!
The girls look so confident and theres no rolling them up or worrying about ladders in tights, less focus on shoes to an extent too.

This is just not true so long as the weight is not too heavy. I wear long skirts on the tube and in the heatwave and manage just fine.

I love a long skirt and while yes, they are a bit impractical, it is perfectly possible to hitch them up to walk up stairs and get on buses in them. Cycling in something long and heavy would be tricky though - I can cycle in a long floaty skirt as you just tuck it in your chub rub shorts/knickers, but that heavy material looks too thick to get out of the way.

So long as trousers are an option as well, this is fine as an alternative. It does look a bit odd with the blazer, certainly not fashionable, but I prefer it to seeing all the girls' bum cheeks as you get when you walk past a school at the moment. (And I say that as someone who absolutely rolled her skirt in school, but there are limits!)

I really dislike the trend for 'business wear' in 6th forms nowadays. No-one wears suits to the office, it's likely the most formally dressed most of the students will ever be and feels like control for the sake of it. What's wrong with black trousers and a polo shirt/sweatshirt in the school colour, for goodness sake.

I remember this. I used to wear a skirt almost trailing the ground and vaguely recall their being some elf and safety concerns from the school about the length and asked us to wear them a bit shorter!

We have that length skirt - state school - girls can also wear trousers but I’d estimate a good 95% wear the skirt. Definitely no rolling issues!

Marlborough college sixth has a similar dress code, I thought the girls would hate it, but they apparently really like it, most wear their pyjamas underneath when it is cold. The rest of the school have mid shin length kilt type skirts and long to be in the full length sixth form attire...

Why can't all school uniforms be trousers, for both sexes? So much more practical.

We wore maxi skirts in the 90s with oversize jumpers and cardigans and penny loafers, clogs were banned (memories). It's not a big deal, they're probably screening out the types who would make it a big deal. Win win.

I think it’s gorgeous in a dark academia/Mary Poppins kind of way, but it’s completely impractical for a modern education.

Thank you. I wondered why OP was so reluctant to name the school.

Not without looking as if you're pregnant and wearing a bustle.

Ngl, that's a hard look to carry off...

Old fashioned and oppressive pretty much go hand in hand don't they?
Having to ride side saddle because it's unacceptable for you to ride a horse properly, is extremely oppressive.