中国人的制服情结（组图）

As in most countries, uniform wearing begins from a young age in China. A student at Beijing No. 55 Middle School, 12-year old Fu (below), wears the mandatory tracksuit school uniform in blue, white and red. The tracksuit-style uniform has been worn by schoolchildren for more than two decades.
像许多国家一样，中国人也是从很小的年纪开始穿制服的。付（下图），北京第55中学的学生，今年12岁了，身着学校强制性统一的蓝白红相间的校服。学生穿运动服风格的校服已经20多年了。

“Foreigners at my school don’t have to wear the uniform. I’d rather not have to wear it either because I don’t think it looks very good. I think other countries' school uniforms look much better.”
“外国学生在我们学校不用穿校服。我也不想穿，因为我觉得我们的校服不好看，我觉得其他国家的校服要好看得多。”

She tells us that her school has three uniforms (though all are variations on the tracksuit), which cost RMB480 altogether. The tracksuits were designed – like many school uniforms – to prevent comparisons between students’ appearances and to eliminate worries over clothing choice. The style fulfills these criteria, but at what cost? As one online commentator bluntly assessed: “They are the ugliest in the world.”
他告诉我们，学校共发了三套校服（都是运动服风格的），一共480元。像许多校服一样，运动服风格的设计是为了防止学生之间攀比，也是为了消除学生选择穿什么衣服的忧虑。校服满足这些要求，但是代价是什么呢？一位在线评论者直言不讳地评价：“这些校服是全世界最丑的。”

This particular comment came after US First Lady Michelle Obama visited a Beijing high school in 2014 and photos from the trip were splashed across social media. Commentators pointed out that the tracksuit is practical and wear-resistant, though many expressed that other designs can fulfill the same goals.
这个特别的评论是在美国第一夫人米歇尔2014年访问北京一所高中时发表的，她的行程照片被刊登在社交媒体上。评论者指出运动服很实用，耐磨，但是很多人同时表示其他设计也能达到这一要求。

For students, as with adults, uniforms can increase the wearer’s confidence. Some believe that more stylish school wear may help students perform better (or feel happier, at least). In April 2013, the Henan Provincial Experimental School in Zhengzhou decided to let students design their own uniforms. The results were met with praise from parents and the public, and delight from students.
学生和成年人一样，穿制服可以增加他们的信心。一些人表示穿时髦的校服可以帮助学生表现得更好（至少他们会感到更开心）。2013年4月，河南省郑州市实验学校决定让学生自己设计校服，这一决定受到家长和公众的一致好评，学生也从中得到了乐趣。

“Students have their own sense of aesthetics at their age,” the school’s Student Affairs Director, Feng Yan, told CCTV.
“这个年龄段的学生有他们自己的审美观”，该校的教务处主任冯艳告诉央视。

Such experiments are not necessarily a sign of relaxing attitudes toward uniforms in contemporary China. Despite a growing sense of individualism among younger generations, uniforms’ historic, cultural and practical role may see them widely retained across the country – and across industries. But while dressing in the same way may be, in some respects, the antithesis of fashion, uniforms are also subject to change over time. If these changes can accommodate both function and form, their place in society may be safe for some time to come.
这一实验并不是指当代中国对制服有了一定放松的态度。尽管年轻一代有着越来越强烈的个人主义观念，但制服的历史性、文化性和实用性在全国各地广泛地保留着，而且是跨行业。在某些方面，穿着一样的衣服可能是站在时尚的对立面，但制服也在随着时间的改变而改变。如果这些改变能够同时兼顾功能和形式，那么制服在社会中仍将保持它的地位。

Vocabulary

generic: 通用的
hospitality industry: 服务业
tracksuit: 运动服

英文来源：www.thatsmags.com
译者：张听听
审校&编辑：丹妮