Figure 1.--Here we see a girl's class in what we believe to be a German primary school. It is undated, but was probably taken in the 1920s. Note the number of girls wearing pinafores. Also notice the new school furniture. Click on the image to see the rest of the class. |
Girls school uniforms vary arond the world. We plan to develop information on girls school uniform. There is some information on girls in the HBC-SU section on boys school uniform, but our information on girls' uniforms and schoolwear is still quite limited. We have begun a gender section in HBC-SU section, but have not yet worked on it to any extent. We have also begun to work on England. England is particularly important because so many school uniform styles originated in England. Garments like blazers, ties, jumpers, gym frocks, school sandals, all seem to be English in origin. Some garments were worn by both boys and girls. Others are destincly for girls only. We note garments worn in other countries, but some have not held up as well as the English styles. We are hoping that a HBC reader interested in school uniform will help us develop this section or even link with a reader with a separate site on girls' school uniforms. Interested readers should contact HBC.
Girls school uniforms vary arond the world. We have also begun to work on England. England is particularly important because so many school uniform styles originated in England. We note garments worn in other countries, but some have not held up as well as the English styles. We do not yet have a page Russia, but do have a pagge on Soviet dress and pinafores.
Garments like blazers, ties, jumpers, gym frocks, school sandals, all seem to be English in origin. Some garments were worn by both boys and girls. Others are destincly for girls only. Headwear and skirted garments were destinctly for girls, even here, however there were exceptions. There are destinctie headwear styles for boys and girls. The boys wore pants and the girls dresses, often gym frocks, or skirts. This is the convention in all schools that we know of with uniforms. The colors vary. Blue and gray are the most common. The girls dresses are both solid colors and patterns--almost always plaid. At non-uniform schools in recent years girls have begun wearing pants, both jeans and shorts. Some schools with unforms allow the girls to wear shorts and long pants, but this is not very common.
Hosiery and footwear often differed. Many schools have the girls wear white socks, both ankle and knee length. Few schools use white socks for boys uniforms, although we note one school in Brisbane where the boys wear white kneesocks. Some have shoe requirements such as strap shoes or sandals, but this varies.We notice substantial differences in these garments over time and among countries. Not only did the actual garments change, but the gender conventions for wearing them.
Thre were a range of gender conventions associated with various school uniform garments. These varied from country to country and over time.
We are hoping that a HBC reader interested in school uniform will help us develop this section or even link with a reader with a separate site on girls' school uniforms. Interested readers should contact HBC.
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