The termuniform may be misleading because employees are not always fully uniform in appearance and may not always wear attire provided by the organization, while still representing the organization in their attire. Academic work on organizational dress by Rafaeli & Pratt (1993) referred to uniformity (homogeneity) of dress as one dimension, and conspicuousness as a second.[2] Employees all wearing black, for example, may appear conspicuous and thus represent the organization even though their attire is uniform only in the color of their clothing, not in its features. Pratt & Rafaeli, (1997) described struggles between employees and management about organizational dress as struggles about deeper meanings and identities that dress represents.[3] And Pratt & Rafaeli (2001) described dress as one of the larger set of symbols and artifacts in organizations, which coalesce into a communicationgrammar.[4]
A Russian honor guard wearing their fulldress uniforms. Full dress is a formal uniform typically worn in ceremonies.
Military uniform is the standardisedcostume worn by members of thearmed forces andparamilitaries of various nations. Military dress and military styles have gone through great changes over the centuries from colourful and elaborate to utilitariancamouflage uniforms for field and battle purposes. Military uniforms in the form of standardised and distinctive dress, intended for identification and display, are typically a sign of organised military forces equipped by a central authority. Most military forces have developed several different uniform types.
Taiwan schoolgirls in uniform during the time of Japanese rule, 1927.
Uniforms are required for students in many schools in different countries. School uniforms vary from a standard issue T-shirt to rigorous requirements for many items of formal wear at private schools. School uniforms are in place in many public schools as well.
From about 1800 to after the Second World War, diplomats from most countries (and often senior non-military officials generally) wore official uniforms at public occasions. Such uniforms are now retained by only a few diplomatic services, and are seldom worn.
Members of thepolice in every country have a uniform for identification aslaw-enforcement personnel or agents. They are distinguished from the public by the uniform the police wear during overt policing activity. Usually each country has its own different police uniform.
Most, if not all,sportsteams also wear uniforms, made in the team's distinctive colors. In individual sports like tennis and golf, players may choose any clothing design allowed by the competition rules.
To prevent the confusion (for officials, players, and fans) that might result from two opposing teams wearing uniforms (kits) with similar colors, teams have different variations for "home" and "away" games, where typically one is dark and the other is light. In the fourmajor North American sports leagues, one of the two uniforms is almost always predominantly white, and each league except for theNational Basketball Association (NBA) has a rule to determine which team should normally wear its white uniform. Customarily,National Football League (NFL) andNational Hockey League (NHL) teams wear theircolor uniforms for home games. By contrast,Major League Baseball (MLB) teams wear theirwhite uniforms for home games. The NBA traditionally required home teams to wear white, or at least a light color, but as of the2017–18 season allows home teams to wear any uniform color, mandating only that away teams wear a color that sufficiently contrasts with the home team's choice.[7] These rules are not strictly enforced, however, for any of the four major professional sports leagues in North America. Some NFL teams, most notably theDallas Cowboys, prefer to wear their white jerseys for home games. WhenJoe Gibbs was the head coach of theWashington Redskins — first from 1981 to 1992, and again from 2004 to 2007 — they exclusively wore white jerseys at home games.[8] In theUnited Kingdom, especially infootball, the terms "kit" or "strip" (as in 'football kit') are more common.
The beauticians use uniforms to protect their skin from harmful chemicals and acid. These chemical resistant and water proof uniforms are not only safe to work in but also provide a professional, polished appearance throughout the day.
The Scout uniform is a specific characteristic of theScouting movement, in the words ofBaden-Powell at the 1937 World Jamboree, "it covers the differences of country and race and makes all feel that they are members one with another of one World Brotherhood".[9] The original uniform, which has created a familiar image in the public eye, consisted of a khaki button-upshirt, shorts and a broad-brimmedcampaign hat. Baden-Powell himself wore shorts since being dressed like the youth contributed to reducing perceived "distance" between the adult and the young person. Nowadays, uniforms are frequently blue, orange, red, or green, and shorts are replaced by long pants in areas where the culture calls for modesty, and in winter weather. The campaign hats have also been dropped in some Scouting organisations.
Some uniforms have specially-manufactured buttons, which, in the case ofantiques, often outlast the fabric components of the uniform, and become highlycollectable items.[10] Nowadays, buttons come in different materials, shapes sizes and colors.
In some countries or regions such as theUK,Australia orHong Kong, the cost of cleaning one's uniform or workclothing can be partially deducted or rebated from the personalincome tax, if the organization for which the person works does not have a laundry department or an outsourcedcommercial laundry.[11][12]
^Rafaeli, A.; Pratt, M. G. (1993). "Tailored Meanings: On the Meaning and Impact of Organizational Dress".The Academy of Management Review.18 (1):32–55.doi:10.5465/amr.1993.3997506.
^Pratt, M. G.; Rafaeli, A. (1997). "Organizational dress as a symbol of multilayered social identities".Academy of Management Journal.40 (4):862–898.doi:10.5465/256951 (inactive 12 July 2025).JSTOR256951.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of July 2025 (link)
^Pratt, M. G.; Rafaeli, A. (2001). "Symbols as a language of organizational relationships".Research in Organizational Behavior.23:93–132.doi:10.1016/S0191-3085(01)23004-4.
^Compare:Finkelman, Anita Ward; Kenner, Carole (2010).Professional Nursing Concepts: Competencies for Quality Leadership. Jones & Bartlett Publishers.ISBN9781449617677. Retrieved2016-11-08.Prior to the all-white uniform, the nurse's uniform was gray or blue, similar to a nun's habit and to the uniforms worn during Florence Nightingale's time [...].
^Hardy, S.; Corones, A. (2017). "The Nurse's Uniform as Ethopoietic Fashion".Fashion Theory.21 (5):523–552.doi:10.1080/1362704X.2016.1203090.
^Peach State Button Club (2010)."Uniform (Division II)".Button Country. Georgia, USA: buttoncountry.com. Archived fromthe original on 3 December 2012. Retrieved11 March 2010.
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