Figure 1.--These three boys at a prep school are waiting of chuch call in their dress uniform. As it was a drizly morning, they wear their blue overcoats.

Our information on school overcoats is still limited. The best known overcoat was the gaberdine belted overcoat whivh served for both cold weather and rainy weather. The gabersine overcoat declined in popularity, especially after the 1950s. Some reader also remember their rubber macs. Some schools still had overcoats only in different materials than gaberdine and without the belted style that had once been so popular.

Gaberdine Raincoat/Overcoat

For a period in the middle decades of the 20th century, the gaberdine school raincoat formed a distinctive part of British schoolboy clothing. It was of woollen or cotton gaberdine, a close twill-weave fabric with a smooth finish. The raincoat was frequently worn not only for school, but also as general boy-swear. Interestingly, the gaberdine raincoat is the one major element of British school uniform (other than black leather lace-up shoes) which is not derived from some form of sportswear - not surprisingly since topcoats are not typically worn for games! At some schools the gaberdine raincoat was compulsory, some schools even specified the brand. Boys had different opinions about the coats. Some have complained that they were "utterly useless for repelling more than a minute or so of the gentlest rain". Others thought them quite serviceable. While opinions vary, quite a number of HBC readers from England still remember the gaberdine raincoats that they wore as boys.

Rubber Macs

We have noted some readers mentioned rubber macs, but we do not yet have any conformed reports about such garments.

Modern Overcoats

Some schools still had overcoats only in different materials than gaberdine and without the belted style that had once been so popular. The more modern styles tend to be simpler without epaulets and belts. The boys here wear a simple blue overcoat that doubles for both cold and rainy weather.