# What uniforms do you think are obsolete? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 30, 2007, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-uniforms-do-you-think-are-obsolete/417549 "2007-08-30T23:24:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![The\_Cosmople](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f07891/32.png) [@The\_Cosmople](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Cosmople)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2007, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-uniforms-do-you-think-are-obsolete/417549/1 "2007-08-30T23:24:29Z")
Most Americans think certain foreign uniforms are funny. Like the wigs of British barristers in court, or the sashes of diplomats at coronations. And of course the British tall sentry hats and the Beefeater uniforms. But there’s plenty of other uniforms that seem quaint or unnecessary. Every time I see a judge in a robe I laugh. If Congressmen can chair an investigation, judges’ robes seem like a pose or a security blanket. The lace collar on Judge Judy’s robe is worse, as are the stripes on the Chief Justice’s sleeves. And the stripes on admirals’ sleeves make me think of HMS Pinafore. Boy scout uniforms look ok on the kids, but on the parents look like they just never grew up. Some of the more elaborate winkles that nuns wear are startling, and also the nurses caps from some nursing schools. Candy striper nurse’s aides’ uniforms seem really silly, but in a corny sweet way. What am I missing? ---
**Author:** ![boytyperanma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4491bb/32.png) [@boytyperanma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boytyperanma)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2007, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-uniforms-do-you-think-are-obsolete/417549/2 "2007-08-30T23:30:17Z")
I love uniforms regardless of how silly they may look. One of my favorite things in Japan is the fact almost everyone has a uniform unique to there job and/or place of business. ---
**Author:** ![dnooman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/839c29/32.png) [@dnooman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dnooman)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2007, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-uniforms-do-you-think-are-obsolete/417549/3 "2007-08-30T23:37:32Z")
Chimney sweeps. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2007, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-uniforms-do-you-think-are-obsolete/417549/4 "2007-08-30T23:43:55Z")
[QUOTE=The Cosmople] Most Americans think certain foreign uniforms are funny. Like the wigs of British barristers in court, or the sashes of diplomats at coronations. And of course the British tall sentry hats and the Beefeater uniforms. But there’s plenty of other uniforms that seem quaint or unnecessary. Every time I see a judge in a robe I laugh. If Congressmen can chair an investigation, judges’ robes seem like a pose or a security blanket. The lace collar on Judge Judy’s robe is worse, as are the stripes on the Chief Justice’s sleeves. And the stripes on admirals’ sleeves make me think of HMS Pinafore. Boy scout uniforms look ok on the kids, but on the parents look like they just never grew up. Some of the more elaborate winkles that nuns wear are startling, and also the nurses caps from some nursing schools. Candy striper nurse’s aides’ uniforms seem really silly, but in a corny sweet way. What am I missing? [/QUOTE] For one, that after the passing of CJ Rhenquist, so went with him the braid on his sleeves (the CJ gets to\* personalize \* his robe). For another, that the stripes on the cuffs of an admiral’s service-dress uniform are his insignia of rank, not decorative froufrou. And for yet one other, that hardly any modern day non-cloistered sister wears the elaborate wimple-and-veil get-up, except for full-dress special ocassions; nuns in service-oriented (teaching, nursing) orders usually wear work-appropriate clothes, and nurses wear scrubs on an everyday basis – heck, even admirals most of the time are wearing “work” uniforms appropriate to the ship or post they’re at. BTW I don’t think that it would be so generally viewed as “funny” that diplomats wear their sashes at formal State Ceremonies – if anything, the general feeling of “funniness” would be towards the whole white-tie-and-tails or morning-dress-and-top-hat outfit for ultra-formal ocassions. So the real question becomes, are there any forms of special-ocassion or trade-identifying “ceremonial vestment” , so to speak, that strike us as anachronistic or quaint. The traditional chimney-sweep get-up has been mentioned. For what it’s worth, I’ll throw in the outfits worn by many hotel bell staff/apartment house doormen, who could just as well do it in shirt and jacket. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2007, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-uniforms-do-you-think-are-obsolete/417549/5 "2007-08-30T23:45:55Z")
Why are Russian and Chinese army officer’s caps so much [larger](http://www.undertheredstar.com/Army/russian.jpg) than their American counterparts? ---
