I have a photo of my granddaughter as she enters 7th grade. She’s happy although I wish her shorts were longer. You can tell from her face that she’s joyful. Have a photo (from Facebook) of my cousin’s granddaughter entering 7th grade. She does not look happy. She’s wearing a uniform and sensible shoes and glasses. Poor girl is big, not fat but looks very tall and a bit stocky.
I think you're trying too hard to denigrate uniforms. Maybe one girl is happy in the photo and one is not.
Uniforms and dress codes prepare kids for the working world. Outside of 'the arts' professions sartorial creativity is not well accepted. To be honest, I'd say even they have kinds of uniforms, albeit unwritten.
I have never liked the Back-to-School clothing push. I find the JPC ad to be a reflection of cold reality rather than "promoting bullying." JPC's ad is safe and bland by comparison. K-Mart's is well deserving of backlash and outrage.