Figure 1.--Here we see red and white piping on a navy blue blazer. Light-colored piping on a dark blazer was a a coomon convention. This school was a Scottish academy with a prep section. |
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Some school blazers are detailed with piping. Plain blazrts were the most common, but we see blazers with colored piping as well. The piping adds a bit of color to basic blazers giving a destinctive look to the school. The piping was often on blue, grey, or black, but there were other colors as well. The piping was done in many different colors. This resulted in quite a number of possible combinations. The color combinations were commonly picked up in the cap, tie, jumper trim and kneesocks trim. The piping might be added around the edsges of the blazer as well as on the sleeve and pockets. The piping was commonly appied as ribbon trim sewn on to the blazer. We notice quite a range of color cominations. The piping makes the school blazer a bit more distinctive. This seems to have been more common at public schools than preparatory schools. The more fancy blazers seem to have also been more common at girls' schools. Piping is the decorative trim used to edge a blazer it is normally done in a contrasting color. This was more common earlier, but the trend by the 1980s was for simpler brazers to keep the cost low.
Some school blazers are detailed with colorful piping. Plain blazrts were the most common, but we see blazers with colored piping as well. The piping adds a bit of color to basic blazers giving a destinctive look to the school uniform. The added color tended to be very popular with mothers. I don't think the boys themselves paid much attention to it. The piping of course added to the price of the blazer. This seems to have been a major factor affecting a school's choice. There was a general trends to put together a smart, but relatively inexpensive uniform.
The piping was often used on blue, grey, or black blazers to provide a little color contrast. These were very common blazer colors in the 1980s. Earlier there was a greater variety of colors. There were also colorful blazers in the 80s, but these standard colors had become very common. Commonly the color used for the piping was also picked up on the cap, tie, jumper (sweater) trim, and knee socks tops. Here the precise approsach varied from schoolto school. Piping was used on blazers with other coloes, but these three standard colors were by far the most common. Without the piping the blazers were very plain and the schools commonly liked to have some destinctive uniform features.
We notice the blazer piping done in several different colors and shades. The idea was to create a more destinctive blazer by using color pioing that created contrast. The piping was commonly done in one collar, but we have noted some piping done in more tham one. There were two basic apoproaches. Dark piping for a light-colored blazer abd light piping for a dark-colored blazer. The idea was to crate a degree of contrast. We dp not see the piping done in the same intensity as the blazer itself. Sometimes the same color might be chosen, but always in a lighter or darker shade. There were only so mamny different blazer colors. Adding the colored piping allowed the school to create a destinctive look for the schools blazer. The boys were essentially walking advertisments fior the school which was a factor in having a smart, destinctive blazer. The color piping turned an otherwise standard plain blazer into one that stood out.
The color combinations were commonly picked up in the cap, tie, jumper trim and kneesocks trim. The possible color combinations were practically endless. The grey blazers commonly had colored tri,. The blue and black blazers might have yellow oe white trim. The piping makes the school blazer a bit more distinctive. Many schools have blue and black blazers and often the students at one school can not be destinguished from those of another. Blazers used to be more sestinct. The colored piping can give anotherwise plain blazer a very destintive look.
Tghe placement ofvthe piping varied. The piping might be added around the edsges of the blazer as well as on the sleeve and pockets. We notice bkazers with the piping just on the lapels abnd not artound thge edges of the blazer, Some had piping pn the slleves but not the povkers and visa versa,
The piping was commonly appied as ribbon trim sewn on to the blazer. We notice quite a range of color cominations.
The piping seems to have been more common at public schools than preparatory schools where many schools attempted to keep the blazers simple.
The more fancy blazers seem to have also been more common at girls' schools. Piping is the decorative trim used to edge a blazer it is normally done in a contrasting color. This was more common earlier, but the trend by the 1980s was for simpler brazers to keep the cost low.
