HBC
A little background on my memories of school clothes may be of use. I grew up in a southern city of about 125,000-150,000 in population. The baby boom was on, and the prevalent "family-oriented" culture of the time really harmonized with the traditional religious and community values of the South. It was a time and place in which people, certainly the up and coming, and those who wanted to be, took pride in their appearances. I was really fortunate to have the parents I had. I usually had good relations with both, though there were times when I tested their patience with contrary behavior. My brother is five years older than me. He had athletic ability and played team sports. He was much more daring and "pushed the envelope" of parental tolerance more than I would. I have quite a few memories concerning both clothes and hair styles.
A little background on my memories of school clothes may be of
use. I grew up in a southern city of about 125,000-150,000 in population. Following the end of the World War II, the city grew steadily. A core of old families and old money continued to dominate, but postwar expansion and prosperity were ever so slowly changing the balance of power in favor of newer, younger, upwardly mobile families. The baby boom was on, and the prevalent "family-oriented" culture of the time really harmonized with the traditional religious and community values of the South. It was a time and place in which people, certainly the up and coming, and those who wanted to be, took pride in their appearances. A parent could say to a child, "you're not going out in public like that," and expect obedience. For children of upper class and professional families, the pressure to make a good
appearance and to do and say the right things was strong. Moreover, the South was and remains the nation's strongest bastion of social conservatism, and this weighs in heavily in understanding our tastes in clothing.
I was really fortunate to have the parents I had. I usually had good relations with both, though there were times when I tested their patience with contrary behavior. When I was about 5 or so, my Dad came home for lunch. Mom, Dad, and I were at the table, and I had a bowl of soup. I began slurping, and both told me
to stop it. That of course only fired a juvenile desire for attention, and I slurped until they told me to go to my room. Lapses in good manners or not following their instructions, like keeping my room neat, or going to bed when told were the biggest
problems. I wasn't destructive or "hyper", but if I were punished, I know now I deserved it, and probably more...
My mother is a "steel magnolia", very gracious, generous, and hospitable. At the same time she's very durable and determined. Homemaking was her career. She had definite ideas about how we boys should be dressed. Let me just give you one example. Once
when I was about 5 or 6, I was being dressed for some occasion in much that way. I thought it seemed so strange, a shirt collar wasn't supposed to go over your coat like that!
I quickly made up my mind about the collar! So mom and I went back and forth; I'd put my collar down, my mom would put it back. Finally, she said to my dad familiar words to the effect of, "Will you do something about him?" And, of course, that was all it took! Wearing a collar up and over my coat seemed so strange
to me back then. Old films and photos, as you know, show that this style wasn't uncommon, just sort of an informal look.
My father worked as in a managerial position for a large corporation. He was something of a workaholic, taking work and much of life very serously. He had very high standards of honesty and responsibility, and for that I respected him very much. He expected the same from us kids, that we always do our best in everything. He didn't pay much attention to how he dressed, but always supported mom when issues arose. Never saw many pictures of my dad when he was growing up. In one he was dressed in knickers, long stockings, and a sweater. In another, a portrait, he wore a sports coat, and shirt, unbuttoned at the collar, with the shirt collar over the top portion of the coat. In his high school annual, he wore a double breasted suit, shirt, and tie. When I was small, I remember my Dad wore suits and ties to work. His dress shirts came back from the dry cleaners packed in cellophane with a cardboard backing so the shirt would keep its form. Later, he worked a good bit out of the office and would wear a sports coat and slacks, often without a tie. A well dressed but less formal look. On weekends he'd wear casual slacks and a sports shirt, leather shoes. He'd always look very neat and well dressed before going anywhere. In hot weather for work around the house, he'd wear shorts.
My brother is five years older than me. He had athletic ability and played team sports. He was much more daring and "pushed the envelope" of parental
tolerance more than I would. A schoolyard fight and a little more recklessness in style (I think a lot of it was macho posturing) were him, though he never broke
any laws (that I know of!) He loved to tease me, practice wrestling holds on me, and exercised his ready wit frequently on me as I came of age, but I knew we'd stick together. For a while we'd go to Saturday matinees with monster films together, and
he'd even let me tag along sometimes with his friends and him. Thinking back, that's pretty generous for a big brother.
When I was about 6 years old, in the summer of 1958, one afternoon my mother told me were going to visit some family friends. The visit required some dressing up, because after my bath, a short sleeved shirt, pair of dark blue shorts, blue socks and saddle shoes, black and white, were presented me to wear for our visit. I wore ankle socks with my saddle shoes. Thinking back, seems like only a few times, when I was about 6 or 7, that I wore knee socks. I'd never seen saddle shoes before, neither my father nor my brother had ever worn them, nor any of the neighborhood boys. I think that was my most lasting impression, that they just seemed a lot different from any other shoes I'd seen or worn. HBC is
right that saddle shoes spanned the age range, but for me they'll always be shoes worn by younger boys, based on my experience. I remember thinking, also, they seemed to be a little too dapper for a boy on a summer's day.
