Figure 1.--The boys at this New Zealand school wear blue short pants and black knee socks with white bands. |
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English boys wearing shorts generally wore grey knee socks, although colored socks were more common in Scotland. New Zealand boys commonly went barefoot in the summer. At secondary schools they generally wear grey or black or dark blue knee socks as part of the winter uniform. At most schools the grey socks have colored bands at the top in the school colors. As in England, New Zealand boys never wore white socks, except for cricket, as white socks, both ankle and knee socks, were generally worn by girls and thus seen as girls' socks. ften at a New Zealand coed school, the boys will wear grey kneesocks and the girls short white socks or perhaps tights in the winter.
New Zealand boys in the 19th century commonly went barefoot in the summer. Yjis was still very common in the 20th century, especially at primary schools. Many New Zealand schools, especially on North Island have a summer yniform of light-weight grey shirts and shorts worn with Roman sandals without socks.
New Zealand boys today primarily wear ankle or sport socksd socks. Knee socks were common in the first half of the 20th century, both in and outside school. They were , however, not much seen after the 1950s, except for youth groups or school wear. While not commonly worn, knee socks are an important part of school uniforms. This means primarily secondary schools because miost primary schools did not have uniforms. I am not sure why this was, but assume it was probably the influence of British school styles. Other school uniform garments are also based on British styles. Britain has a cool climate and knee socks make some sence for schoolwear. New Zealand has a much warmer climate, especially North Island. It can get a little chilly during the winter term. Almost all New Zealand schools that have short pants uniforms require that they be worn with knee socks. At many schools this is part of a winter uniform, but at some kneesocks are worn year round. This was the case at several schools on South Island. Ankle socks are not very common. Rather during the summer term, children wears sandals without socks.
English boys wearing school shorts generally wore grey knee socks, although colored socks were more common in Scotland. At secondary schools they generally wear grey or black knee socks as part of the winter uniform. Schools that have grey shorts normally chose grey kneesocks. Schools with blue shorts commonly choose black or dark blue kneesocks. A few schools have light-blue kneesocks. As in England, New Zealand boys never wore white socks, except for cricket, as white socks, both ankle and knee socks, were generally worn by girls and thus seen as girls' socks. Often at a New Zealand coed school, the boys will wear grey kneesocks and the girls short white socks or perhaps tights, usually dark colors, in the winter.
At most schools the grey socks have colored bands at the top in the school colors. Grey kneesocks are very common. Some schools have kneesock without the colored bands or allow the boys to wear plain grey kneesocks without the bands. Here regulations vary from school to school. It is common for the grey kneesocks to have bands in the school colors at the top. A few schools have grey knee socks with the entire turn over top in the school color. The balck kneesocks commonly have white bands. A few schools wear all black kneesocks. The light blue kneesocks are worn without colored bands.
New Zealand girls hosiery varies from school to school. At many schools they wear socks like the boys. This is commonly the grey or colored knee socks that the boys wear. At other schools the girlswear white ankle or knee socks. A number of schools have tights for the girls during the winter term.
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