Fashion Police: Anime School Uniforms

Are These School Uniforms Ready for the Cat Walk?

Every good anime fan knows that most series feature students decked out in school uniforms. While most are pretty cliched, there are a few fashion-forward thinking series out there that take school uniforms to the next level. That’s why I’m taking at some of the trendier and more bizarre outfits we’ve seen students sporting in different anime over the years. For the sake of honesty, I’ll admit that I have no idea what I’m doing personally when it comes to fashion, but as they say, “I may not know art, but I know what I like!” It goes without saying that some of these outfits might be more than a little inappropriate considering how old some of the character, but that’s anime for you. So get ready for some of the coolest, craziest, and weirdest school uniforms you’ve ever seen in anime!

Blood C

Blood C is a pretty far cry from the typical school uniforms we see in anime. The primary colors used in the uniforms are black and red, which are a pretty stark contrast to the boring and blue and white we see so often. The girls wear traditional skirts, which are vaguely reminiscent of the sailor style typically seen, thanks to the tie and short sleeve blouse. The guys also wear short sleeve shirt,s but they have a red accent at the bottom of their untucked shirts. It’s a pretty strange look for a bunch of high scholars, and something one of the characters even points out at the end of the short run series. If you haven’t seen this anime yet, I won’t spoil it, but there’s actually a reason why these school uniforms look so out of the ordinary. The only downside is those black shirts have got to get hot as hell out in the sun.

Code Geass

In an alternate world where Britania (a mash-up of America and Britain) controls the vast majority of the planet, it makes sense that there would be a few changes to the dress code. Code Geass features a pretty crazy art style, to begin with, with all the characters ultra thin with long limbs. The girl’s uniforms are pretty standard, except for the fact that they wear their ties on the outside of their blazers. It’s the guy school uniforms that are more than just a little weird. For one thing, they’re almost a mandarin style with a high neck collar. However, the weirdest part is that the jackets seem to button right where the guy’s nipples are. It’s a look that I can’t tell is awesome or full-blown ridiculous. When you factor in the shoulder pads and the gold trim, it’s not exactly a look I would be thrilled to wear, but those anime kids sure do pull it off.

Vampire Knight

What makes the school uniforms in Vampire Knight is that there are two versions of what is essentially the same uniform. The series takes place at an academy that has, you guessed it, vampires. There are also a few humans at the academy which means that the school has split the students into a night class and a day class and, of course, that means there have to be two uniforms to keep them from getting mixed up (or something). The vampires in the series wear white uniforms (I guess so that blood will show up easier if they get up to no good) while the day class wears black. Both of the school uniforms have a ton of line work on them though, making them look really busy. Plus the guys have full-blown three-piece suits. Vampires have always been a little quirky when it comes to clothing and Vampire Knight definitely gets that right.

The Irregular at Magic High School

I haven’t actually gotten a chance to see all of this anime, but from what I’ve seen I think the school uniforms are pretty kick ass. The series takes place at a magical high school (in case you couldn’t tell from the title) where students are taught to use magic and refine it through technology. The girls abandon the cliche skirt for more elegant looking dresses with a black, white and green color scheme that makes it look like a super stylish lab coat. The guys, on the other hand, abandon the traditional blazer for a thigh-length coat that definitely makes them look pretty spiffy. The school uniforms are definitely a lot cooler than what a lot of anime students end up wearing and just gives those battle sequences a little extra oomph since the character actually look like they know what they’re doing. I definitely wouldn’t have any issues wearing those snazzy threads.

Kill La Kill

When it comes to crazy school uniforms there is no anime that comes even close to Kill La Kill. At first glance, every school uniform looks exactly like what you would expect from a generic anime with the guys in mandarin suits and the girls in sailor skirts. That’s about where the traditional approach ends as the higher-ups in the academy are given special uniforms that grant them incredible abilities to reflect their personalities. Above even them are the student council who have the equivalent of super suits that make them the big dogs at the school. What’s really bizarre is that Kill La Kill seems to adopt a philosophy that the less clothing a character is wearing the more powerful the clothing makes them. I don’t pretend to understand how the science of Kill La Kill works, but even despite the obvious dress code infractions I still love the school uniforms from this series.