Clothing Definitions — definitions of garments and clothing terms from Apparel Search
A uniform is a set of standard clothing worn by members of an organization whilst participating in that organization's activity. Standard dress for religious activities is among the earliest examples, alongside the clothing of the armies of the Roman Empire and other civilizations. Modern uniforms are worn by armed forces and paramilitary organisations such as police, emergency services and security guards, in some workplaces and schools, and by inmates in prisons.
People performing religious activities have often worn standard costumes since the dawn of recorded history. Other early examples of uniforms include the clothing of the armies of the Roman Empire and other civilizations.
Modern uniforms are worn by armed forces and other paramilitary organisations such as police, emergency services, security guards, in some workplaces and schools, and by inmates in prisons.
One purpose of military uniforms is to clearly distinguish combatants who are protected by the laws of war from other persons carrying weapons, who enjoy no such protection. Another purpose in historical times was to make it difficult for deserters to avoid detection; military uniforms were so distinctive with many metal buttons and unique colors that they could not be modified into unrecognizable clothing.
Originally, the typical color scheme included bright and high contrast color arrangements which made the uniforms visible in battles with much smoke from gunpowder. However, with the growing prevalence of accurate rifles and other ranged firearms as standard weapons for infantry, it was found in the Crimean War that these colors made soldiers easy targets for enemies to shoot at a distance. In reaction, the various militaries, beginning with the British, changed the colors, predominantly to such ones that blended in more with the terrain (like khaki) for the purposes of camouflage. In addition, this idea was followed with uniforms suitable for particular climates and seasons such as white for snowy regions and tan for sandy ones.
Prison uniforms often consist of a distinctive orange or yellow jumpsuit or a white and black zebra striped uniform to make escape more difficult.
| The above article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/uniform). 10/8/04 |
A uniform does the opposite job from most clothing: instead of expressing the individual, it announces the organisation. A police officer, a paramedic and a soldier are recognisable at a distance and in a crowd because the clothing is standardised — same colours, same cut, same insignia placement — so anyone can identify the role before a word is spoken. That instant recognition carries authority, reassures the public in an emergency and, on a battlefield, marks who is a lawful combatant under the laws of war.
Standardisation also works inward. Issuing identical kit removes visible differences of wealth and background inside the group, speeds up supply and replacement, and makes a missing or incorrect item easy for an inspector to spot. Historically, elaborate uniforms with many metal buttons and unique colours had a further use: a deserter could not easily alter such distinctive clothing into something unrecognisable.
The shift from scarlet and bright facings to khaki is one of the clearest examples of clothing changing because technology changed. Colours that helped commanders see their men through black-powder smoke became a liability once rifles could kill accurately at long range, so armies adopted terrain colours, then added climate variants — white for snow, tan for sand. Civilian uniforms follow a milder version of the same logic: school, workplace and prison uniforms are chosen to be distinctive, durable, hard to mistake for ordinary dress and practical for the setting they are worn in.
A uniform is a set of standard clothing worn by members of an organisation whilst participating in that organisation's activity. Modern examples include armed forces, police, emergency services, security guards, some workplaces and schools, and prison inmates.
Bright, high-contrast colours made soldiers visible through gunpowder smoke, but once accurate rifles became standard infantry weapons those colours made soldiers easy targets at a distance. Beginning with the British, militaries changed to colours that blended with the terrain, such as khaki, for camouflage.
A military uniform clearly distinguishes combatants who are protected by the laws of war from other persons carrying weapons, who enjoy no such protection.