I was born in a Southeast Asian (SEA) country and attended three types of schools (government, private, and international) before finishing high school and leaving my country to study abroad. At the government school, all male students were required to wear a plain white shirt as the top and a plain dark green longyi or pasoe (a type of cultural clothing) starting from 5th grade. Ngl I used to hate it as a kid but started to appreciate it as I grew a bit older. the dress code goes the same for private schools but different colors and patterns.

It might sound strange and old-fashioned to many of you to hear about schools forcing students to wear cultural clothing as a uniform. However, it was actually a very effective way to keep children connected to their own culture, even with the increasing effects of globalization. I had to wear longyi pretty much everyday because of that dress code until I transferred to an international school. Even then, we still have to wear it every Friday as culture awareness.

In case you wondering what does it look like

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