**Author:** ![Southern\_Yankee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/southern_yankee/32/2800_2.png) [@Southern\_Yankee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Southern_Yankee)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2007, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-uniforms-do-you-think-are-obsolete/417549/6 "2007-08-30T23:46:01Z")
The Boston Red Sox 😛 ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2007, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-uniforms-do-you-think-are-obsolete/417549/7 "2007-08-31T00:43:07Z")
[QUOTE=Southern Yankee] The Boston Red Sox 😛 [/QUOTE] I know you’re being silly, but the “new style” unifoirms that teams like the Devil Rays wear need to die. Long-sleeve spandex under a vest? Ugly. And those new helmets with “vents” in them? Do they really do anything useful? No, they just look dumb. I’m very glad that at least some teams (mostly the older teams like the Sox, Yanks, Cubs, etc..) have kept to the old styles. Though if they want to go really classic, they should bring back the “raglan” style with the 3/4 length sleeves. ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2007, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-uniforms-do-you-think-are-obsolete/417549/8 "2007-08-31T01:51:34Z")
**Stewardesses** , er, flight attendants wearing low heels and skirts. Christ, can we move on to the 21st century? If there’s a job that calls for a lycra jogging suit and gym shoes, it’s flight attendant. And, this is off subject, but it’s also high time the airline industry got rid of the willowy flight attendant. When I fly, I want the flight attendant to be a woman of substance, someone who could instill fear in the drunk in aisle 5 as well as the screaming kid in aisle 35, not to mention the pussy terrorist trying to set fire to his shoe in the lavatory. Do I want Gwyneth Paltrow patrolling the aisles? No. I want _Serena Williams_. And if she wants to wear her butt-hugging fuschia mini dress instead of respectable navy pants, that’s okay with me, too. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2007, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-uniforms-do-you-think-are-obsolete/417549/9 "2007-08-31T02:00:53Z")
[QUOTE=PunditLisa] And, this is off subject, but it’s also high time the airline industry got rid of the willowy flight attendant. When I fly, I want the flight attendant to be a woman of substance, someone who could instill fear in the drunk in aisle 5 as well as the screaming kid in aisle 35, not to mention the pussy terrorist trying to set fire to his shoe in the lavatory. Do I want Gwyneth Paltrow patrolling the aisles? No. I want _Serena Williams_. And if she wants to wear her butt-hugging fuschia mini dress instead of respectable navy pants, that’s okay with me, too. [/QUOTE] Nigga, if you don’t shut your drunk ass up, I’m gonna thro you out this plane. See that window next to you? It don’t open now but it’s about to…Yeah, that’s what I thought. Bitch, you either need to get your kids to stop acting like dime store monkeys, find them some decent parents, or keep them locked up at home…Yeah, that’s what I thought. I think that might actually be a favorable business idea for an airline overall. ---
**Author:** ![dnooman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/839c29/32.png) [@dnooman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dnooman)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2007, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-uniforms-do-you-think-are-obsolete/417549/10 "2007-08-31T02:05:31Z")
[QUOTE=Shagnasty] Nigga, if you don’t shut your drunk ass up, I’m gonna thro you out this plane. See that window next to you? It don’t open now but it’s about to…Yeah, that’s what I thought. Bitch, you either need to get your kids to stop acting like dime store monkeys, find them some decent parents, or keep them locked up at home…Yeah, that’s what I thought. I think that might actually be a favorable business idea for an airline overall. [/QUOTE] There’s already an awesome [“commercial”](http://www.metacafe.com/watch/392932/delta_airlines_spoof_yall_be_goin_on_vacation/) for this awesome airline of yours. It makes me giggle every time. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2007, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-uniforms-do-you-think-are-obsolete/417549/11 "2007-08-31T02:13:50Z")
Actually, Rehnquist’s stripes are a nod to a Gilbert and Sullivan [play](http://www.c-span.org/questions/week136.asp) : In a bit of acknowledged whimsy, Chief Justice William Rehnquist decided to personalize his judicial robe with 4 gold braid stripes on each sleeve about 5 years ago. All the other Supreme Court justices wear the traditional unadorned black judicial robes. The inspiration for the gold stripes came from the costume worn by a character in the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta, “Iolanthe,” first staged in London in 1882. ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2007, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-uniforms-do-you-think-are-obsolete/417549/12 "2007-08-31T02:17:56Z")
Can we get rid of the “dixie cup” sailor’s hat, please? Pretty please? ---
