I never felt that my creativity was stifled, and that I couldn't express myself. And as a low-maintenance sort of person, I loved picking up my kilt from the floor and throwing it on every morning. It seems as though these terms are being used interchangeably. They do, however, conform to a dress code which is often implicit. However, an explicit dress code without the concomitant vision is only an authoritarian dictate that is likely to rub even those of us who would never dream of stepping outside of a professional code the wrong way.
Uniforms are even worse.
Also see the district's webpages with lots of school uniform information. Also see this discussion of research on the effects of school uniforms, one of the few studies available. And here's the complete study . Write us and let us post your thoughts about uniforms. This is an elementary school in a predominantly white, middle class community.