Figure 1.--This 1961 form (class) photograph shows the first form at St. Mary's School. Notice the boy in the center wearing sandals with white socks rather than the regulation grey knee socks. |
|
An Irish reader reports on the Dublin school, St Mary's. The school was a secondary school. St. Mary's was qute a large school as can be seen by the size of a single form. The uniform during the 1960s was a blazer with long or short trousers and kneesocks looking pecisely the same as a British grammar school at the same time.
The school was a secondary school. St. Mary's was qute a large school as can be seen by the size of a single form.
The uniform during the 1960s was a blazer with long or short trousers and kneesocks. The kneesocks have colored trim at the top. Almost all boys wear dark lace-up shoes. I do not know if they wore caps. A few boys wear sandals. The boys look pecisely the same as a British grammar school at the same time. In fact, it is impossible to destinguish between St. Mary's and comparable British schools.
We have no information on precisely what the school uniform regulations were. Clearly the school had a very strict uniform rule as all of the boys in the 1960s are identically kitted out. There does not seem to have been any rule about short trousers. This ppears to have been option that some parents chose for their boys. There was also some flexibility about socks and footwear.
|
A perusal of the school year books during the 1960s give a good idea of school uniform trnds during the decade. The uniorm was clearly strictly ebforced. The one variation in the photographs is that some boy wear short trousers. The school photographs show that short trousers were widely worn in the 1960s, especially during the early 1960s. This declined by the late 1960s. Interestingly, some photographers appear to have rranged the boys in om photographs dpending on hether or not they were wering shor trousers. We re not sure why they did this.
Two photographs are available from the 1961 school year book. The first picture is of boys in the first year/form. Boys in this class are normally aged between 12/13 years. Notice that the entire front row and half the seated row are in shorts. From the same year book, is this picture of second year lads. These boys are normally aged between 13/14 years.
A photograph of the first form from the school year book in 1963 shows nine boys wearing short trousers. Boys in the first year of secondary are normally aged between 12/13 years.
|
A photograph taken in 1964 shows a St. Mary's class 1 year later. It is a second form class, meaning the same boys shown in the 1963 image 1 year later. The number of boys in shorts are down to three. Boys in the second form would normally be aged 13/14 years. Notice also that the photographer had positioned these lads together in the picture. On close-up they look rather comfortable in their attire. The three boys all wear grey kneesocks, but they have different colored bands at the too, as if they came from different schools.
We have no peronal accounts from the school indicating what the boys' thought of their uniform. The fact that only a minority of the boys wear short trousers the first year and and even smaller number the second year, suggests that the shorts at leadt were not very popular.
Related Chronolgy Pages in the Boys' Historical Web Site
[Main Chronology Page]
[The 1900s]
[The 1910s]
[The 1920s]
[The 1930s]
Navigate the HBC School Section:
[About Us]
[Activities]
[Chronology]
[Clothing styles]
[Countries]
[Debate]
[Economics]
[Garment]
[Gender]
[Hair]
[History]
[Home trends]
[Literary characters]
[School types]
[Significance]
[Transport and travel
[Uniform regulations]
[Year level]
[Other topics]
[Images]
[Links]
[Registration]
[Tools]
[Return to the Historic Boys' School Home]
