History Main / CustomUniform

** Jenny, the titular character from [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E6TheDoctorsDaughter "The Doctor's Daughter"]], is a [[DesignerBabies genetically engineered]] soldier who emerges fully grown (and clothed) from a cloning machine. While her fellow soldiers are dressed in standard-issue drab, baggy fatigues and beige t-shirts, [[https://i.redd.it/3obvzip40vx11.jpg Jenny]] sports fitted black trousers, a tight green t-shirt (in a shade that flatters her complexion), hair extensions, and a full face of makeup (including winged eyeliner and what looks like false eyelashes). This is never explained, and no one seems to question it. (Possibly justified, as her parent wasn't a human like the other soldiers, but a rebellious Time Lord.)

* The Texas Rangers (a statewide investigative agency in Texas)[[note]]Not to be confused with the other Texas Rangers, a Major League UsefulNotes/{{Baseball}}, who have very standardized uniforms[[/note]] uniform consists of a badge, a visible weapons belt, boots and "Western clothing". Their uniform manual is more a list of suggestions then actual rules. Of course, considering that there's [[OneRiotOneRanger a good reason]] why [[AsskickingEqualsAuthority they're Rangers]]...

** Only two NERV personnel are shown to deviate from the standard light-brown uniform with triangular crest: [[ColonelBadass Misato]] with her red jacket and [[HotScientist Ritsuko]] with her labcoat. [[DoubleReverseQuadrupleAgent Kaji]] and [[NumberTwo Fuyutsuki]] merely wear a dark-brown version, while [[ManipulativeBastard Gendo]] has a black jacket (which, unlike the other characters, he habitually wears unbuttoned). Given Kaji and Fuyutsuki are particularly high in NERV command, and Gendo is even higher than they are, it's possible the color change is somehow indicative of rank.

* ''VideoGame/SeriousSam 3: BFE'': Sam doesn't wear the standard military uniform the redshirts do. Instead, he opts for an ordinary t-shirt and jeans.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Disgaea 4| A Promise Unforgotten}}'', Fuka isn't able to become a proper Prinny because Hades ran out of Prinny suits. Thus, they just gave her a Prinny jacket and hat from the gift shop.

[[quoteright:350:[[Anime/SmilePrettyCure https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/22702_original_1.jpg]]]]

** Itsuki from ''Anime/HeartCatchPrettyCure'' wears a white version of the male uniform, not just to show her status as granddaughter of the principal and StudentCouncilPresident, but also to emphasize her {{Bifauxnen}} nature.
** In ''Anime/SmilePrettyCure'', Akane, Yayoi, Nao and Reika all wear differently-colored neckties, along with other additions to their school uniforms that no one else does. Akane wears a sweatshirt tied around her waist, Yayoi wears a large sweater, Nao wears a blazer and Reika wears another shirt. And it's all in their Cure colors.

** Marriner’s blatant uniform violations.

* Alice L. Malvin from ''Anime/PumpkinScissors'' wears a yellow uniform while everyone else in the army wears an olive one.

** Many adults also have custom uniforms to a degree, such as Shikaku's torn sleeves and the BadassLongcoat of the Yondaime.

* Before the accident, crew members on ''Series/RedDwarf'' wore khaki fatigues or boiler suits. Lister wears a jacket with an assortment of badges sewn onto it and a London Jets t-shirt along with his NiceHat. This is mostly because Lister isn't comfortable with anything too military.

** In the first ''VideoGame/{{Persona|1}}'', each of the playable characters have their own personal flair. The protagonist, Maki, Eriko, and Nanjo wear the uniform correctly, but have [[IconicItem an earring, compact-amulet, an orange scarf, and a light blue #1 scarf]] respectively. Yukino also wears the uniform correctly, but wears a much longer skirt. Masao/Mark also has an earring, but he wears a turtleneck shirt, a NiceHat, and carries around a yellow tagger's backpack. Hidehiko wears a purple longsleeve shirt with his jacket half open, numerous bangles, red boots, and has a pair of sunglasses perched on his head. Yuko wears a skirt that is half the length of the standard skirt and she wears a blue-with-green-stripes jacket and baggy knee-socks. Reiji goes around [[WalkingShirtlessScene with his jacket open and no shirt on]] and wears a pair of [[ConspicuousGloves American flag motif fingerless gloves]].

