In my wellbeing role I have the pleasure of having conversations with many of our students about many, many different topics and couldn’t help but notice that uniform was something that continued to pop up in chatter quite a lot this year.

There seemed to be some strong opinions on “what's cool” “what's not cool” “what's ugly” and “that looks like something mum would wear”. So I thought I would take it upon myself to road-test some of our lesser-known items as well as some of our more popular pieces to see what all the fuss was about.

I took on this “experiment” with an open mind and the willingness to provide honest feedback to staff, students and even our school council should they wish to hear it.

Day One - I dipped my toe into the uniform waters with what would be our most popular item our rugby jumper and paired that with the new PE trackpants and the new HHS beanie. As far as comfort and warmth go this is a big thumbs up. The pants are stretchy and fleece lined with zip pockets and a zip cuffs so they be worn tight or loose around the ankle. The pants also come in a massive range of sizes with a draw cord waist, so you wear them as fitted or loose as you like. The fabric was warm on the inside and smooth on the outside so they will wear well, hold their shape and not get all those horrible lint balls collecting on them after a couple of wears. The beanie was quite the conversation piece, as it turn out lots of our students didn’t know we even had a beanie, so it was great to get that out on display. Lastly the rugby jumper, this is a more expensive piece on the uniform list but it does go the distance in terms of warmth as well as wear and tear. The heavyweight cotton means it's easy to care for and it could last for years providing you remember to write your name on the tag.

I received several messages from past students wishing they could have worn this ensemble instead of what they got. Overall I’m giving this

a 10/10!

Pro tip: chuck a plain white long sleeve on under your school shirt for extra warmth on the cold days. Kmart retail these for $8.

Day Two – I opted for a more traditional “school girl” look and put our check box pleat skirt to the test. The weather was quite average so I also paired it with black opaque tights, a long sleeve shirt and the soft shell jacket. There are a couple of things to note about the school skirt; this is now the only skirt that is sold as HHS uniform, gone are the days of the grey miniskirts with the broken zippers. Its also worth noting that this skirt is adjustable and by sizing up you can use the adjustable waistband to create an elasticated waist if you find the fixed waist uncomfortable, it also means that the skirt can accommodate a growing teen. The skirt is sold at an awkward below knee length so I would recommend cutting and hemming it to the appropriate length for your child. A good guide for skirt length is no shorter than the tips of your fingers when your arms are by your sides. Cutting and sewing, rather than folding over several times, will also take the bulk or the puffiness out of the pleats as this seemed to be something our students didn’t like about the design. If perhaps sewing is not your thing, it might be worth seeking out a professional to hem your child’s skirt, Knight Fabrics in Lilydale offer alteration services at quite a reasonable cost. The long sleeve shirt was crisp and slightly sheer, so a clever choice in bra colour was required, but the long sleeves paired with the soft shell jacket was plenty enough to keep my top half warm.

I quite liked this look, admittingly the skirt I have on in the picture is not my correct size and it hasn’t been hemmed properly, but I would absolutely have this outfit in my regular rotation if I was a student here. I'm giving this one a 7/10! (and possibly a bonus point for making

me look young).

Pro tip: Opaque tights, students are absolutely allowed to wear these with their school skirt, in fact we encourage it. Not only to the keep your legs warmer on the coldest of days, but they also are the saving grace in a gust or wind or an accidental flash bobbing down at your locker.

Day Three – This was my least favourite day in the experiment and possibly the day the students were looking forward to the most. This was the day that I road tested the ladies expandable tailored pants. Things to note about the pants; you need to try before you buy! These pants are somewhat true to size, but the elastic in the ‘flexi waist’ does make sizing a little more confusing. It's also worth mentioning that there is no stretch in the fabric of these pants so having fitted across the hips and thighs does present some discomfort when bending and sitting down. If you are someone with bigger hips and thighs and a small waist these pants might not be the best choice for you. My pants were far too long for me and looked awful bunched at my ankles so again these are an item that I would recommend customising to fit your child. I hemmed my pants using a machine and that alteration did make them sit much nicer on top of my school shoes (Kmart $12). I paired the tailored pants with a short sleeve shirt and the soft shell jacket for warmth however the straight cut of both the pants and the jacket did mean that I lost my shape in amongst these uniform items and I looked a little more masculine than I prefer for myself.

Like I previously mentioned, this was least favourite look and probably the one I found most faults in. Overall, I’m giving it 4/10 for its looks, functionality and versatility.

In the perfect world our students would wear their uniform and everything would be rosy, but given how often uniform was coming up as a topic I felt that it was important that our young people know someone was hearing what they were saying and willing to investigate things further. I don’t know exactly what the outcome of this ‘experiment’ will be but I do believe that it has generated some really good conversation amongst key staff, families and most importantly our students.

If access to uniform is ever a problem for you and your family please contact me. Healesville High School works closely with State Schools Relief to ensure that all students can have equal access to uniform. The process is simple and discreet, so please don’t hesitate to reach out.

We would love to see as many of our students in school uniform as we possibly can, we understand that there may be items that our students don’t love but we lose the ability to negotiate with the uniform committee and school council if we are not wearing any uniform at all.

We have plenty of pieces available and it is really up to the individual on how you might like to combine them. I really recommend paying PSW School Wear in Croydon a visit in person so you can try on all the pieces and choose what suits you best.

Pro tip: the ladies in the shop are super helpful!

-Lisa Mathieson

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