Figure 1.--A few New Zealand schools use blue kneesocks. At this school all the boys wear them. At a few schools the junior boys wear grey kneesocks and the senior boys the light blue ones. |
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English boys wearing shorts generally wore grey knee socks, although colored socks were more common in Scotland. These styles were widely adopted in New Zealand. New Zealand boys commonly went barefoot in the summer and many primary school children still do. Many New Zealand schools required boys to wear short pants uniforms. Normally they were worn with kneesocks. The primary exception here was summer uniforms in which Roman sandals were worn with out socks. At secondary schools, boys generally wear grey or dark blue knee socks as part of the winter uniform. A few schools use light-blue knee socks, in some cases just for the older boys. Most schools had grey kneesocks with colored tops done in the school colors. There were a wide range of color combintions. The colors normally matched the school tie or trim on the school sweaters. Some schools had dark blue kneesocks also with colored tops. A few schools had solid grey or dark blue kneesocks without colored tops, but this was less common. A few schools had light-colored kneesocks. These were often worn by the older boys with walk shorts. As in England, New Zealand boys never wore white socks, except for cricket, as white socks, both ankle and knee socks, were generally worn by girls and thus seen as girls' socks.
The hosiery New Zealand boys wear with their school uniforms is destinctive and also styles adopted from British school uniform styles. English boys wearing shorts generally wore grey knee socks, although colored socks were more common in Scotland. These styles were widely adopted in New Zealand. New Zealand boys commonly went barefoot in the summer and many primary school children still do.
Many New Zealand schools required boys to wear short pants uniforms. Normally they were worn with kneesocks. Generlly the schools don't pay much attention to what type of socks are worn with long trousers. Most schools, however, are quite strict about the socks worn with short trousers. Virtually all the schools with uniforms require the boys to wear kneesocks with short trousers. We did not notice any schools where the boys wore ankle socks with their uniforms, although ankle socks might be worn at schools without uniforms. Kneesocks are a garment that virtually dissappeared for boys between the 1940s-60s, depending on the country. They are still widely worn at New Zealand schools. New Zealand boys, however, rarely wear them, except for school.
The primary exception to wearing kneesocks was summer uniforms in which Roman sandals were worn with out socks. This was a convention at quite a few schools, especially on North Island.
At secondary schools, boys generally wear grey or dark blue knee socks as part of the winter uniform. A few schools use light-blue knee socks, in some cases just for the older boys. A few schools had light-colored kneesocks. These were often worn by the older boys with walk shorts. As in England, New Zealand boys never wore white socks, except for cricket, as white socks, both ankle and knee socks, were generally worn by girls and thus seen as girls' socks.
Most schools had grey kneesocks with colored tops done in the school colors. Most were done with two colors. There were a wide range of color combintions. Some schools had kneesocks with completely colored tops in one color rather than narrow bands in two colors. The color or coolors normally matched the school tie or trim on the school sweaters. Some schools had dark blue kneesocks also with colored tops. A few schools had solid grey or dark blue kneesocks without colored tops, but this was less common.
