Figure 1.--This is a photograph of me in my new school uniform.

My Family

My brother

Mum dressed my brother and I the same for most of the time until I was about 10 or 11. This I hated. To look like my younger brother was so humiliating.

My brother was never bothered about such unimportant things such as clothes, his mind was only on football all the time. We have become very close these days but he doesn't have many interests in life unlike me who has done many things such as kung fu instructer, glider pilot, football player and coach, plus even more... Our personalities are very differrent. He is like my dad and I am more like my mother who has to be on the go!! Unlike my father and brother who generally sit around and could not be bothered.

As a boy he was the baby of the family and he generaly got away with murder whilst my sister and i had a strict upbringing. I once overheared my father saying to my mother that he was affriad of smacking my sister in case he hurt her. I pressume this was because she was a girl. So I suppose I got the worst hidings. The disadvantage of wearing shorts was you legs were primed for a good slapping. I can remeber many of my punishments but not so many of my brothers as i was the eldest I took the responsability for what ever wrongdoings that we did.

My brother and I never discussed our clothes. When we got our first football strip I used to talk my brother into playing football as many times as I could. This was only because if the world was to see me in shorts, it wouldn't seem as bad when wearing a football kit.

My First Suit

I got my first real suit, a short pants suit, when I was about 9 or 10. As it was the about 1979, I had never seen one or worn one, except for the usual school uniform at that time. I remember the circumstances upon aquiring that suit,as my father was in the early stages of being selfemployed. Any charity was welcome by our family bacause of the lack of income. My parents appreciated clothes of any form for myself and my brother.

It was in the school hols (holiidays) when my father used to take us out with him during his work. Mother worked and he sort of babysat us during the day. We were dressed informally, in "T" shirts and shorts. We used to go to a supplier of my fathers who, on rare occations whould invite us back to his mothers house at evenings to meet his family and to have a meal. This would often involve my brother and I as he didn't have much choice. His family were Greek which meant they were full of traditional morals and values, especialy when it came to appearance.

That evening, his mother invited us into her bedroom. We didn't know what was the reason as she often provided clothes via my father when we were at school. She then opened her wardrobe door to pull out some attire. I saw here take two coat hangers out of her wardrobe which had two suit jackets on them. I was very impressed at the jackets. We had never owned any jackets before and I was looking forward to trying them on. She then lay them down on the bed and asked us to undress. All I took off was a jumper which I was wearing as I expected this was all that was needed. I didn't see any trousers for us. She then insisted that we take off our trousers off as well. I was a little shy about her requiest, but we both obliged expecting there must be trousers still in the wardrobe.

She them held out the jackets for us to try on,they were a perfect fit,i didn't notice what was still left on the coat hanger untill she reached down to the bed to hand over the short trousers. I looked in disgust as this was a short trousers suit. We then dutifully tried them on. I hesitated to sat anything as I didn't want to be impolite--but I didn't like the short trousers one little bit. She stood there and scanned her eyes all over us with apparent delight as I suppose this was her second motherhood as to dressing up boys smartly. Her two youngest sons were about 7 or 8 years older than us. I assume that our new suits had previously belonged to them. I don't think she had any inkling that I objected to bthe suit.

My suit was made of a heavy materal. Tweed if I remember correctly. The shorts were a longer cut than what we were used to for school. Rather old fashioned I remember think at the time. They were lined with two side and one rear pockets. They also had belt loops. The jacket was rather heavy with leather elbow patches and three buttons up the front.

We when then paraded infront of the adults. "Nice and smart" was ther comments to my embarrassement. When it was time to go home, I wanted to change. Dad told me not to bother. You should have seen mother when we got home. She was absolutely delighted with our smart new suits and just gushed over us. I don't remember precisely what she said, but I destincly recall that she was delighted at the time as she thought we looked awfully smart.