**Author:** ![Zabali\_Clawbane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ecd19e/32.png) [@Zabali\_Clawbane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zabali_Clawbane)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2007, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-uniforms-do-you-think-are-obsolete/417549/13 "2007-08-31T02:18:46Z")
Stewardesses wouldn’t wear lycra wear for safety reasons, the same reasons travelers are advised to wear non-synthetic clothes in case of a crash. ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2007, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-uniforms-do-you-think-are-obsolete/417549/14 "2007-08-31T02:26:02Z")
[QUOTE=Zabali\_Clawbane] Stewardesses wouldn’t wear lycra wear for safety reasons, the same reasons travelers are advised to wear non-synthetic clothes in case of a crash. [/QUOTE] Killjoy. ---
**Author:** ![Hung\_Mung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a88e4f/32.png) [@Hung\_Mung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hung_Mung)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2007, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-uniforms-do-you-think-are-obsolete/417549/15 "2007-08-31T02:45:02Z")
The [Swiss Guard](http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.zanzig.com/travel/rome-photos/rome002a.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.zanzig.com/travel/rome-photos/rome002.htm&h=750&w=500&sz=66&tbnid=FZTe0u01ysbvtM:&tbnh=141&tbnw=94&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dswiss%2Bguard%26um%3D1&start=1&sa=X&oi=images&ct=image&cd=1). It’s time to get those silly bastards some camo. ---
**Author:** ![dnooman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/839c29/32.png) [@dnooman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dnooman)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2007, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-uniforms-do-you-think-are-obsolete/417549/16 "2007-08-31T02:46:40Z")
[QUOTE=Hung Mung] The [Swiss Guard](http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.zanzig.com/travel/rome-photos/rome002a.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.zanzig.com/travel/rome-photos/rome002.htm&h=750&w=500&sz=66&tbnid=FZTe0u01ysbvtM:&tbnh=141&tbnw=94&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dswiss%2Bguard%26um%3D1&start=1&sa=X&oi=images&ct=image&cd=1). It’s time to get those silly bastards some camo. [/QUOTE] They look like at any moment they may burst into song! ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2007, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-uniforms-do-you-think-are-obsolete/417549/17 "2007-08-31T03:23:48Z")
I’ll see your Swiss guard and raise you two [evzones](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/9d/EVZONES_MARCHING.JPG/300px-EVZONES_MARCHING.JPG) In the world of porn, the wearing of scrubbies by real nurses have wiped out all but the last vestiges of white linen tight-skirted fetish nurses. Nun porn still holds stong in Italy, but relaxed dresscodes by the Church may cause that to wane as well. Compulsory wearing of the hajib and chardor by Moslem women, combined with thousands of them now forced into prostituion by the Iraq war and the prevalence of cell-phone cameras has ushered in a new age of that form of uniform porn. But the the strongest attraction is the Japanese Schoolgirl Uniform. People complain about prepubescent American girls in slut-wear fashions, but, on sheer tons measured teaspoon by teaspoon, I’d bet that more mastubatory spendings are offered up to the image of girls dressed in propper school uniforms than as hip-hop divas. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2007, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-uniforms-do-you-think-are-obsolete/417549/18 "2007-08-31T03:35:41Z")
Not so much that the uniform is obsolete, but I’ve always found it odd that the US Public Health Service was a uniformed agency. Are there still any hotels that make their bellhops wear those stupid monkey uniforms like you see in the movies? ---
**Author:** ![dnooman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/839c29/32.png) [@dnooman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dnooman)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2007, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-uniforms-do-you-think-are-obsolete/417549/19 "2007-08-31T03:38:56Z")
[QUOTE=Slithy Tove] I’ll see your Swiss guard and raise you two [evzones](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/9d/EVZONES_MARCHING.JPG/300px-EVZONES_MARCHING.JPG) [/QUOTE] Looks like synchronized hedgehog kicking to me. ---
**Author:** ![Bobotheoptimist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/919ad9/32.png) [@Bobotheoptimist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bobotheoptimist)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2007, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-uniforms-do-you-think-are-obsolete/417549/20 "2007-08-31T05:48:20Z")
[QUOTE=The Cosmople] Boy scout uniforms look ok on the kids, but on the parents look like they just never grew up. [/QUOTE] Got that right - after 3 or so years I still feel like an idiot wearing that getup in public. I’ll wear a kilt in Colorado without feeling the least bit self-conscious, but middle-aged people never look good in Boy Scout uniforms. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-uniforms-do-you-think-are-obsolete/417549.md?page=2)