Figure 1.-- A number of schools had special school socks. These were usually grey kneesocks with colored bands at the top or even tops in done entirely in a color. Boys were encouraged to wear the school socks, but usually nothing was said to a boy wearing plain grey kneesocks. |
here were a variety of regulations concerning hosiery. The actual rules here varied and they also varied quite a bit from school to school. The rules about hosiery primarily were enforced for boys wearing short trousers for the obvious expedient that it was most readily appareent. In contrast the hosiery boys with long trousers were wearing was often not even noticeable. There were, however, rules for both. Perhaps the most common rule was that children wearing kneesocksd should keep them pulled up. Schools varied as to how stringently this was enforced. Some schools were quite strict about it. The most effective way of doing this was to use an eslastic garter. This worked well for boys with turn-over-top socks. Boys wearing plain kneesocks had to rely on the elasticizxed tops and these often wore out. Most prep schools required kneesocks as part of the school uniform. Some schools especially in the south had ankle socks, but kneesocks were more common. At a number of schools there were seasonal rules about kneesocks and ankle socks. Many schools simply had grey kneesocks or turn-over-top socks. A number of schools had special school socks. These were usually grey kneesocks with colored bands at the top or even tops in done entirely in a color. Boys were encouraged to wear the school socks, but usually nothing was said to a boy wearing plain grey kneesocks. This also varied from school to school.
here were a variety of regulations concerning hosiery. The actual rules here varied and they also varied quite a bit from school to school. Generally this reflected the general attitide of the school toward the uniform. Some schools gave much more attention to the uniform than othetrs.
The rules about hosiery primarily were enforced for boys wearing short trousers for the obvious expedient that it was most readily appareent. In contrast the hosiery boys with long trousers were wearing was often not even noticeable. There were, however, rules for both.
Perhaps the most common rule was that children wearing kneesocksd should keep them pulled up. While thanls to "Just William" faling kneesocks were kind of a symbol of British schoolboys, falling socks were generally seen as unsightful. Schools varied as to how stringently this was enforced. Some schools were quite strict about it. And we heard "Boy, pull up those socks!" more than once. his was apparently much mre common earlier. Most schools seemed less obsessed with this. The problem was not generally ignored, but often more gentle persuasion was used as far as we noted. Generally it was addressed as more of a larger effort to encourage good grooming. The most effective way of doing this was to use an eslastic garter. This worked well for boys with turn-over-top socks. Most of the boys with turn-over-top stocks that had fallen down simply forgot to put on the garter. Or in a few cases boys didn't like the garters. Boys wearing plain kneesocks had to rely on the elasticized tops and these often wore out. Thus keeping their socks pulled up was more of a problem.
Most prep schools required kneesocks as part of the school uniform. Some schools especially in the south had ankle socks, but kneesocks were more common. Almost all schools chose the type of socks to be worn and the children were expected to comply. Very rarely did we see schools where the children wore both ankle amd kneesocks. At prep schools the children wore one or the other.
At a number of schools there were seasonal rules about kneesocks and ankle socks. Here the uniform was changed to ankle socks, usually for the Summer term when the weather had turned warmer. Almost always the uniform was kneesocks in the Fall and Spring Terms and ankle socks in the Summer term. Most of these schools were in southern England. The timing of the actual changed over varied from school to school. Hving a set date, usually at term break, helped to ensure that there was a not a mix of kneesocks and ankle socks at any one time. Some schools based it on the weather rather than a set date. Tha ankle socks chosen were mostly plain-grey kneesocks. Some of these schools had school ankle socks jut like the kneesocks. This was, however, not very common.
Many schools simply had grey kneesocks or turn-over-top socks. A number of schools had special school socks. These were usually grey kneesocks with colored bands at the top or even tops in done entirely in a color. Boys were encouraged to wear the school socks, but often nothing was said to a boy wearing plain grey kneesocks. This also varied from school to school. Some schools were very insistent that the children wear the proper school socks. We noted some boys wearing socks from other schools. Presumably these are boys that had trnsferred from other schools. Thrifty moms apparently wanted them to wear out their old socks.
