Times sure have changed, I remember doing my PPL and getting politely asked by the CFI of the aero club to take my safety pins out of my ears when doing my flying lessons, because they were scratching up the headsets :D

Seriously you're a bunch of students FFS, you shouldn't be wearing uniforms at all. Epaulettes should be illegal if you're not flying something that at least burns kerosene and has some paying cargo down the back

Oh I don't know, I keep a set in my flight bag just in case. I actually wore them once - they got me a free early aircrew breakfast at the airport hotel in Liege. I was delivering a Grumman Tiger for an owner in Prague.

Luke - times have changed and standards are slipping but aviation is a pretty conservative occupation, even today. This thread isn't about PPL training though is it? We're talking about prospective airline employees who may be selected or even sponsored by their future employers to undertake the training and/or student pilots who aspire to work for those same companies themselves one day. It's all about mind-set and attitude - presentation, professionalism, discipline, responsibility, attention to detail. The big schools require their customers to wear uniforms - it's contractual and should be non-negotiable but often overlooked yet, should be seen as possibly the only meaningful way these commercial schools can really help their output get an advantage in terms of employability. And yes, I wore jeans and a t-shirt when I was doing my PPL but I already knew how to dress proper by then anyway ;).