At Ouran Academy, student uniforms indicate grade level and school division: Kindergarten, Elementary, Middle or High School. The anime mimics both style and color from the manga. The dorama, on the other hand, re-envisions the uniforms. It has been speculated that this was due to legal issues arising from competition with another popular shoujo manga-adapted-to-drama called Hana-Kimi (manga) and Hanazakari no Kimitachi e (Ikemen Paradise), a story about a girl pretending to be a boy at an all-boys boarding school; however this has never been proven.
Kindergarten[]
- Manga/Anime: Male and female uniforms are identical, though boys wear shorts and girls wear skirts. The top is a short-sleeved, tailored white over-blouse with a salmon sailor-collar and a peach neckerchief. The boys wear salmon shorts and the girls, a salmon pleated skirt and white socks with salmon Mary Jane shoes.
- Dorama: Unknown
Elementary School[]
- Manga/Anime: Boys wear a dark green uniform consisting of short trousers and a double-breasted jacket with lapels, under which is worn a short-sleeved, white shirt and black loosely-bowed tie.
- Manga/Anime: Girls wear a two-tone uniform consisting of a pink pleated skirt (hem variable, as long as dress code is followed) with a long-sleeved, white pullover top with pink cuffs and pink bib collar that covers the shoulders front and back, red loosely-bowed tie, white tube socks and dark red Mary Jane shoes.
- Dorama: Girls wear a tan, double-breasted blazer with the Ouran crest sewn onto the right side, a white self-bowed blouse with dark plaid pleated skirt. The boys' uniform is unknown.
Middle School[]
- Manga/Anime: Boys wear straight black trousers and an ivory, concealed front-closure jacket, with a Nehru collar and dark gold braid; an Ouran Academy seal is sewn onto the left side.
- Manga/Anime: Girls wear a brown and white dress with a darker brown loosely-bowed tie decorating the v-neckline (with modesty panel) rising into a nautical-style collar; the dropped waist sits over a pleated skirt which may be short, but not revealing, and black knee-high socks with black Mary Jane shoes.
- Dorama: Boys wear straight gray plaid trousers and a black, concealed front-closure jacket, with a Nehru collar and white braid; an Ouran Academy seal is sewn onto the left side. Girls wear a black pleated skirt, white v-neck blouse with an attached self-tie bow, a black sailor-style overblouse, black knee high socks and black flats.
High School[]
- Boys wear straight black trousers and a pale blue blazer, under which is worn a long or short-sleeved white shirt and black Windsor-knotted silk tie, accented by a narrow purple band running vertically down its center length. An Ouran Academy seal is sewn onto the left breast. Black socks and loafers complete the uniform.
- Girls wear a yellow fitted-bodice dress with a pointed white collar and red loosely-bowed tie; Juliet sleeves ending in a white cuff; and a skirt that is typically calf-length and somewhat puffy (petticoats used to maintain a bell shape). White tights and black or red Mary Jane shoes complete the uniform.
- Dorama: Boys wear straight, dark plaid trousers and a black blazer with white edging, under which is worn a long or short-sleeved white shirt and the standard Ouran necktie. Girls wear the familiar yellow dress with a long and narrow sleeve. Black tights and black shoes complete the uniform.
Natural fabrics, such as wool, cotton and silk, have always been considered first-class. It may be speculated that uniforms vary their fabric with the change of seasons, while retaining their style (e.g. linen vs. wool for the Ouran blazer). One male uniform set costs ¥300,000 ($3,000USD) and is hand-altered by the school tailor.
There is some leniency in the dress code. Nekozawa wears a black cloak over his uniform daily. Kasanoda is rarely seen with a tie and often wears his button-up shirt as outerwear. In Chapter 1, before Haruhi has a chance to purchase a uniform, she makes do with a dress shirt and sweater from home; and she dons the same outfit again in Chapter 76 of the manga after the Host Club is disbanded.
Color analysis of the Manga/Anime uniforms reveals mindset. Preschool boys and girls wear the same colors - innocent white and peach as the power of red, toned down. Elementary boys are sprouting up in green self-reliance while the girls are blossom-pretty in pink, which seeks acceptance. Middle school ivory for boys suggests innocence moving towards the romantic attitude of brown, which flavors the girls' uniforms. In high school, the boys are true blue (at least for awhile in pastel) while the girls wear pale yellow, a color that suggests submissiveness in love, but also cheerfulness and fun. White and gold trim on everything indicates both purity and royalty. The colors used in the dorama reflect only the costume designer's and art director's specifications.
