Figure 1.--This school has a uniform with blue sweaters, denim shirts, and denim skirts or pants. I'm not sure if the school is English or South African.

One material that was not acceptable for school was denim. This was not just in Britain where uniforms were worn. American boys commonly wore denim overalls to primary schools in rural areas. Denim was not allowed in secondary schools. Most students until after World War II did not want to wear denim overalls. It was seen as a sign of pverty, except in rural schools where many of the children wore them. Much more common for school was cotduroy. them. After the War, however, when jeans became popular, students did want to wear them to school. They were allowed at many elementary (primary) schools. An English reader writes, "As I've told you before, denim was a definate no no in England for schoolwear - although some boys did try to wear black jeans. At my younger brother's comprehensive school (they had a uniform but it was not as strict as at my school). He was there from 1973-1981. The proper uniform trousers were black - but jeans weren't officially allowed and my mum wouldn't have let him have them anyway. After we moved he went to a non-uniform primary school so had been wearing jeans or jean shorts there so it was more of a pain for him to have to wear a uniform to secondary school than it was for me and my older brother." Dress codes at American untill the 1970s prohibited jeans at secondary schools. As an indication of how times change, there are now schools that have denim uniforms

Created: May 1, 2004
Last updated: May 1, 2004