Uniforms

Today's office fashion tip: Conformity is in, iconoclasm is out. Workplace dress and grooming codes, written and unwritten, are growing more stringent. Businesses--from Domino's Pizza to New York taxi fleets to, most recently, the Disneyland Hotel--have cracked down on sartorial freedom, in hopes that a sharper image will translate into profits. Some workers are rebelling.

SANA, Yemen -- A suicide bomber targeting soldiers rehearsing for a military parade killed as many as 96 people Monday in a sign that Islamic militants are taking their fight to the capital after intense battles in the provinces with U.S.-backed government forces in recent weeks. The blast appeared to mark a shift in tactics by an Al Qaeda-linked group that for months had been concentrating on towns in the south. It indicated that militants, who have been unnerved by increased U.S. military and drone strikes, are expanding north in a campaign to upend the fragile government of President Abdu Rabbo Mansour Hadi.

Move over, Tyra Banks. Bellmen, bartenders and concierges are the latest inspiration for fashionistas, who are outfitting hotel workers in name-brand designer duds. Gone are the red jackets with gold buttons and starchy white maid uniforms. In their place: wrap dresses by Diane von Furstenberg, trendy bubble skirts and Michael Kors slacks and shirts so stylish that workers don't need to change their clothes before hitting the bar after they punch out.

Kathleen Dier-Saltz and her husband, Larry, visited Portugal in September to celebrate his 60th birthday. In Braga, near the country's northwestern corner, the couple happened upon groups of college-age students, some dressed in elaborate uniforms. As Dier-Saltz watched the students, these two young women took a backward glance. The West Hills resident used a Nikon D3000.

When Terry Collette acquired a Northridge restaurant called the Forest, he eliminated the dress-as-you-like policy and established a uniform requirement for waitresses and hostesses. At Circuit City stores, uniforms also come with the job. Restaurants have traditionally required employees to wear uniforms. On the other hand, consumer goods retailers generally haven't had uniform policies.

Nike revealed its new NFL uniforms Tuesday. And unlike the somewhat unconventional looks of the company's college apparel, the pro football garments are sticking with a mostly traditional look ... with one exception. The Seattle Seahawks were the only team that requested a new look from Nike, which took over the NFL clothing license from Reebok on April 1. And, boy, did they ever get a new look. Anyone who thinks neon went out in the '80s with lip gloss and plastic bracelets may need to think again.

Think your doctor's white coat is as clean as a whistle? It might not be. A study finds that dangerous germs could be lurking on nurses' and doctors' uniforms. Researchers from Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem cultured three spots on the uniforms of 75 nurses and 60 physicians working in a 550-bed hospital. Potential pathogens (also known as infectious agents, or germs) were found on 63% of the uniforms, and antibiotic resistant bacteria were found on samples from 14% of nurses' uniforms and 6% of doctor's uniforms.

Long Beach Unified School District, the first public school system in the nation to require students to wear uniforms, reached an out-of-court settlement Wednesday with the American Civil Liberties Union and the Legal Aid Foundation, scuttling a lawsuit filed on behalf of 26 families who say the district refused to help when they couldn't afford the mandatory uniforms.

Re "Teachers Read Signals in Varied Clothing," March 3. There is a reason that the president, politicians, community leaders, parents and educators are supporting the concept of uniforms in our public schools. Many students today come to school wearing clothing that glorifies gang culture and values. Young ladies of 13 [wear] the tightest, most revealing clothing in hopes of looking older and attracting attention they are not equipped to handle. Younger children emulate the older ones in order to be accepted.

I am in strong opposition to the article written by Norman Isaacs ("Teachers Read Signals in Varied Clothing," March 3), principal at Millikan Middle School in Sherman Oaks. Uniforms represent the creeds and aspirations of institutions. For example, the creed of a school: a place to learn, to achieve, to give your best, to respect and be respected. When these values are instilled in students they will be proud of wearing its uniforms and emblems. Uniforms do not suppress individuality, nor do clothes create individuality; this would be superficial.