My brother was not bothered with the suit as he was ammused at my disscontent. He never made any comment to his own attire but to my own was a great scorn of mockerey. I wore that suit to a few church meetings and social events. I usually objected, but mother insisted as she was delighted with it. I was relived to out grow it in about 6 months later. As to my brother his was to last him an other 2 years or so and his mockerey was then returned during that period. I don't have many memorys of that suit as it was a great embarassment to wear it. Not so much with my family but out in public with relitives and friends seeing me in it was humiliating,especialy when my friends made comments. My friends just made a few comments and skits. They were mainly full of sympithy, but I was still very embarassed.

I remember going to church in them. I always wore them with kneesocks. Most boys at that time were still wearing short trousers to church who were about are age. I remember dreading the trip to church in the car, but it wasn't all that bad once we arrived as most of the other boys were in short trousers, although none in a short trouser suit. Also kneeling to pray on the cold leather cushions that were provided in an enourmous cold church wasn't to kind to the knees.

I can only remember the last time I wore the jacket at the age of 11. I had outgrown the shorts but still wore the jacket on rare occations with long trousers as i had started to wear longs anyway. It was on boxing day at some friends of my parents, at which we had payed a visit.

School Uniform

Our school uniform regulations were quiete odd. I remeber what I wore which was the correct uniform as my mother took great pride when sending us to school imacuately kitted out. Most kids wore the correct uniform but a few poorer kids wore a mixed set of clothes, usually only half the prescribed uniform. Our headmaster was only insistant on boys wearing short trousers. Even when he intoduced in the later years,the somewhat modern sweater style with the school logo and badge on the front as an option, he still insisted on short trousers. This style of sweater carried on with more popularity into the 1990s until about 1996 when a new headmisstress took over the school. The sweaters are still worn by the great majority of kids but the short trousers have almost gone. Our school was built in the early 1950s and the present headteacher is only the third one to take charge.

My brother aquired an old blazer with the school badge on the pocket. I don't know were he got this from as we never wore a blazer to this school only to the local grammer school when we entered the transition onto high school. I had noticed that in the HBC that short trousers are almost none exhistant amongst state schools in the U.K., this was not the case in my local area.

The modern style of school uniforms for the junior age has become a less informal around the country but locally, many of the junior schools still keep the tradition of shirt, ties and short trousers. This maybe due to our local culture of being smart in appearance with a hint of old fashioned values. I would also like to add that my and i suppose the local attitude is that the new more modern uniforms look too casual. The majority of U.K. residents are in favour of school uniforms but sweaters and trainers are one step closer to no uniform at all.

Wearing Short Trousers

School shorts

I was always very embarressed at wearing shorts since the age of about 6 years. I don't know the real reason to this at such a young age, but it was at an older age when i suppose i felt that i had outgrown them. I was the eldest son, which meant my brother got my hand me downs, so I suppose what ever clothes he wore represented me and I felt years older than him, although it was only 1 year, Wearing shorts the same as my brother felt like I was being dressed at his age and not mine. What also didn't help was the fact that my older sister dressed how she liked after school and at weekends.

Dress clothes

I can't remember what our dress clothes were like but we used to have three standards of clothes. 1) a school uniform and a youth orginisation uniform; 2) a set of general clothes and clothes for special occations, i.e. church etc; and 3) a suit. I aquired a short pants suit at the age of 9 or 10. It was the only one I had and it was given to my mother as a handme down from one of my fathers business friends. This suit was about 7 years old and was made of a tweed material. The shorts were of a longer length than that i was used to.

Play shorts

I wore shorts after school all the time. My mother always insisted on changing from school uniform into other clothes as soon as we got home to save soiling them, but in the later half of the week she wasn't that bothered as the weekend was near and she would be washing them. Fo me, wearing shorts, not in uniform style, wasn't as bad but i still didn't like wearing them.

