My name is Leandro and I’m from Argentina. I was born in 1974, in Uruguay, but My family moved to Buenos Aires when I was about 1 and so, I went to school there. Luckily, as I came from a wealthy family, I went to a private catholic school, and I did not even realize all this was happening in my country. I thought that everything was great. Today though I was really young, I can still remember those days since March 1979 when I started kindergarten until December 1991 when I finally graduate from secondary school. I wore school uniforms since I entered kindergarten passing through primary school until I graduate but it had a small evolution and three different stages can be distinguished.

Kindergarten (1979)

I entered kindergarten in 1979 for 1 year. Our uniform consisted of a grey cap with red stripes, white shirts, grey Short pants, red ¾ socks (kneesocks), black Strap shoes (closed toe), and a blue closed neck smock (the neck was red). We did not commonly wear smocks, they were only for school. They were back buttoning. They must have been hard to put on and take off, but as I was so young I can't remember much. I only wore strap shoes while I was in kindergarten, and I really hated them, because those kind of shoes here are asociated with girls. I think my mother also didn't like them because when I started to go to the kindergarten, I used black shoes with cords and she bought me the straps when she was asked by the school authorities.

Primary Schools (1980-86)

I attended Primary School for 7 years. Our uniform consisted of a grey cap with red stripes, white short or long sleeve shirt (it depended on the time of the year), grey tie, grey sweater (it depended on the time of the year), blue blazer with the school logo (it depended on the time of the year), grey short pants, grey ¾ socks, black shoes mainly with shoe laces or black strap shoes (closed toe) (either were allowed). When I say it depended on the time of the year, I’m saying it was not obligatory, we wore these garments seasnally depending on the weather.

Caps

Caps were not very common in Argentina. Only a few "aristocratic" English-style schools had them. I must say here that school caps were not very popular between boys, the main resistance with the school uniform was because of the cap, mainly because, we had to receive from our elder borthers all the jokes the've received before, like "lollipop head" and "you use that cap instead of your brain", etc. I hope you could underestand my point here, the caps were not popular because of the jokes made around them, and by other side because, the school authorities (I think) were trying to impose a style very uncommon to our country or customs.

Shoes

The strap shoes were not popular among the boys and few boys wore them after kindergarten. . They were, however, very popular among the girls.

Shirts and sweaters

When I said this about the short or long sleeve shirt, the uniform shirt was short sleeve, but on cold days we could use a long sleeve one because we had the sweater over it.

Short pants

I've read several HBC pages and I found in a lot of them them that around the world there was somekind of big battle between short and long pants, obviously the same happens here, I don't know why boys don't like to wear short pants (suits) and kneesocks, maybe it could be because it sets you off as a little kid or maybe for innate dislike, but the fact is that it's really hard to convince a kid to use that kind of clothes. By other side, there's no problem with the using of short sport pants and sport kneesocks (maybe I'm not making the right translation here but I'm referring to the short pants and socks that you use when for example play football).

Our Thoughts on the Uniform

I can remember that by those days (when I started primary), I was really happy because now, I was as big as my elder brothers. I mean the uniform made me feel important, as Inwas no longer wearing a smock. I felt in a way, a part of something. Different was the situation of many of my companions because as they were not very used to wear that kind of clothes they also were not very happy using the school uniform but that didn't happen me to me because my mom used to dress me up with suits or tuxedos (this one only for very formal events like weddings, and "important" birthdays), so in a word, at home, I was all day wearing that kind of clothes. The school uniform for me was really when we began primary school. It was somehow my normal way to get dress. I know that many of my companions didn't like it very much at first, and I believe that they did not get used to it after sometime. I can't really answer for them, howver, as we did not talk very much about our uniform.

State Primary Schools

Boys in state schools commonly wore smocks. I have a friend that went to a state school, and there was something really particular with his school, because in a school picture, some of his companion appear wearing not only the smock (boys: white, front buttoning, "v" neck and girls: white, back buttoning, round neck, with pleats) but also a shirt and a tie (which was not very usual for this kind of school). Actually some boys even wore smocks in secondary school. This was much less common and a different color. Boys wore a grey smock. As except for kindergarten, I never wore a smock, I'm not sure what boys thought about these smocks. A friend tells me me that he never thought about liking or not wearing the smock, he said that he had no problem with it because it was usefull to play with friends and school companions at the recess or brake without thinking about getting your clothes dirty. These white smocks are still worn in Argentina. Secondary state schools boys do not use them very much nowadays. I mean, the smock for them is a part of their "uniform" but if they do not use it, they are not required to do so.

Figure 1.--Here I am with my school friends on the last day of our fifth year at secondary school. Our uniforms were styled rather like British school unifoms.

Secondary School (1987-91)

I spent 5 years in secodary school. We wore white long sleeve shirt, blue tie, blue sweater (it depended on the time of the year), blue blazer with the school logo, grey longs pants, grey ¾ socks, black shoes (any kind). I think that my main problem came up when I entered the secondary school (mainly in the first year). Then despite that I was happy to be able to change short for the long trousers (which here means I finally become a man) nothingwas the same that used to be. The uniform was not anymore something that made me feel important, it just made me feel strange, ridiculous. Note that I was not a kid anymore, I was becoming a teenager and furthermore, the students of the others schools (mainly a state one that was near mine) used to laugh at us and we were teased by them when we returned home. Anyway, that last for a few time because, as soon as we were growing up, they stopped doing, that, I don’t really know why, maybe because they were also growing or maybe because as we stopped paying it much attention, they realize that it was nonsense. After the first year (14 or 15 years old) I really didn't mind the uniform. I remember that the first year I felt it was rather ridiculous. I think my uniform started to bother me when someone else, satarted to laugh at me. Persomnally I always liked the uniform, as I said before, it make me feel important.