The 1990s were a strange time for fashion. In a move mirroring today’s hipster adoption of workwear, skateboarders of the era decided to embrace the aesthetics of blue-collar laborers. We weren’t just wearing clothes; we were embodying roles. Gas station attendants, shopping cart wranglers, and fast-food employees became unlikely style icons. Some of us were genuinely working those jobs, while others were simply raiding thrift stores for the uniform of their chosen persona.
Finding these uniform pieces wasn’t always easy, especially pre-internet and before eBay made vintage clothing readily accessible. For a suburban kid in New Jersey with limited thrift store options, acquiring the perfect Wendy’s polo required a certain level of dedication, and perhaps, mild absurdity. From ages 16 to 19, juggling school and a full-time job, I embarked on a series of short-lived employments at supermarkets and fast-food joints. The sole purpose? To snag the desired shirts or smocks in my correct size. “Short-lived” is an understatement; my tenures ranged from a mere 24 to 72 hours, dictated by the length of the mandatory (and often grueling) training needed to secure that coveted uniform.
My stint at the Wendy’s in the Woodbridge Center Mall is a prime example. A single shift was all it took: two hours of mind-numbing training videos followed by four hours of hands-on experience. Yet, in that brief period, I achieved mastery—absolute MASTERY—of the soda fountain and Frosty dispenser. I confidently assert that no one before or since has poured a Coca-Cola with such minimal foam. My key takeaway from this cultural immersion? Black customers often order drinks by color. A grape soda was a “large purple,” Sunkist became a “medium orange.” This colorful ordering system has since infiltrated my own life. Stouts, for instance, are now simply “blacks.” Ah, the simple pleasure of a warm, tall black.
Then there was the half-shift at the Taco Bell in Perth Amboy. Taco Bell and Wendy’s polos were highly sought after due to their tan and burgundy hues – earth tones being the pinnacle of 1993 cool. However, my Taco Bell career was cut short. Witnessing the bean burrito creation process firsthand was… enlightening. I made a swift exit mid-shift, new polo in hand, but not before liberating a substantial 16-by-six-foot Yoda window cling-on. A preemptive celebration of the then-upcoming, and arguably altered/tainted, Star Wars special editions.
Smocks were also a significant part of the uniform trend. Why they haven’t resurfaced is a mystery. Essentially Cuban-style button-ups, but with more generous pockets, fewer buttons, and bolder colors. Cart-pushing provided me with a trio of different franchise smocks. My cart-pushing prowess was so exceptional, I was promptly promoted to cashier. The logic of promoting someone skilled at pushing carts to handling cash remains baffling.
My longest uniform-acquiring job was at IHOP. The uniform: light blue short-sleeved Dickies button-downs, IHOP logo embroidered proudly over the left breast. Covered in stains, I resembled a mechanic, albeit one servicing America’s arteries with grease and lard rather than brake pads. I surprisingly endured six months at IHOP, primarily due to lucrative tips. (Coffee, soda, and sundaes were off-the-books perks. “On me,” I’d declare, and generous tips would follow.) My IHOP tenure might have continued indefinitely had it not culminated in a dining-room brawl with two patrons.
While the motivations behind adopting these uniforms were purely stylistic and perhaps a bit ironic in the early 90s, the concept of uniforms, particularly for women, has taken on a distinctly different connotation in certain corners of popular culture. The phrase “bitches in uniform,” for example, while jarringly crude, points to a specific genre within adult entertainment. A quick search reveals titles like “Rocco’s Bitches in Uniform,” a film directed by Rocco Siffredi, a prominent figure in the world of pornography. This stark contrast highlights the diverse and sometimes contradictory interpretations of “uniforms.” From a symbol of mundane, everyday labor adopted ironically for street style, to a highly sexualized trope in adult films, the uniform as an image is surprisingly versatile and loaded with different cultural meanings.
The original appropriation of uniforms was about subverting expectations, taking the ordinary and making it fashionable. In contrast, the adult entertainment industry often utilizes uniforms to amplify specific fantasies and desires, playing on themes of authority, submission, and role-play. Both interpretations, however different, underscore the power of clothing to communicate and evoke specific ideas and emotions. Whether it’s a Wendy’s polo ironically worn on a skateboard or a stylized uniform in an adult film, the garment carries a weight of cultural baggage and symbolism.
For more on the author’s explorations of fast food culture and other topics, visit Chrisnieratko.com and follow @Nieratko on Twitter.
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