** Montgomery, when he was training officers at the British Staff College in the 1920s, specifically stated that a general should have a [[NiceHat distinctive hat]]. Later, while he was preparing the fight against Rommel, he started using his distinctive beret, even if it went against the officers dress code. The highest rank command told him repeatedly to stick to the rules, to which he replied that they could go to hell, since he was well aware of having being recognized all over the army, and even the civilian population back in UK, specifically because 'the general wearing a beret' directly told everybody that it was him.

* The Imperial Fleet Admirals of the ''Anime/LegendOfGalacticHeroes'' OVA wear capes as part of their uniform. Each Fleet Admiral has his own color.

** Taken UpToEleven during the riot arc, as various inmates adopt bits of guard uniforms or riot gear. Others customize their issue clothing, with [[ThoseTwoGuys Flaritza]] going for a schoolgirl look, while at least one background inmate turns an undershirt into a bandeau-style bikini top.

* In ''Manga/AkebisSailorUniform'', Komichi's SailorFuku is essentially this; while she and her mother were under the mistaken impression that Roubai Academy still used sailor uniforms, her mother still made the uniform by hand. At the entrance ceremony, they find out that the school no longer uses sailor fuku as uniforms and the students now wear blazers instead. Despite the misunderstanding, the principal still allows Komichi to keep wearing her sailor uniform since it's technically one of the school's uniforms, even though it's an older one which is no longer in use.

** And even then, there can be some subtle variation amongst the rank-and-file. After a few battles [[BadassNormal Imperial]] [[RedshirtArmy Guardsmen]] tend to pick up souvenirs or trophies, while members of more pious regiments will attach devotional scripts or lucky relics to their flak armor. {{Space|Marine}} [[WarriorMonk Marines]] will all proudly be wearing their chapter's colors, of course, but their armor usually has at least one purity seal on it somewhere, while some members have their own coat-of-arms to display. [[TheCorruption Chaos]] [[EvilCounterpart Space]] [[SpacePirate Marines]]' ([[SpikesOfVillainy spiky]]) armor is a patchwork of parts collected across millennia, and with [[BodyHorror mutations]] that ensure any two models aren't exactly the same. And the [[OurOrcsAreDifferent Orks]], of course, don't even ''have'' a concept of "uniform," only [[PlanetOfHats clan]] [[ColorCodedForYourConvenience colors]].

* Mendou in ''Manga/UruseiYatsura'' wears a different uniform just to show off [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney how rich he is]].

* ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'': The students at Hexside all wear the same uniform and shoes but with different colored unitards depending on what coven track they're assigned to. A few exceptions would be Luz, who keeps her regular shoes instead of the traditional black boots, and Viney, Jerbo and Barcus wear variations on their uniform as well, the first with a ragged uniform and mid-length sleeves, the second with splits in his tunic, and the third wearing just the top due to being a dog.

This may also be a reason for most cop shows to center on plainclothes detectives instead of uniform officers, as even high-ranking brass on the detective side only wear uniforms under specific circumstances. On the other hand, detectives in media tend to select 'plain clothes' with enough similarities to be uniform, making them easily identifiable before they identify themselves, and justifying enough customization to reflect character traits and investigative style.

* Each member of the ''[[VideoGame/GalaxyAngel Moon]]''/''Anime/GalaxyAngel'' and ''[[Anime/GalaxyAngelRune Rune]]'' Angels wears a ''very'' differentiated uniform. Other members of the White Moon militia wear matching uniforms like normal people. The two most notable cases are Ranpha, who wears a qipao and high heels, and Anise, who wears an almost bra-like tube top, pants, and sandals.

** Nathan's is worn open to about the belly button with a visible t-shirt underneath. His jumpsuit is also the most stained, covered in paint and blood. The word 'pay' in the phrase 'Community Payback' has been crossed off and replaced with 'blow'.

