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japanese school uniforms

Why Are Japanese School Uniforms So Short? Aren’t They Cold in Winter?

By Guidable Writers Dec 6, 2017

In this cold weather, have you been wondering why Japanese school uniforms are so short and offer so little warmth?

When you walk through the city in Japan, you might notice many high school students wearing miniskirts, even if it is too cold to wear them. You might get surprised when you see that they do not even wear stockings.

Some of you having seen this may think, “Why do they wear a miniskirt without stockings, and don’t they feel cold?” Here are some reasons for these Japanese school uniforms and their styles.

A Love of Japanese School Uniforms and Their Miniskirts

japanese school uniforms

There is a fact in the fashion of Japan that wearing a miniskirt is a kind of privilege for high school students. This is not an actual individual right (of course). However, many people are conscious that high school students like wearing miniskirts in terms of fashion.

Of course, there are no actual obligations that force every high school student to wear a miniskirt. It’s more likely there are rules against wearing their skirts so short. Additionally, in Osaka, it is common knowledge that high school students there tend to wear long skirts instead of miniskirts because girls think that it is cute. This bias towards high school students’ school uniforms often affects how the students wear their skirts. 

The school uniform for high school students is sometimes a significant attraction point to a certain school they want to join. They are looking forward to wearing their school uniform.

Likewise, a high school uniform has been dubbed a kind of “fashion style” by many girls in Japan.

Braving the Cold

japanese school uniforms

As mentioned wearing a miniskirt for their high school uniform is the students’ secret policy. So they don’t even think about wearing a long skirt, even in winter.

If someone asked, “Do you not feel cold?” to a high school student wearing a miniskirt on a snowy day, they would answer “Yes, of course, it’s cold.”

But it does not matter to them if it is cold or not. They want to wear it however they like during a short time, the three years in which they can wear their favorite school uniform.

Some people do not feel the cold as much compared to others. Maybe they have worn a short skirt since childhood, so they might have already gotten used to the cold.

High school students wearing a miniskirt do not try to get attention from men with their miniskirt. They wear a miniskirt because it is their fashion style, so even if some people say that is the intention of Japanese schoolgirls, I do not think it is always right.

Why Japanese School Uniforms Have No Stockings

japanese school uniforms

You might notice that many high school students do not wear a pair of stockings when they wear a miniskirt. You might wonder why.

The reason why students do not wear stockings when they wear a school uniform also has originated from a bias everyone has toward school uniforms.

Many Japanese people think it’s embarrassing to show their legs in a skirt or shorts after they get older. This thinking has become a part of Japanese culture, so many people believe that they can wear a miniskirt and show their legs only when they are young.

As a result, school students want to wear a miniskirt without stockings to show their legs during their school life, which means they are still young.

When I was a high school student (which is a long time ago already), we had a similar custom. Our school banned wearing black stockings and we could only wear beige-colored hose. Many girls do not want to wear beige color stockings so we wore socks instead of a pair of stockings.

Japanese School Uniforms and Fashion Choices

To summarize, high school students do not want to wear stockings and wear a miniskirt as their school uniform even in winter. It does not matter for them if they feel cold. They wear a miniskirt because they think that it is a kind of privilege during a time when they are young.

This all might be based on the idea of Japanese people care about how they are looked at by others. That is why people care about their fashion. And most school students enjoy wearing their miniskirt as their fashion. This custom will not vanish and will definitely last for a long time in the future.