I attended parochial school in grades 1-5, and public schools, grades 6-12. My father was Protestant, and my mother Roman Catholic; we children were baptized and brought up Catholic, and attending
parochial schools seemed like the natural thing to do.
Neither of the parochial schools I attended required a
uniform. I know that a lot of parochial schools do require basic uniforms, but mine didn't. The boys all dressed reasonably well; no
uniform hardly implied lack of standards!
Boys typically favored short or long sleeved dress shirts
in the commonly found solids, stripes, or plaids. The
fabric was usually orlon, dacron, a cotton blend, or
maybe 100% cotton, or flannel for colder weather. The
colors were subdued, as I recall. For a while in the
late 50's, shirts with a whimsical pattern were
popular - one I remember was of a candy cane pattern
and another was of polka dots of primary colors. T
shirts were usually worn under the shirt, but we
couldn't wear just a T shirt. Jeans or blended
trousers, maybe a wool blend on chilly days were
preferred. Canvas tennis shoes, black or white,
especially a make called B F Flyers by Goodrich, were
popular, as well as black or brown leather lace-ups.
Odd, but I don't remember shorts being especially common my first school year. In grades 2-6, boys were more likely to do so. The first school I attended was adjacent to the Cathedral, in downtown, the
second, for grades 2-5, nearer the fringes of town. I wonder if that had anything to do with it. But, lots of us boys wore shorts all summer long, and in the heat (90°-105°F every day) and humidity, which can
start in mid/late April some years and stretch well
into September and early October, and make guest
appearances even around New Year's, shorts were
standard wear, for playwear, somwhat dressy wear, but
short pants suits were common only for boys about 7
and younger. Camp shorts were really popular; colors
of "khaki, navy blue, and forest green", I can quote
typical ads of the times! Solid white I think was
overruled as impractical for active boys. Another
common style, by advertised name, at least, was "walk
shorts" or "walking shorts" always followed by, "for
boys". By about grades 4-5 (1961-63) madras plaids
were well liked, too, for both casual and somewhat
dressy clothes. Shorts back then were not nearly so
long as today's, but not European short, either. Some
were probably an inch and a half above the knee, most
about two-thirds of the length between waist and knee.
This was probably the most common length. Plain front
or pleated solid color shorts were also popular.
White crew athletic socks white or black canvas tennis shoes
were usually worn with shorts, and for casual or play wear, a white T shirt. You'd also see boys wear dark colored crew socks and dark brown or cordovan slip-ons like penny loafers with shorts, either solid color or plaid. Add a nice solid color knit short sleeved pullover shirt with a collar to finish the look. This was usually for school or for shopping some place nice during the warm weather months. I always felt
comfortably well dressed like this.
Most boys, I don't think, gave wearing shorts a thought. So many boys, even some junior or senior high boys, wore them. Just a few blocks from where I lived, a boy my age, Scotty, and his older brother, by 3 years, Bart, wore shorts all summer long, never giving
it a thought; so did most of the kids in our
neighborhood, even one boy, Gordon, who was a little
older, about 14 or 15.
Still, not all the boys were completely sold on the idea. Some, I don't think ever wore shorts to school. I remember overhearing a boy in our third grade class asking one of my friends, if he really liked shorts. Johnny just answered that he liked them fine, as if to
say, "where's the issue in this case?"
Once in the 5th grade, a boy wore dress shorts, dark blue, and I guess Patrick was fairly well dressed up for school, but no coat and tie, though. One boy during recess remarked to him, "You gotta have guts to wear shorts to school!" Patrick just said, "Yeah,
we've got company at our house, and I gotta look
nice." Understanding his "plight", the matter was then
dropped.
For church I remember short sleeved shirts, shorts, ankle socks and leather lace shoes until I was about 7, then sport coats and long trousers, and with a
clip-on bow tie through about the 5th grade and, when I was older, one of my Dad's ties, one that I thought he wouldn't notice! And dark leather shoes
that HAD to be cleaned if not shined for church. More than once I thought my mother was going to pass out upon seeing scuffed or dirty shoes on Sunday morning. After affixing my bow tie (and what seemed like asphyxiating me -- at times, I wondered!), my dad would take me in front of a mirror to do battle with my dark, inch or so long hair. Finding a part really presented little problem. With Wildroot Cream Oil and
a comb he would get every hair in place. Like I said, not a challenge; I knew when he'd watch me, tell me to turn around,then look closely, and maybe get a handful
of hair in his hand what was coming up - a trip to the barber. My older brother would sometimes start laughing until he'd hear Dad say, "You, too, Ricky."
