Figure 1.-Schools only later began adopting corduroy as part of the uniform. Corduroy became a popular material for school uniforms in England. Generally this occurred at schools adopting a more informal uniform. Cord was rugged and easy to care for--a seemingly natural choice for school uniform. I'm not sure just when this began. We note corduroy being used as school uniform in the 1950s at prep schools.

Schools only later began adopting corduroy as part of the uniform. Corduroy became a popular material for school uniforms in England. Generally this occurred at schools adopting a more informal uniform. Cord was rugged and easy to care for--a seemingly natural choice for school uniform. I'm not sure just when this began. We note corduroy being used as school uniform in the 1950s at prep schools. We are not sure if it was used earlier. As far as we know, it was only prep schools where corduroy was used, we do not know if any state schools adopted cord. Curiously, corduroy was also used at borstals (reform schools). Some did not think corduroy was suitable for schoolwear. Some mothers bought cord shorts for boys, but only fir play not for school. One HBC reader remembers a funny incident with his cord shorts. His mother didn't think corduroy was suitable for schoolwear. Many schools used corduroy for the everyday school uniform. Often the schools had blazers and dress trousers or suits for special occassions. This varies as some schools had the boys wear their blazers with cord shorts even for dress occassions. A reader writes, "Corduroy, made in Europe, used to be indestructable. What is being sold now under that name is low-quality material, usually made in Lesotho, Bangladesh and other third world countries."

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Created: 4:24 AM 9/7/2006
Last updated: 3:22 PM 9/7/2006