制服

Noun: School uniform. Also known as Sera Fuku. Sera Comes from the English "sailor" and the Japanese "fuku" which means "clothes." School uniforms in Japan were influenced heavily by naval outfits from the middle of the 20th century.

History

The sailor suit first became popular in the beginning of the 17th century in Europe. In 1628 it became the uniform of the British Navy.
Following royal child-dressing fashion in the 1840s it became popular to dress young boys and girls in sailor uniforms.
The sailor suit was introduced to Japan by sailors, of course. The Japanese word seifuku comes from "sei", meaning "rule" or "law", and "fuku", meaning clothes. Seifuku actually refers to any uniform, the western civilization appears to be only concerned about the school girl aspect, however. Seifuku became popular in Japan in the 1900s, and are still worn by Japanese school children today.

Seifuku

Seifuku come in a variety of styles, usually dictated by the school the child is attending. Schools are sometimes chosen based on what that school's uniform looks like. There are seasonal variations of the uniform.
In summer a white blouse is typical, with any number of differently colored skirts, by school. A sailor jacket is worn over the blouse. This is what we are all used to seeing in anime such as Salior Moon. The tie may be red or, it may be colored to reflect what year of school the student is in.
In winter the uniform is still much the same, the skirt usually remains! Japanese school girls are in for some very cold days indeed. However, a warmer jacket or sweater is added on top of the blouse.
The uniform is required at most schools, however most universities do not have this regulation. Japanese women will often wear them anyway, as school children actually enjoy wearing them very much.

Buru-sera

Buru-sera is the Japanese term for the schoolgirl fetish. It comes from the words buru, short for bloomers, or panties, and once again sera. See kids, history can be fun!

Sources

http://www.tapanime.com/info/seifuku.html
http://www.miki-reisen.de/Deutsche/100/all%20gemeines/seifuku.htm
http://www.fanfic.net/~hideaway/text/04-sm.htm
http://www.tjf.or.jp/deai/contents/teacher/mini_en/html/seifuku.html
http://www.tutorgig.com/encyclopedia/getdefn.jsp?keywords=Japanese_school_uniform
http://www.superloosesocks.com/mami/

Special thanks to Sekicho for all of the helpful advice pointing out errors in my writeup.

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