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Eton collars were once de regure, but largely disappeared in the 1920s. We note a variety of shirts being worn at prep schools. Grey shirts were very common for everyday schoolswear. They continue to be a popular choice because they do not show dirt as much as white shirts. This varied from school to school. During the 1950s, Rugby-style grey shirts were common, but we did not notice these being worn in the 1980s. White shirts might be worn for dress up occassions. White shirts were also worn at some schools for every day, but grey shirts were a very common convention. Long sleeve shirts were the most common, but a few schools had short-sleeve shirts for summer wear. We note blue shirts being worn at a few schools as well as a variety of other colors. After World War II some schools introduced Artex shirts for the Summer term.
We notice a range of different shirts at prep schools. Eton collars were once de regure, but largely disappeared in the 1920s. We note a variety of shirts being worn at prep schools. During the 1950s, Rugby-style grey shirts were common, but we did not notice these being worn in the 1980s. The most common shirt was a grey, long sleeve shirt with plain pointed collars. White shirts were required fir special days, but some boys wore them for everyday. After World War II some schools introduced Aertex short-sleeved shirts for the Summer term. They were usually done in blue.
The most common color for school shirts are grey and white. Grey shirts were very common for everyday schoolswear. They were a popular choice because they do not show dirt as much as white shirts show. This varied from school to school. White shirts might be worn for dress up occassions. White shirts were also worn at some schools for every day, but grey shirts were a very common convention. We note blue shirts being worn at quite a few schools. These were usually light blue shirts, but we also note dark blue as well at a few schools. There were a variety of other colors, but they were not very common. We noticed one school for example that had bright orange shirts. These more unusual colors are usually found only at the private schools.
Almost all prep schools had solid-colored shirts. We can only recall one school with a patterned shirt. And at the school not all the boys wore the patterned shirt. This was a blue checkered shirt, rather like the summer dresses girls wear at many schools. The checked shits were short-sleeved shits, also unusual. I'm not sure why patterened shirts were rarely worn, but we almost never saw them. Nor do they seem very common historically. Perhaps they dod not seem to go well with ties. Here we are just not sure.
Long-sleeve shirts were the most common. This was the case both for the standard every-day grey shirts as well as for the white shirts worn when dressing up. We see boys wearing long sleeves during the winter as well as the summer term. On warm days the boys rolled up the sleeves. As there are not a lot of really warm days in England during the school year, this approsch works fairly well. There were probably once rules about this at the school uniform rules were once quite formal at most schools. By the 1980s, most schools were run more informally as far as the uniform was concerned. Thus at most schools, rolling up their sleeves seems to have left this up to the boys and did not make an issue of it. A few schools did had short-sleeve shirts for summer wear. This was usually schools in the south. Schools in northern England seem to have used the same shirts year round. The basic grey shirts were very common. The short-sleeve shirts
were normally the light-weight Aertex shirts. We notice these shirts at several schools.
There were various uniform rules concerning shirts. Generally a specific color and style was set available through a school outfitter. Schools generally did not object to less expensive shirts being brought in the chain stores as long as they generally cinformed to the uniform requirement. Schools commonly had rules as to when grey and white shirts were worn. The grey shirts were worn for everyday, but white shirts were worn for special occassions. Some boys wore white shirts for everyday where. Schools generally did not object to this. Some boys preferred the white shirts, but generally it was a matter as to what was clean. For the most part you see boys wearing white shirts at day schools. The boarding schools more strictly controlled what was worn and when. Schools also had rules governing seasonal changes.
Most shirts were done in cotton fabrics. Some grey shirts were done in a wool-cotton blend making them a nice comination with a wool sweater for wear during the Winter Term. Some scgools had Aetex shirts for the Summer Term.
The boys were requited to keep their shirts neatly tucked into their pants. When wearing sweaters this often was not noticeable, but more of an issue during the summer term. The enforcement of the rule was fairly low key by the 1980s. As with other rules, enforcement was more draconisn in earlier years. A reader tells us, "The masters were very strict at my prep school and I suspect most other prep schools in the 1960s. The shirt had to be tucked in to the trousers. This was done meticulously by wise schoolboys as otherwise, fifty years or more ago, one risked a shout out or even a punishment." A factor here was the type of trouser suspension. Belts were much more effective in keeping shirt tails nearly tucked in than the half-elasticized waists or the tabs which shorts were often dome with.
