History Main / TransferStudentUniforms

{{New Transfer Student}}s in places where school uniforms are a cultural default setting often wear their old ones until the school can provide them with a new one. In fiction, this shows the newcomer or outsider. When they get the current school uniform, this indicates they've been [[GoingNative assimilated]]. If the student is meant to be a FishOutOfWater, they will keep their old uniform throughout the series. In Japanese media, even rebels don't choose to abandon uniforms entirely; in American media they will do this even if the new school doesn't have uniforms. Compare the NonUniformUniform.

** Also in the episode "Nails", OneShotCharacter and NewTransferStudent Andrew Shelford initially wears the uniform of his former private school, which is far more elaborate than that worn at the Port Niranda school. Hilariously, the school bully James "Gribs" Gribble mocks his uniform, before learning that it's from the school that he had just been bragging about being sent to should his father win an upcoming election. In Andrew's case it turned out he really was a FishOutOfWater as [[spoiler:his father was hiding his status as a HalfHumanHybrid from him and puberty was turning him into a merman due his MissingMom being a mermaid.]]

* A more direct Western example was seen in the Australian live-action series ''Series/RoundTheTwist'', where the Twist kids wear their old uniforms at the beginning of the series. Later on, when the boy who turned into a merman is first seen, he wears the uniform of his former private school, which is far more elaborate than that worn at the Port Niranda school.
** Hilariously, Gribble mocks his uniform, before learning that it's from the school that he had just been bragging about being sent to should his father win the election.

* Claire in ''Series/{{Degrassi}}'' wasn't a transfer student -- she was introduced as a new freshman -- but she wore her old Catholic school uniform for some months before finally adopting street clothes. Alli [[LampshadeHanging lampshades this]] when Degrassi itself implements uniforms some time later.

* Averted in the various ''Anime/PrettyCure'' series -- none of the human transfer student girls are seen wearing (or even ''having'') their previous school's uniforms. [[Anime/FreshPrettyCure Setsuna]], [[Anime/SuitePrettyCure Ellen]], [[Anime/DokiDokiPrettyCure Makoto]] and [[Anime/HappinessChargePrettyCure Hime]] get a pass as they were from other worlds.

* In ''LightNovel/{{Durarara}}'', [[http://dinosbacsi.tumblr.com/post/108365622936/best-introduction-1010 Mairu]] [[spoiler: Orihara]] goes to a school with blazer uniforms... but she wears her old SailorFuku.

* Subverted again by Yuuri in ''LightNovel/KyoKaraMaoh''. While initially TrappedInAnotherWorld unexpectedly, on a subsequent visit he's wearing normal casual clothes... but his advisors comment his uniform looks so spiffy they tailored up a perfect replica for him to wear as his royal outfit.

* Itsuki in ''[[LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya]]'' {{lampshade|Hanging}}s this: the fact that he appears in North High's uniform from the beginning is a subtle hint at his transfer being deliberately pre-planned so he could better observe Haruhi.

* Happens to Nagisa in ''LightNovel/StrawberryPanic'' anime, but not the manga.

* Some jurisdictions offer a district-wide uniform option in order to assist students who are new to the neighborhood or have just transferred between district schools. Even where they don't, in some places, most elements of a typical school uniform (such as colors of uniform pieces or types of shoes) are pretty universal, with only a blazer or sweatshirt and tie being unique to the school.

* Makoto Kino in ''Franchise/SailorMoon'' wears an old school uniform throughout her entire middle school career and only switches over in high school. This is technically not so much due to lack of integration in the cast as the school not having one in [[HugeSchoolgirl her size]], but it does mirror the fact that, outside of the senshi, Makoto was an outcast in middle school due to her height. Her school uniform had elements (long skirt, type of shoes) that were typically associated with a kind of young female delinquents, sukeban, that were prominent in during 70s-80s Japan. Indeed in early designs, Makoto was supposed to lead a gang of girls, and though she didn't she was still [[FaceOfAThug stereotyped this way by others]]. This lengthened skirt does not appear in the [[Series/PrettyGuardianSailorMoon live-action series]] as the sukeban wasn't as prominent anymore.

[[folder:Live Action TV]]

** ''Series/{{Degrassi}}'' straight-up inverts it in Season 12 when the Ice Hounds plus Becky arrive in their new Degrassi uniforms for a special start-of-term assembly -- in which it's announced that uniforms are abolished EffectiveImmediately.

[[folder:Film]]

* In a {{filler}} two-part episode of ''Manga/DetectiveConan'', Tamanosuke Itou arrives to Ran and Sonoko's class wearing his old ''gakuran'' rather than the school's blazer uniform.

* Averted in the various ''Franchise/PrettyCure'' series -- none of the human transfer student girls are seen wearing (or even ''having'') their previous school's uniforms. [[Anime/FreshPrettyCure Setsuna]], [[Anime/SuitePrettyCure Ellen]], [[Anime/DokiDokiPrettyCure Makoto]] and [[Anime/HappinessChargePrettyCure Hime]] get a pass as they were from other worlds.

* ''Manga/TheQuintessentialQuintuplets'': Itsuki in chapter one is shown wearing her old school's uniform during Chapter 1 when she has her first encounter with Fuutarou in the school's cafeteria. Averted for the others, who are shown already wearing the school's uniform proper when they show up the next day in the cafeteria.