Figure 1.--Most private schools in Britain have continued to required uniforms during the 20th century. They were not generally required at state schools until after World War II. A reader writes, "This is a comical photo of two fun loving boys. I think they are the sort that get into all sorts of mischief. The taller boy is full of life and a very fun loving boy. I laughed at this picture. Their fun is infectous. Wonder what they are doing now!"

Schoolwear for the most part is a good reflection of overall children's fashions and how they changed the years. Schoolwear like all clothes have changed along with fashion fluctuations over time. Children also worn some of their best outfits to school, but they were basically a reflection of popular styles. We eventually hope to develop information on ancient amd medieval schools, but at this point most of our informatiin is about the modern era. A factor here was social class as until the 19th century, working-class children did not attend school and if they did it was just to obtain a very bsic education. School uniforms are to a large extent associated with England where they were first used to identify charity children in the 16th century, Only in the mid-19th century were uniforms adopted by exclusive private schools. It was in the 20th century that uniforms were adopted by schools all over the world--often as a dempocratic reform. American schools for generations avoided public school uniforms, although that begun to change in the 1980s. Many European countries have also avoided scool uniforms. Surprisingly even the NAZIs did not adopt school uniforms at state schools. We hare developing an overall schoowear chronology. Socialist countries which claimed to opose militarism in contrast often imposed school uniforms.

Medieval Schools

After the fall of Rome, formal schooling in the West disappeared. The rare vestiges of school were the song schools of the cathedrals and monasteries. The boys chosen at first were taught to prepare them for holy orders. We have only limited information about the clothing for these early choristers. Formal schooling in Europe outside of church schools were rare in Europe until about the 10th century. The great bulk of the population was iliterate. The number of children attending schools was very limited for several more centuries. There were similarities in the development of schools throughout Europe, but the pattern varied significantly in many areas. We have little information at this time about clothing at these early schools. There does appear to have been some uniformity in the clothing worn by the choristers in the early song schools. This appears to have been less common in the secular schools which slowly developed during the second millennium.

16th Century

Martin Luther without really meaning to do so launched the when Luther nailed his Ninety-Five Theses on the Church door (1517). It set in motion a revolution in education. Protestants belieed that th individual needed to take a much greater role in their religious development and this included reading the Bible. The Ctholic Church had focused on priests leading thir flock and ws uncofortable bout the individul believer reading the Bible. They had good reson for this. The Church heirarchy knew that if people read the Bible they would begin aking questins and forming opinions, including conclusions cntrary to estblished Church doctrines. And this is precisey what happened in Protestant northen Europe. The Protesants soon broke into many dfferet denominations. But one commn thread among rotestants was the need t read nd study the Bible. And this ment thatcikdren, bith boys and girls had to be educated. Thus Europenans, especially Protestats in nrthern REurope, wre the first people in history that set out to educate the etire population. Ths became the fundation of public education sytems that uld eventually develop throughout Europe. Some of the first school uniforms appeared in England during the 16th century. They were initiated at charity schools for poor children. The uniforms worn at England's blue coat schools were derived from these early uniforms.

17th Century

18th Century

The educated elites of 18th-century Europe began a serious review of their inherited institutions and ideologies, reflecting upon 17th-century advancements in scientific thought, technological innovation, and a broadened knowledge of the world beyond European and Mediterranean cultures. Optimism about the power of human reason, especially when linked with empirical methods of inquiry, led to queries about the possibility of improving the human condition. With a view to the contributions of luminary figures such as Francis Bacon, Galileo Galilei, Isaac Newton, Robert Boyle, John Locke, Ren� Descartes-to name only a few of the most prominent iters-eighteenth-century "philosophes," men and women of the Enlightenment, asked whether or not the successes stemming from the application of reason and science to the natural world might be achievable also in the social world. If the physical world obeys such laws as Newton formulated, might not scientific inquiry reveal that the social world also obeys certain natural laws?

19th Century

We know much more about schools an education in the 19th century than any previous century. This is because more and more countries came to understand the importance of public educatin and an educated citzenry. At the beginning of the century only America and German states had important public education systems. Prussia in particular had made an important commitment to public education. America had a long history of public education, but in vasrid from colony to colony. The Federal Gverment laid the foundatin for public education in the late-19th century, but it was up to each state to actually administer the system. And decade by decade these state ecucation systems grew into one of the jewels of the American Republic, a major factor in the development of American Exceptionalism. Europe incluing England ws still dominated by power elites who were still uneasy about educating the vast majority of their population. This was especially te case in Catholic countries. But even in Protesnt countries, landowners and the rising industrial class saw dangers in their ability to maintain power if the general public was educated. While landonbers and dustrialists may hve had dounts, the rising middle class created by the Indudstrial Revoluton strongly supported public education. Slowly the Protestant empetus to make sure people could read the Bible and the power competition between contries created the driving force behind public eduction. Interestingly Britain was one of the countries that lagged behind this trend. Britain would, however, have a major impact on education, largely because of its highly developed private school system and its influnce within its huge Empire. ghoography appeared at mid-century which for the first tme provide fascnating imafes of schools. Many modern school uniform styles first appeard in the 19th century. These uniforms were adopted first at Britain's elite public schools. It was not until the 20th century that boys at state schools began to wear school uniforms. This in part explains why school uniforms have been seen, especially in Britain, as a fashion for boys from affluent schools that went to exspensive private schools. In fact these schools in the 19th and early 20th century had enormous lists of uniform and sports items that were required, making it quite expensive to outfit a pupil. Another approach appeared in France where school smocks were instituted for boys and girls in the 1870s.

20th Century

The modern styles of school uniform generally appeared in the 20th century, mostl after World War I. England was by far the most important country. After the War Eton collars and knickers gave way to soft collars, blazers, and short pants. Until after World war II, however, school uniforms were primarily worn a English private schools. Educational authorities varied on the value of school uniforms. Countries varied greatly as to their approach. American boys rarely wore school uniforms, with the exception of private schools and parochial schools. This general objection to school uniform, however, began to change in the late 1980s. English private schools insisted on uniforms and after World War II this also became common in state schools. French and Itlaian boys never commonly wore uiforms, but did commonly wear smocks, although this began to decline in the 1960s.

21st Century

School authorities around the world continue to debate school uniforms. Many European countries continue to allow children to wear their on clothes. Uniforms continue to be worn in England, but have become more informal. The idea of school uniforms continue to become more popular in elementary an middle schools, but many Americans still object to the idea. Those schools that do have uniforms often make them optional and generally informal. One new development was the concern over exposure to ulta-violent radiation. This concern is being rflected in Australian anf New Zealand school uniforms.

Related Style Pages in the Boys' Historical Web Site
[Long pants suits] [Knicker suits] [Short pants suits] [Socks] [Eton suits] [Jacket and trousers] [Blazer] [School sandals]

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Created: 4:12 AM 6/24/2008
Last updated: 7:48 PM 7/2/2014