USC is entering the final weeks of the spring semester, so a group of USC football players got together and went to class -- in full uniform. Quarterback Matt Barkley, safety T.J. McDonald, receivers Robert Woods and Marqise Lee, running back Curtis McNeal and center Khaled Holmes took part. The athletic department's video department documented their tour of campus. Barkley and about a dozen other players are scheduled to travel to Haiti in May to help build houses and help with relief efforts in the aftermath of the devastating 2010 earthquake.

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The game ran late, as night games sometimes do, so it was nearly 11 p.m. when the Dodgers finally cleared out of their locker room. With the final players heading for home, clubhouse attendants began gathering crumpled uniforms in a cart. They started two big washing machines going in a room beside the showers. "A lot of laundry to do," said Alex Torres, an assistant clubhouse manager. "We'll be here all night. " This is the part of Dodger Stadium that fans don't see. PHOTOS: Pitch to pitch: A behind the scenes look at Dodger Stadium After the last out is recorded on the field, after the parking lots empty and the lights dim, a new kind of competition begins.

Nike revealed its new NFL uniforms Tuesday. And unlike the somewhat unconventional looks of the company's college apparel, the pro football garments are sticking with a mostly traditional look ... with one exception. The Seattle Seahawks were the only team that requested a new look from Nike, which took over the NFL clothing license from Reebok on April 1. And, boy, did they ever get a new look. Anyone who thinks neon went out in the '80s with lip gloss and plastic bracelets may need to think again.

Reporting from Phoenix -- Andre Ethier is paying for new uniforms for the baseball team at inner-city Camelback High. Ethier attended nearby St. Mary's High in Phoenix. “I've been pretty excited and choked up about this,” Camelback Coach Todd Goertzen said. Camelback reached the state finals in 1985, but the baseball program declined as the surrounding neighborhood changed. Most of the players are sons of Mexican immigrants who didn't play baseball before high school because of the high cost of equipment.

He's a real-life action hero to the Occupy protest crowd -- a gray-haired, mustachioed retired police captain who happens to love the Occupy movement, especially in Philadelphia. Ray Lewis, 60, who served for 24 years as one of Philly's finest, has appeared in public to support Occupy protests in the city -- while wearing his old police uniform and cap. That hasn't sat well with current Philly cops who wear the uniform, or with the local police union. The Philadelphia police department and the union have demanded that Lewis stop wearing his old captain's uniform to Occupy protests.

Students at Pacific Drive Elementary School will be required to wear uniforms this fall. Schools in the Fullerton School District were given permission two months ago to impose mandatory dress codes, and Pacific Drive is the first to do so. District officials said the dress code is part of a nationwide movement toward school uniforms.

In the epic battle of short-sleeve healthcare uniforms versus long-sleeve physician coats, which one harbors more bacteria? It's a tie, finds a study that put both types of garments in a randomized head-to-head test. Some backstory: In 2007 the British Department of Health put out guidelines banning healthcare workers from wearing long-sleeve white coats, thinking that would tamp down the transmission of bacteria. Problem was, there was no decent evidence showing that short-sleeve coats were less contaminated than long-sleeve coats.

Over the next eight months, presidential campaigns will spend hundreds of millions of dollars to penetrate the suburban living rooms of people like 33-year-old Sarah Hays. "I agree with certain parts of the philosophies of both parties," Hays said in a recent interview as two of her three children - ages 6, 4 and 21 months - played within reach at their St. Louis-area home. "I'm a Catholic, and I'm pro-life, and that's very important to me," she said, "but I don't believe that pro-life means only antiabortion.

Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca admitted Friday that he broke state law by making a political endorsement while in uniform for an online campaign ad touting Los Angeles City Atty. Carmen Trutanich for district attorney. Baca's acknowledgment came after inquiries from The Times about a video on Trutanich's campaign website that shows Baca wearing his badge and his department-issued sheriff's uniform. Although state law does allow sheriffs and other law enforcement officers to make political endorsements, they are not allowed to do so while in uniform.