* Two examples from sports:

*** Same with Catchers in Baseball, who wear helmets with face masks for the same reason.
* Roman Legions allowed officers to wear their medallions and medals to battle. Each of them wore a custom uniform, here modelled by a [[http://www.legionxxiv.org/centurionpage/ few reenactors]]. Indeed, before the Marian Reforms of 107 BCE, the armies of UsefulNotes/TheRomanRepublic consisted entirely of citizen-soldiers whose arms and armor were their personal property, either bought themselves or [[AncestralWeapon inherited]], and therefore varied wildly in appearance.[[note]]Which kinds of weapons and armor were more or less standardized; each class of soldier was expected to have certain kinds of armor and certain types of weapon. For instance, if you were a ''hastatus'', you needed to have decent armor, a shield, two ''plia'' (javelins), and a ''gladius'' (shortsword). However, what any of these looked like (except perhaps for the ''plia'', which were single-use and may have been made by the State) were up to you and your wallet.[[/note]] Standardization of appearance is a very modern idea.
* "Helmet graffiti" was a phenomenon among soldiers in UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar. Be it due to eroded discipline standards from a long and grueling war or just the self-expression of particularly unwilling conscripts, writings or drawings on the cloth cover of an American soldier's metal M1 helmet were tolerated as long said drawings or writings were not outright seditious and would become iconic imagery associated with the war (as can be seen on the theatrical release poster of ''Film/FullMetalJacket''). Doing this even occurred (to a far lesser extent) among the opposing North Vietnamese Army.
* In retail, eateries, and other similar jobs, employees are usually required to wear specific kinds of clothing to conform to the business' standard for appearance. An employee that has more power or seniority over other employees (usually a manager) will have a little more leeway on what they can wear.

** In the anime and manga, Utena Tenjou refuses to wear the standard girls' school uniform on the ground the rules don't specify who has to wear which. However, she doesn't wear a boy's uniform either, but a modified jacket from the boys' uniform options plus [[WhoWearsShortShorts red bicycle shorts]] from ''the gym uniform''. In the manga, a teacher tries to call her out on this, but Utena quotes the student handbook back at her: the only formal requirement is that she select from the list of school-approved garments. [[LoopholeAbuse It doesn't say]] that she can't combine pieces from different uniform sets, or that approved pieces can't be custom-tailored.

* In ''Manga/AkebisSailorUniform'', Komichi's SailorFuku is essentially this; while she and her mother were under the mistaken impression that Roubai Academy still used sailor uniforms, her mother still made the uniform by hand. At the entrance ceremony, they find out that the school no longer uses sailor fuku as uniforms and the students now wear blazers instead. Despite the misunderstanding, the principal still allows Komichi to keep wearing her sailor uniform since it's technically still the school's uniform, even if it's an older one.

* In spite of being employed by and holding a rank in the state military, Edward Elric in ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'' is not required to wear a military uniform, instead traveling in a distinctive [[BadassLongCoat red coat]]. The Amestrian military also seems to have unusually lax standards for cutting and styling hair.
** May or may not have to do with if the alchemist in question is currently serving a literal military role. For example: Armstrong and Mustang, while they are intelligent and may do their own research, are generally shown to be involved in military operations and missions, while others such as Edward Elric and Shou Tucker don't regularly wear uniforms (at least on screen in the latter case) and typically engage more in research activities for the military rather than battle.
*** Also, would the military even have [[TeensAreShort teenager-sized]] uniforms?
*** You mean [[BerserkButton tiny micro bean-sized uniforms]]?
** [[ColonelBadass Roy Mustang]] enlisted, then finished his alchemy training while a soldier. So he only became a state alchemist after joining the military. Edward Elric, like several other state alchemists, never joined the army, so he was never issued a military uniform (the confusion arises from the fact that the title of state alchemist is equivalent to major, but they aren't part of the chain of command.).

* Each member of the ''[[VideoGame/GalaxyAngel Moon]]''/''Anime/GalaxyAngel'' and ''[[Anime/GalaxyAngelRune Rune]]'' Angels wears a ''very'' differentiated uniform. Other members of the White Moon militia wear matching uniforms like normal people.

* ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses'' takes place predominantly at the Officers Academy in Garreg Mach Monastery. Being a MilitaryAcademy, the students naturally wear school uniforms, consisting of black button-up dress shirts with gold accents and either matching slacks or dresses. Many students, however, add their own touches to their uniforms. To name some examples: Dorothea wears jewelry and a flat cap while unbuttoning the top of her uniform to show her cleavage, Mercedes wears a tan cardigan over a black vest with a white blouse, and Raphael foregoes wearing the uniform coat, instead only dressed in slacks and a white shirt that strains against his bulging muscles. The house leaders (Edelgard, Dimitri, and Claude) wear custom uniforms that closely resemble military uniforms and include a shoulder cape in the color of their respective houses. The Ashen Wolves, meanwhile, dress predominantly in white with silver and violet accents. Following the TimeSkip, the now-former students replace their uniforms for unique outfits that are more par for the course of ''Fire Emblem''.

** ''VideoGame/Persona5'' has the protagonist subvert this trope as he wears his uniforms properly down to the footwear (in his opinion it's stylish). The party members still play it straight however. Ryuji wears his winter and summer uniform with bright graphic tees, his pantlegs rolled up, and white sneakers. Ann wears her winter uniform with a white zip-up hoodie underneath her blazer with the sleeves rolled up and red leggings underneath, while her summer uniform is worn properly with a blue jacket tied around her waist. Yusuke never wears a tie, wears his winter uniform with an untucked non-regulation shirt and no blazer, and for his summer uniform he replaces his school's shirt and vest combo with a dark-blue shirt. Makoto wears her winter uniform correctly but replaces the blazer with a black vest and her summer uniform is worn with a dress shirt instead of the school polo, a belt around her waist, and black leggings underneath. Haru wears a pink turtleneck cardigan over her winter uniform with floral tights and replaces the polo shirt with a purple turtleneck tank top for her summer uniform. Kasumi wears the winter and summer uniforms properly, but with bright red loafers, and a yellow cardigan over the summer uniform.

** The series also mentions how the Rogues, when they go [[IncrediblyLamePun rogue]], enjoy personalizing their X-Wings' color schemes, while Wraith Squadron when masquerading as [[SpacePirates pirates]] gets to do the same. And even when working for the Rebellion, Corran Horn's fighter and flightsuit retain their original [=CorSec=] colors, since they're his personal property rather than issued by the military. Though it probably shouldn't be surprising that a rebels' military has a lax attitude towards standardization...

* ''TabletopGame/BattleTech'': According to an early sourcebook, this was more or less the dress code in House Marik. Not only did all of the different constituent states have their own uniform regulations, [[MildlyMilitary these were pretty much ignored]] almost [[IncrediblyLamePun uniformly]] ensuring that any given service member of the Free Worlds League had some variant on a CustomUniform just by dint of ignoring or replacing some piece of the prescribed kit.

** Noa wears thigh stockings instead of knee stockings and [[HandHidingSleeves way too long sleeves]].

** In the first ''VideoGame/{{Persona|1}}'', each of the playable characters have their own personal flair. The protagonist, Maki, Eriko, and Nanjo wear the uniform correctly, but have [[IconicItem an earring, compact-amulet, an orange scarf, and a light blue #1 scarf]] respectively. Yukino also wears the uniform correctly, but wears a much longer skirt. Masao/Mark also has an earring, but he wears a turtleneck shirt, a NiceHat, and carries around a yellow tagger's backpack. Hidehiko wears a purple longsleeve shirt with his jacket half open, numerous bangles, red boots, and has a pair of sunglasses perched on his head. Yuko wears a skirt that is half the length of the standard skirt and she wears a blue-with-green-stripes jacket and baggy knee-socks. Reiji goes around [[WalkingShirtlessScene with his jacket open and no shirt on]] and wears a pair of American flag motif FingerlessGloves.

** Generally, within any given team, the magical uniforms can vary in (besides just color) shoes, arm wear, skirts, sleeves, earrings. and head wear.