 Figure 1.--Scottish private schools often had uniforms with colored kneesocks, unlike English schools which usually had grey knee socks as part of the school uniform. |
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Scottish school boys commonly have commonly worn kneesocks. Boys waring kilts almost always wore kneesocks as did boys wearing short pants. Boys going to state schools commonly wore shorts through the 1960s. They usually wore grey kneesocks. Several of the elite Scottish private schools, both public and preparatory schools, had uniforms with colored knee socks (blue, red, burgandy, purple, green, and black). Red was a particularly popular color. This is in sharp contrast to English schools which usually had grey knee socks. Interestingly the color bands on the knee socks often worn by Englisg school boys are not commonly seen at Scottish schools.
Knee socks appeared in Scotland before England. The kilt was commonly worn with kneesocks during the late 18th century. I'm not sure when schools began adfoping the likt as part of the school uniform. It is also not clear how common it was for boys to wear the kikt to school.
Often Argule kneesocks were chosen to wear with the kilt. When Scottish schools began adopting the kilt for school wear, mostly solid colored jneesocks were chosen. The same was true after tyhe turn of the 20th century whwn many schools began asopting short oants as part of the school uniform. Some private schools adopted brightly colored kneesicks instead of grey ones which were standard in England. English boys might werar colored kneesocks for football, but Scottish boys wore them as part of their standard school uniform.
Scottish boys wore both kilts and short trousers with kneesocks.
Scottish school boys commonly have commonly worn kneesocks. Boys waring kilts almost always wore kneesocks as did boys wearing short pants.
Boys going to state schools commonly wore shorts through the 1960s. They usually wore grey kneesocks. English boys began wearing ankle socks during the summer term. This was much less common in scotland. I'm not yet sure why this difference exists, but believe climatic factors may be at lest part of the reson.
One destinctive feature of Scottish kneesocks is the many, often bright colors, that the boys wore. Several of the elite Scottish private schools, both public and preparatory schools, had uniforms with colored knee socks (blue, red, burgandy, purple, green, and black). Red was a particularly popular color. This is in sharp contrast to English schools which usually had grey knee socks. Interestingly the color bands on the knee socks often worn by English school boys are not commonly seen at Scottish schools. I am not sure why this difference developed. It is one of the few notable differences between English and Scottish kneesocks.
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