And we boys would say, what else, "Yes, sir", and face the shears. At church the boys often usually wore suits and ties, or sport coats and ties. Long pants, invariably, after the 3rd grade or so. I was probably about 15 or so when a mother, maybe a grandmother, and her son or grandson, about 10 or 11 years old, began going
to our church, or maybe the time when we went to church. he wore a shorts suit with ankle socks several times to church. I remember it because it was quite uncommon for the time. Later, he wore a long pants suit; I'm not sure what he thought about his clothes. For church, most parents seemed to think that shorts were a little too casual. Maybe a shorts suit seemed a little too dressy for our time and place.
Beginning in the 3rd grade, eyeglasses had to be cleaned, too. Mom or Dad would say, exasperated, "How can you SEE out out of those dirty glasses?" I
remember the day I got my first pair of glasses, I think it was in March of 1961, I was looking forward to getting them. I knew taunts of "Four-eyes!" were
coming up, from, who else, my older brother, but I thought (and still do) that glasses instantly made people look smarter. My mother remarked to the
optician how odd she thought it was that a boy was looking forward to receiving eyeglasses. The optician replied, "Oh, not really. He wants to be able to see
better." Shiny black plastic framed glasses, known as hornrims, were the mode of the day. Except for cleaning them so much, I still don't mind them.
And I remember when I was about a 6th grader, our across the street neighbor had her two grandsons, twins who were probably 4th graders, and their mom
visiting. This must have been in April, and the weather was becoming milder. Their mom told my mom the boys would be in shorts as the weather got warmer,
even though the twins didn't like shorts. She said the girls in their class stared at them, and of course, this attention was not desirable. Mothers, many back
then if not today as well, DID (or DO) seem to like dressing their boys up, particularly in clothes that make them seem a bit younger. The late humorist/journalist Lewis Grizzard wrote in one of his columns, that all mothers go through such a phase. Perhaps it is their desire to eradicate, at least outwardly and however temporarily, whatever is roughhewn and rowdy in the young male. Is it a
maternal mission to "civilize"? Or is it a question of their wanting to hold on to the maternal role for as long as possible? Not so long ago, rearing children
and keeping house defined many American (and I suppose many other) women's lives. To hold on to that role, to make the mind believe that the lease on that role can
be renewed, however fleetingly, may in part explain this distinctly maternal desire/tendency to juvenilize the boy(s).
For about a year I was a Cub Scout. The familiar blue uniform with long sleeves and trousers and blue cap were what we wore. Back then, I don't remember any Cubs wearing short pants uniforms; there's nothing in my experience to contradict HBC's information, that Cub Scouts didn't wear uniforms with shorts until roughly the early 1970's. I'm not sure, how we might have reacted to that innovation. We
weren't any strangers to wearing shorts, but if they appeared too fancy, if they made us look too dressed up, this might have been something some of the boys wouldn't have liked.
When I was about 12, a friend and I went to a couple
of Boy Scout meetings and considered joining, but we
weren't willing to make the commitment of time; I
think we had other interests and realized we weren't
ready to be part of an organization. Several boys in
sixth grade and some in junior high did wear their
scout uniforms to school. Most often, because the
school calendar that coincided with cooler weather,
that meant long sleeves and trousers. And in junior
high, no shorts except for gym was the rule. So, only
in the sixth grade, likely, would a Boy Scout have
worn a shorts uniform to school. In senior high
school, no way; a Scout uniform would have marked one
as a a do-gooder or juvenile. By senior high next to
nothing was heard about scouting.
Beginning the 6th grade in September 1963, I
attended public schools. Back then the school district
was on a 6-3-3 plan, denoting the number years for
elementary, junior, and high school years. I think
this is a good plan. In the 6th grade clothing
habits changed hardly at all from the two or so
previous years. All that began to change somewhat in
seventh grade; adolescence was practically upon us,
and boys and girls were encouraged by one and all to
act a bit more maturely towards each other.
Both girls and boys were becoming more conscious of their
appearance and clothing. Typically, clean blue jeans
were alternated with dress slacks, dark blue and gray,
khaki, and olive colored slacks were favored. Brown
and earth tones weren't well received. Dress shirts,
button down or loose collar, long or short sleeved,
and pullover short sleeved shirts were popular. Solid
color Burlington crew socks were well liked, with
slip-ons, penny loafers, and sometimes substantial,
rather grown-up looking leather lace up shoes. When I
was in the 7th grade, pastel colored crew socks
and matching button down oxford cloth shirts, dark
blue, gray or khaki colored trousers were a rage. It
only lasted one year, or part of a year, but it was a
memorable look. The next year, we reverted to our more
conventional pattern.
