Figure 1.--These boys at an English prep school wear plain grey kneesocks. |
Many small state or Church of England primary school
have the children wear plain grey knee socks, often the less expensive style without the turn-over tops. Even at the schools with regulation school stocks with colored stripes
or bars, some boys wear the plain grey kneesocks. They are less expensive
than the regulation ones, so are sometimes chosen by thrifty mums. Since
the mid-1980s the English chain stores like Marks & Spencers introduced
knee-length socks without turn-over tops. These were worn mainly by
children at state primary schools, though where preparatory schools did not
strictly require socks with the school colors these were worn because they
were much less expensive. Prior to the 1980s kneesocks of this style were
mostly worn by girls. Almost all boys' schools required turn over-top socks.
As many prep schools in the 1980s were making the transition from boys to
coed schools and the primary schools were already coed, the kneesocks
without turn over tops became more prevelent. (The schools did not
require different grey socks for the boys and girls.) The color of grey varied widely. This was in part due to the original color, but color changes occured as the socks were washed. The socks came in different weights. There were both turn-over-top socks and less expensive socks that came to just below the knee when fully stretched and thus could not be cuffed.
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