Japanese uniforms have evolved quite a bit in the last century. As early as the 1920s we see what is generally known as the “delinquent uniform” in anime where the girls dressed it shorter shirts and the long skirts were worn higher up on their torso. Girls at the time who liked to disobey the rules would do so by having more pleats in their skirts for a daring fashion in schools during this time period. These changes in uniforms were considered reckless and widely regarded as a form of rebellion. Japanese students changed the evolution of the school uniform by blatantly disregarding the rules and wanting more freedom to express their individuality.

While school uniforms continued to evolve in Japan, they did not strike global popularity until the 1990s. Japanese school uniforms began to be featured in movies and television shows enhancing the world view into Japanese culture. They began to make their way into fashion brands such as Burberry and Ralph Lauren, leading to the more promiscuous uniform that now automatically comes to our minds. As the world view of Japanese uniforms changed, so did the ones in Japanese schools. They adopted the long white socks and short skirts, middle school uniforms possess the sailor style collar and blazer while high school students have a little more freedom to choose what they want to wear and make their uniform more personal. Boys initially wore a Meiji style military uniform that has evolved very little. As time passed, boys were able to wear shorts. All things considered, Japanese uniforms are heavily influenced by pop culture and are very similar to what we see in anime.

Japanese uniforms in anime really aren’t that far from the real Japanese uniform. The skirts in Japan may be a little longer, the only major change is that girls are usually allowed to substitute a pair of pants for skirts now and have a similar uniform to the boys. Despite this small change, the high school Japanese uniforms in Kono oto Tomare are very similar to those that we would see walking into any Japanese high school. The V-neck shirts on the girls are similar to those in Japan and each student can lend their own individuality to their outfit.