Figure 1.--These boys at an English prep school wear plain grey kneesocks.

Many small state or Church of England primary school have the children wear plain grey knee socks, often the less expensive style without the turn-over tops. Even at the schools with regulation school stocks with colored stripes or bars, some boys wear the plain grey kneesocks. They are less expensive than the regulation ones, so are sometimes chosen by thrifty mums. Since the mid-1980s the English chain stores like Marks & Spencers introduced knee-length socks without turn-over tops. These were worn mainly by children at state primary schools, though where preparatory schools did not strictly require socks with the school colors these were worn because they were much less expensive. Prior to the 1980s kneesocks of this style were mostly worn by girls. Almost all boys' schools required turn over-top socks. As many prep schools in the 1980s were making the transition from boys to coed schools and the primary schools were already coed, the kneesocks without turn over tops became more prevelent. (The schools did not require different grey socks for the boys and girls.) The color of grey varied widely. This was in part due to the original color, but color changes occured as the socks were washed. The socks came in different weights. There were both turn-over-top socks and less expensive socks that came to just below the knee when fully stretched and thus could not be cuffed.

Created: June 28, 2001
Last updated: June 28, 2001