Emily Olle: Private school ‘fat tax’ is as outdated as their uniforms

Like high school isn’t hard enough without being charged a plus-sized price for a larger uniform, writes Emily Olle.

This article begins with a caveat: It is not a sob story for the parents of Adelaide’s private schools.

Personally, I couldn’t care less what the Burnside bubble is shelling out for their straw hats aside from the sad reality that it’s the equivalent of more than a month’s rent for most.

What I do care about is an itchy, mustard yellow skirt or pair of prison-grey trousers that are not only obscenely priced, but are putting a tax on kids’ body sizes.

An Advertiser investigation into the prices of private school uniforms for secondary students found the price gap was up to $108 for the full uniform in a larger size.

Loreto College charges $210 for blazers size 4–10 and $240 for sizes 12-24, a $30 gap.

A jumper sized 10-16 will set parents back $85, while 18-26 will cost them $100.

While we have a long way to go when it comes to plus-size clothing and fashion inclusion, the extra cost is even harder to swallow given most adult retailers operate from a one-price-fits-all model.

Popular online retailer ASOS has both a regular and plus-sized label, called ASKS Curve, which goes up to a size 28 – for the same cost.

Dr Kate Kennedy from RMIT University and the Australian Standards Size Committee said that in order to price clothing fairly, retailers figured out how much it would cost them to make an “average” size and went from there.

“You gain a bit for the small people and add a bit for the bigger people,” Dr Kennedy said.

“It kind of evens out. You get your costs based on your average size and then it depends how many big sizes you’re producing and how many smaller sizes.”

So why is it that, if a bigger school student needs to run in and grab a new jumper, they’ll also have to pick up the shame of an extra large bill.

Many of us would remember all too well the body battles of high school, watching slimmer schoolmates hitching up their skirts or tugging at shirtsleeves as you wished you could shave off centimetres.

High school is a vulnerable enough place for those figuring out who they are and learning to live in their bodies without being told their size is going to cost them.

More coverage:

Young SA women speak out about the ‘negative influence’ of Kayla Itsines’ original Bikini Body Guide

According to the Butterfly Foundation, adolescent women are at the highest risk when it comes to developing eating disorders.

Today’s school kids already face a barrage of “perfect” body ideals, influencer-sponsored meal replacements and Kardashian-shaped pressures.

So if you’re going to force kids into an antiquated ankle-length kilt or make your hideous prefect blazers in an un-washable colour, the least you can do is make them inclusive – and the same price.