Now forget the back in my day we all wore shorts and t-shirts in the middle of winter and sandals when it was snowing, ate dry bread and rotten milk and were grateful speech. Puffer jackets are warm and toasty little numbers. They are also wind breakers and water proof and pack down so don’t take up space. But they are generally not school uniform. I’m well aware of the tedious and protracted consultation that goes on for schools to agree to a uniform. A part of me is very curious to see just how many schools manage to grasp the concept of gender neutral (shhhhh there is no such thing! Just a version that is not feminine really). But that has nothing to do with conundrums about keeping warm. Are puffer jackets just a fashion statement? Well to some they might be but they are kind of practical if you are living in places that rarely get into double didgits in the winter. I can’t wear puffer jackets – they have the effect of making me look like Mr Stay Puff the marshmallow guy from Ghost Busters (maybe less angry and apocalyptic). I prefer my warmth to come from layers close to my skin, but that is just my preference. Why schools are not willing to roll with more than one or two options for warmth says more about the need for uniformity that is created with uniform, it’s not multiform or unique-form (mufti). So Motueka High and any other school trying to beat down the down. Don’t sweat it – toasty teens are less likely to seek body heat from each other. So if you want to reduce teen pregnancies, let them wear puffer jackets. And if they want to share jackets it needs to be consensual.