Nothing makes my day more than seeing my classmates’ creative spins on the school uniform. In fact, the anxiety of an upcoming week is practically overshadowed the moment I am met with the whimsy and attention to detail my peers dedicate to their outfits. Whether it is through a thrifted button-up shirt or a Lands End’s sweatshirt option, Marlborough students never fail to make the uniform their own.
The freedom of expression that comes with the Marlborough uniform policy allows students to be themselves without the added stress that is inherent with complete free dress.
Not only do Marlborough’s uniform vendors, Dennis and Land’s End, have a wide range of options, but the current uniform policy also allows me to wear jeans one day, a thrifted button up on another or a funky cardigan the next. This flexibility brings joy to a monotonous day or weeks that are flooded with assessments. It is a policy I have grown to love and one that has helped me get to know who my classmates are as individuals. As someone who joined Marlborough in 9th grade, one of the first ways I became acquainted with my peers was through the ways they expressed themselves with their customizations of their uniforms.
However, the freedom to express yourself through the uniform will be limited in upcoming years. Beginning this school year, Marlborough has will introduce a gradual shift to purchasing all uniform pieces through COLOURS. While this year students may continue to wear existing pieces from Dennis or Land’s End, by the 2027-28 school year, all uniform pieces must be from the CO-
LOURS website.
While choosing a new uniform vendor, Marlborough looked for a company whose values aligned with the Marl-
borough community. COLOURS is a female-founded company that focuses on modernizing school uniforms. However,
while COLOURS does provide a modern take on the school uniform, this decision will affect the level of creativity and customization students get to have with their uniform.
Following 2028, students will no longer have the option to wear any skirt or shorts of their choosing, and the Marlborough administration is considering the possibility of no longer permitting jeans. Additionally, the variety of options COLOURS provides are more limited than those offered at previous vendors, with pieces that are more expensive than past retail companies. The ability to make the uniform your own is deeply ingrained within Marlborough culture and is relevant to students like Piper ’27.
“High school is a period of self-discovery and transformation,” she said. “Clothing should never be something where you can’t express yourself. If I’m not allowed to explore what I like in high school, where does that leave me?”
Not only does the COLOURS uniform provide limited options, but the selection is notably more feminine.
“The cuts of the shirts, they don’t have buttons,” Piper said. “It’s a very feminine cut and that does not seem inclusive of the genderqueer Marlborough population.”
Moving forward, it is my hope that Marlborough will consider the limitations COLOURS introduces and instead promote a uniform policy that considers traditional values while simultaneously fostering a sense of individualism.
