Figure 1.--This photograph is unidentified, but it looks to us that it might be highschool boys in the late 1930s. The younger boys wearing knickers may be a junior highschool student. Notice the ties and sweaters. |
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American boys have worn a wide range of garments to schools. These garments have varied over time and there have also been regional differenes. The type of school was also of some importance. American boys for the most part did not wear uniforms. There are a few exceoptions such as military and preparatory schools and a few private schools. American boys simply wore their regular clothes, often somewhat more formal than play clothes. This however changed over time. We see garments like sailor suits and kneepants suits in the early 20th century. Many boys wore corduroy knickers to school. Most boys wore long pants to school in the 1950s, but shorts were also worn by some areas. This varied regionally and chronolgically. Pimary boys by the mis 20th century were wearing more casual clothes such as "T"-shirts and jeans. To our knowledge American boys diud not wear smocks, but they were worn at some schools for art classes. Cold weather garments were important during the Winter, especially in the northern states. Most boys had raincoats for inclemet weather.
American boys for the most part did not wear uniforms. There are a few exceptions such as military and preparatory schools and a few private schools. Here we will deal with military school uniform garments separately because they are so specialized. Uniforms began to become more popular after World War II. The parochial schools were the first to commonly adopt uniforms. Many inner-city primary schools began adopting uniforms in the 1990s. Normally they were not compulsory.
American boys simply wore their regular clothes, often somewhat more formal than play clothes. This however changed over time. We see garments like sailor suits and kneepants suits in the early 20th century. Many boys wore corduroy knickers to school. Most boys wore long pants to school in the 1950s, but shorts were also worn by some areas. This varied regionally and chronolgically. Pimary boys by the mis 20th century were wearing more casual clothes such as "T"-shirts and jeans. To our knowledge American boys diud not wear smocks, but they were worn at some schools for art classes. Cold weather garments were important during the Winter, especially in the northern states. Most boys had raincoats for inclemet weather. A reader writes, "I was talking with a friend about changing fashions. She
told me that when she was in middle school in Berkeley in the late 1940s, boys wore unwashed corduroys, letting them get as dirty as possible. They also liked to wear them as low as possible. Things go in cycles! I also asked her about blue jeans. She said that boys in this area were never prohibited from wearing jeans at either the schools she attended or at the schools she taught at. The prohibition was against girls wearing jeans to high school, which was finally lifted in the mid-1960s. Today it's rare to find a girl who isn't wearing jeans. The dresses and skirts that used to be everyday wear are now reserved for special occasions."
We have not yet worked on school shoes. We do note, however, an interesting article about the Portland public schools which taught boys shoe repair.
We note boys ding calesthetics in the early 20th cebntury. They look to be wearing their own clothes rather than gym unifirms. We are not sure when gym uniforms were fitst worn. We think that they were being commonly worn in high schools by the 1920s. Gym or Physical Education (PE) used to be an important part of the school program, especially at the secondary level. Primary (elementary) schools did not always have PE classes and did not have special gym clothes or uniforms. This was different in secondary clothes. PE was a class and grades were given. There were uniforms and most schools were strict about wearing the proper gym clothes. This changed in the 1970s when school dress codes and gym uniform requirements were significantly relaxed. The PE program was also deemphasized at many schools. A HBC reader has provided us some information about his gym experinces: Gym uniforms in California during the 1960s-70s.
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