*** school uniform: major types of knee socks school socks long socks,








School Uniform: Knee Socks--Major Styles

boys school knee socks
Figure 1.-- This English boy is wsefring turn-over-top school knee socks. with the school colors in the colored bands. Also notice the colors repeated in the tie abd sweater neck trim.

There were quite a few different styles of school knee socks. Many boys at state schools simply wore plain grey knee socks. Most private schools and some state schools had socks done with the tops in the school colors. After World War II, elasticized top knee socks appeared. They were done without the turn-over top worn with gsarters that were failrly standard before the War. Elasticised gbrics sere developed (1930sd), but we don't see school children widly ersring them until after the War. This somewhat solvded the problen of the knee socks falling dowm, exacerbted by the fact that boys are so active. It was, however, not a perfect sollution as the elastic tended to wear out. Mothers tended to prefer them as thery were cheaper than turn-over top socks or school socks with the colored tops. So they became fairly standard at state schools and even private schools with uniforms, thrifty mothers purchased them. Thay also became fairly standard for girls' white knee socks. The most common style of school knee socks were grey with colored bands in the school colors incorporated at the top of the sock. The colors might be repeated with the cap, blazer, and tie. The colors ranged from two single colored bands to three different colors. Single colored bands were not common. There was quite a large number of different combinations both in the width, number of colors and especially the color combinations. English schools almost always used a basic grey sock for the boys and somertines for the girls. Australian and New Zealand schools also mostly used a basic grey sock, however, occasionally used a dark blue or black knee sock--only occasionally with colored bands. Many South African schools used khaki knee socks, never with colored bands. Some British schools had turn-over top socks with a full solid color cuff instead of muti-colored bands. Some Australian and New Zealand schools also used this style. Allmost all of the socks with a colored bar at the top were basic grey socks, but ghere were a few exceptions. This style was much less common than the top multi-colored band, but there wwere a number of schools that took this approach. Like the top colored bands, the color coul be coordinred with caps ties, and blazers. Sometime this included the sweater (jersey). Most sweaters were grey, but many schools had then done with the school colors around the neckline or sometimes the wrist and waist. Some schools had colored sweters, this was less common, but in recent years has increased in popularity. A small number of schools had grey knee socks with patterned tops. As far as I know, only grey knee socks came with the patterned tops. The types of patterns varied. This style was commom in England during the 1930s. This style was commonly worn by American boys wearing knicker pants suring the 1920s and 30s, but not as part of an official school uniform. It was more commonly worn by English boys going to a non-uniform school than adopted as part of a school uniform.

Elsticized Tops

After World War II, elasticized top knee socks appeared. They were done without the turn-over top worn with gsarters that were failrly standard before the War. Elasticised gbrics sere developed (1930sd), but we don't see school children widly wearing them until after the War. Thery becme the mostly widely worn knee sock in Briutin because thry were so widely worn in state primary schools. This included grey socks for both the boys and girls and ehite socks for the girls. This somewhat solvded the problen of the knee socks falling dowm, exacerbted by the fact that boys are so active. It was, however, not a perfect sollution as the elastic tended to wear out. Mothers tended to prefer them as thery were cheaper than turn-over top socks or school socks with the colored tops. So they became fairly standard at state schools and even private schools with uniforms, thrifty mothers purchased them. Thay also became fairly standard for girls' white knee socks. Girls did not have the some issue wuth their socks falling down that plagued the boys. Thus turn-ovr-top socks were less common for the girls. Some times the term knee sock in Britin was used oruimriky for these elascticzed socks.

Cable Knits

This was a type of knee sock widely worn in America, mostly by girls often to school. We bein to commonly see them in the 1960s. You see American girls of all ages wearing them. It had a twisted cable pattern in the weave. You see a few younger boys wering them, primrily because they were for some reason so popular with girls that they were the only kind of knee sock stocked in many stores. Cable knits were not widely worn in Britain where most children's knee socks were a flat or mildly ribbed weave. They were rarely if ever seen seen at British schools. We do not notice cable knits in other countries, but the destinctive weave often does not show up in photogrphs.

