Figure 1.--Some schools had corduroy uniforms or at least corduroy shorts. This school used corduroy jackets and shorts for its everyday uniform. One problem with corduroy was that the colofaded with washing. Thus it was difficult to keep a uniform look. |
A variety of different materials are used for British school uniforms. The materials have varied over time. Flannel was once a very important material. It was used for both blazers and trousers. Gaberdine was once widely ised for overcoats. Artex was a popular material for casual summer shirts. Many schools by tge 1970s had short pants made from Terelyn. It was a popular material, because inlike flannel, it permanently kept the crease. Some schools had corduroy uniforms or at least corduroy shorts.
Artex was a popular material for casual summer shirts. Some were done similar to polo shirts.
Some schools had corduroy uniforms or at least corduroy shorts. This appears to have been a popular choice at some of the schools with more informal uniform standards. Corduroy is a hard wearing cotton fabric that required less care than many other fabrics. A few had uniform made up of matching corduroy lumber jackets and short pants. Sometimes this was just the ordinary school uniform and the boys had blazers for special occassions. At other schools it was the uniform for all occassions. More common were schools that just used corduroy for the oants, both short and long trousers. The corduroy was done in different colors. Blue and grey were the most common, but we also noticed tan colored corduroy. We think corduroy was more common in the 1950s, but quite a few schools still used corduroy in the 1980s.
Flannel was once a very important material. It was used for both blazers and trousers. We noticed very few schools by the 1980s that still had flannel uniforms, especially flannel pants. Many schools did have flannel blazers.
Gaberdine was once widely ised for overcoats. We noted only a few schools by the 1980s that still had gaberdine overcoats.
Many schools by the 1970s had short pants made from Terelyn. It was a popular material, because inlike flannel, it permanently kept the crease.