Boys couldn't wear shorts to school, beginning with the 7th grade. Maybe the school district was trying to mold us into mature young gentlemen. Sometimes, they must have felt like they had their hands full. Shorts could only be worn for PE. Through much of junior high, a running battle between boys and gym coaches occurred over remembering to take the clothes home at least once a week and having them
washed. For us boys, here juvenile irresponsibility asserted itself. Some of us may have been near foppish about our appearance in class--witness those pastel
socks and shirts--but we were just lazy about taking our gym gear home. I remember our 7th grade gym coach as a towering tyrant. Tall, burly, in his mid-20s, and flat topped. He was creative in finding implements for paddling us--shoes, fan belts
from cars, you name it. Once before school, some friends and I saw him drive up to school in a new Mustang and kiss his wife good-bye as she drove off. We were unbelieving. He turned, saw us, and we never ran so fast into school.
In senior high school, as you might expect, a variety of clothing could be seen on a given day. Mostly, dress shirts and slacks
with Bass weejuns, penny loafers, and even fancy dress
shoes were popular. Other boys liked jeans and tennis
shoes or even boots that we call out here "kickers" (a
four letter syllable that often precedes "kickers" is
omitted. We like to run a clean establishment!).These
boots are tan, pointed-toed (for finding the stirrups
on the saddle easier; genuine cowboys like them).One
pullover, short-sleeved shirt that was popular had a
little penguin on hte front, just where the equally
popular Izod Lacoste has its famous crocodile.
Caps were not nearly so often worn or seen as today. When we were 6 - 14, baseball caps were our first choice; often they were the boy's Little League team cap. But we didn't wear them as frequently as boys today. And certainly not backwards either. For winter there were baseball style caps that were fur-lined and had flaps for our ears. I didn't like to wear down over my ears. But those short haircuts left ears and necks exposed. Winter can be cold here, just as summers are hot. Not much by Minnesota or New England standards, but we've had wind chills of 15 and 20 below. Cold enough for us. Some boys had drivers' caps; this would be saved for dressed up wear.
The saddle shoes discussion brought back memories of different shoe styles and clothing fads. One such fad dates from Fall 1964, the year my class began junior high school, the 7th grade. The shoes of choice that Fall were dark brown or cordovan "penny loafers", and with them we wore khaki, dark blue, or gray slacks and a button-down collar oxford shirt of a pastel color (usually blue, yellow, or pink; pink seems a little odd for the time, but we did) and crew socks of a
matching pastel color. Shirt and socks HAD to be of matching pastel colors.
Other "boyhood clothing commandments" prevailed from that time. For example, with tennis shoes only white crew socks could be worn, never ever dark socks. That would be a nerd's choice! Have you seen some of the remakes of 1930's/40's style athletic
shoes worn by some junior and senior high students? They are remarkably similar in style to those older shoes.
Also, back then, boys in 7th grade and older were not allowed to wear shorts to school; only a pair of athletic shorts and T shirt made for our school
district to be worn for Phys Ed. They were white with black logos for the school district. The gym teachers were constantly after us to get them washed. One
Monday in 8th grade, a friend of mine, Frank, brought his gym clothes, freshly laundered by his mom. Frank's mom had washed them in BOLD detergent, and
that stuff super-whitened his gym clothes. Frank's white gym clothes practically shone that day, and we teased and laughed for what seemed like most of P.E.
that day.
From the time I was 6 until I was about 14, I swam as often as I could in the summer at a public pool in a near by park. The city closed the pool rather than
integrate it when I was about 14. When I was younger, the "brief" style swimsuit was my choice; as I got a little older, I usually picked a short boxer style. I
thought nothing of walking or riding a bike to the pool dressed only in a swimsuit, my towel for drying off around my shoulders and sneakers to ward off the
heat of the pavement and sidewalks.
I don't remember seeing boys from private schools when I was growing up. There was an Episcopalian private school in our town,
and the uniform was a navy blue blazer and gray long
trousers, white shirt and tie.
Of all the many haircuts of my life I remember especially one I received in Summer 1967, when I was 14 and a half. Summer of '67 is recalled fondly by some as the "Summer of Love." Hippies, love-ins, and psychedelia were icons of the time. Not everywhere in the US, however, and certainly not in the southern, conservative town where I was growing up. At 14 and a half I was aware that the times, they were
a'changing - in more ways than one. Fads and fashions were becoming "mod," and I was growing up. I wanted to look like my peers - longer hair and stylish clothes. Nothing extreme, but I didn't want to stand out, to look different. I'd let my hair grow a little longer, and with dad out of town on business, I could get away
with it - up to a point. Then, the axe would fall, or more exactly, the clippers.
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