Turn-Over-Tops

The prinncipal type of knee socks worn in schools is the turn over-top-sock. We believe this derived from the long stockings worn in the 19th and early 20th century. As pants lengths got shorter, boys began turning them down. The issue here became suspension. Long tockings were virtually universal in Ameica--unless going bsrefooty. The situation was a littler more varid for European children. In America, all kinds of complicated stocking supporter contraptions were devised to hold up the stockings. In Europe a more basic approsched was devused, pinning gthe stockings to the underwear. When the sticings were turned down, it creaed a cuff, where a garter could be used to support the resulting knee socks. Thus after World War I we see children rpidly switching from long stockings to knee socks in the 1920s, both boys and girls. The boys made the change more rapidly than the girls. As a result, knee socks became widely worn with short paonts in Europe. In America, younger boys wore shorts, older boys about 1910 shifted from knee pants to knickers, this mean mosdt school sage boiys except the very youngest. The knickers were at first worn with long stockings, but by the late-20s Americn boys, and a few girls, had shifted to the new patterbed knee socks. In Europe, knee socks were commonly done in flat solid colors. Grey was very commion, especially in England. In America flt solid colors were worn, but brightly colored patterns became popular. This appears to have been a destinctively Americn style. Turn-pver-top knee soicks continud to be worn in Erope untill well aftrer World War II. Thry werecstanbdrd choolewear for some time, especislly t private schools. Tutn-over topsd in America generally disppeared the end of the 1930s. EWe see knickers bing orn with nkle socvks. Girls have continued to wear knee sovks, but not the turn-over top style. they mostly wear elasticizxed top version.

Top-colored Bands

The most common style of school knee socks were grey with colored bands in the school colors incorporated at the top of the sock. The colors might be repeated with the cap, blazer, and tie. The colors ranged from two single colored bands to three different colors. Single coiloeed bands were not common. There was quite a large number of different combinations both in the width, number of colors and especially the color combinations. English schools almost always used a basic grey sock for the boys and somertines for the girls. Australian and New Zealand schools also mostly used a basic grey sock, however, occasionally used a dark blue or black knee sock--only occasionally with colored bands. Many South African schools used khaki knee socks, never with colored bands. These colored bands made school socks more expensive than plain grey socks because they were usually done in relatively small numbers for individual schools, often fairly small schools. There were a few color combinstions that were worn at more thasn one school. Mny Anglicam schools used the same blue color for caps and blazers, and sometimes sweter (jersey) trim. The most common style of school knee socks were grey with colored bands in the school colors incorporated in the turn over top cuff. The colors ranged from two single colored stripes to three different colored stripes. There was quite a different number of different combinations both in the width, number of colors and especially the color combinations. English schools usually used a basic grey sock for the boys. Australian and New Zealand schools also mostly used a basic grey sock, however, occasioinally used a dark blue or black knee sock--ometimes with colored stripes.

Top-colored Cuffs

Some Btitish schools had a tuyrn-over top socvks with a full solid color cuff instead of muti-colored bsnds. Some Australian and New Zealand schools also used this style. Allmost all of the socks with a colored bar at the top were basic grey socks, but ghere were a few exceptions. This style was much less common than the top mult-colored bands, but there wwere a number of schools that took yhis approch. Like the top colored bands, the color could be coordinred with caps, ties, and blazers. Sometime this included the sweater (jersey). Most sweaters were grey, but many schools had them done with the school colors around the neckline or sometimes the wrist and waist. Some schools had colored sweters, this was less common, but in recent years has increased in popularity. Although because of cost nd prctgicality, sweatshirts have begun replacing sweaters.

Patterend Tops

A small number of schools had grey knee socks with patterned tops. As far as I know, only grey knee socks came with the patterned tops. The types of patterns varied. This style was commom in England during the 1930s. This style was commonly worn by American boys wearing knicker pants during the 1920s and 30s, but not as part of an official school uniform. It was more commonly worn by English boys going to a non-uniform school than adopted as part of a school uniform. More schools commonly adopted uniforms with solid color band. Some Australian schools had this style. We know of only one Australian school, however, that had this style by the 1980s and no English schools. I am not sure about the chronology of this. I am not sure if schools had knee socks with color bands from when knee socks were first worn or just when this became a standard fashion. The paterened top knee socks, however, are clearly a fashion which first appeared in the 1920s.








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Created: 3:44 PM 8/6/2022
Last updated: 3:44 PM 8/6/2022