Summer Vacation

After 6 weeks school holidays, during a long hot summer at Anglesey, a small island at the north west side of Wales(UK) we were very upset at the death of Elvis, or so was my mother as she was one of his greatest fans,it was my 8th birthday, staying at an apartment at the news flash of his death my mother cried and howled at the news of his death. She was making a cake for my birthday, a train with Cadburys flakes as funnels and wheels etc, anyway, we arrived home at last,tired and exhausted from the journey on a friday.

Short Trousers: Style Details

School shorts

My school shorts were always grey. They were lined with some white material and also had an elasticized back. They were cut quite short by today's standards. I can remember one pair which had the same material that my pj's were made of for the lining of the pockets. The pockets were one on each side at the front and one at the back. Other shorts were generally all elasticated with no belt hoops except one. (This will come with an other story at a later date.)

There were other types of school shorts. Almost all of them were not patterened but of one single colour. The colours were mainly dark and dull: navy blue, grey, black and the like. Some would have one front pocketothers would have four pockets. The only ones which had pleats were the expensive ones for private schools.

Play shorts

I don't remeber what materials play shorts were made of but at least half of them were made of some sort of soft stretchy material. Others could of been made of canvas-like material and I remeber one pair of denim ones. Only one pair had side adjusters, these were my only light coloured shots. They were cut very short and were sort of chinos, lined with an elasticated back and a double clip tab thing to fasten them. Most of my shorts had a zip but some were just pull up, the ones with one front pocket and made with a stretchy material were pull up. I can remember some of them cutting into me like a knife as the elastic was to tight.

My Friends

I can never disscussing it with my friends, but I remember on one occation a friend knocked on my door to see me. I answered the door and he was wearing long trousers. He pointed to my legs and laughed shouting "shorties".

School Outfitters

The saturday followed with a trip to the local school outfitters,for the new school term followed a week later. I remember that trip, it was raining and cold with a howling wind which cut through you like like a knife. At last we arrived, a small shop close to the town centre which was a small dingey place, grey with an old or somewhat dull assistant, he then measured me up. His tape measure was one of those flimsey small types that he wrapped around his neck, he then took it from around his neck and measured my chest then my inside leg then my waist.this wasn't alein to me as I was used to this on other several occations at begining of other schoolterms.

I stood there waiting and waiting, for him to select the garments which would fit me, he then appeared a couple of minutes later with the right sizes which would fit me. A grey v-neck jumper was the first garment with a grey shirt and a blue and yellow tie, this was the usual uniform as well as the short trousers which came almost last complete with grey knee socks. I tried them on, although I was most embbaressed for the general public to see me like this on a saturday, I coperated.

A friend of my mother walked in the shop, looking for some garments for her her daughter and commented on my apperence, her words were "doesn't he look smart in short trousers" as if she hadn't seen me before! I felt her eyes looking at my bare knees, I was most embarssed at the fact I was wearing a school uniform at the weekend, her words will always stick in my mind.

School Day

The following monday, my father, as usual woke us up with his cold wet sponge of water in our faces. This was his usual tactic of getting out of bed. All three of us dressed for school and came down stairs for breakfast,i was embarressed in my uniform as for the commentent my mother's friend had said, her voice ringed in my ears, so I ran down the stairs and sat at the chair which I normally sat at the breakfast table. Even at breakfast I did not escape from my bare legs. I could see them through the glass topped table as I ate my beans and toast.

Dad drove us to school. I still have vivid memories of these trips--especially on cold mornings. I remeber the cold palstic vynlie sticking to the back of my bare legs. Vynlie is that plastic stuff on old car seats etc. Actually I'm really not sure how to spell it....vinelye....vinlye...vinyle....vineyal..i will have to get a spell checker on this thing!!!

Related Links: Careful this will exit you from the Boys' Historical Clothing web site, but both sites are highly recommended

Apertures Press International Project: Pictures at schools in different countries and a book on British schools
Apertures Pres New Zealand E-book: New book on New Zealand schools available
School Uniform Web Site: Informative review of British school uniforms with some excellent photographs
Boys' Preparatory Schools: Photographic essay available on British preparatory school during the 1980s