Figure 1.-- |
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Shirt styles like other fashions have varied from country to country. We note quite a variety in different countries overvtime. There are many common trends at schools in different countries, but there are also some destinctive country trends. England as is the case for many other school garments was important in establshing some school uniform shirt styles. This was especially ythe case for some of the more formal shirt styles. TheEton collar was British creation. We note British boys wearing both white and grey shits which became populsar in other contruies as well, although ties were most common in British Empire countries. Some of the more informal shirts such as polo-styled shirts rthat have become popular in recent years show an American influence. We know less about other countries and of course many countries did not have uniforms so schoolwear was largely a mater of overal fashion trends.
American boys did generally not wear school uniforms. Conventiins varied over time, but flannel shirts with cord knickers were standard over several years, eventually long pants replaced the knickers, but glannel shirts remained popular. Quite a range of shirts are now worn, alithough uniforms are gaining in piopularity. The uniforms are generally de\ress white shorts or polo shirts in various colors. Boys attending porivate and parochial schools have for years required uniforms, usually dress white shirts.
Australian school boys like English boys once wore mostly grey shirts. There appear now to be major differences between different areas of Australia An Australian contributor in Adelaide reports that schools there in the 1990s use a much wider variety of shirt styles. They are mostly white business type shirts to striped shirts of blue and green and possibly light blue shirts as well. They apparently rarely have grey shirts in Adelaide by the 1990s, but some of the other states still use grey. A HBC contributor from Sydney reports that boys wear all kinds of different color shirts ranging usually from grey, white, and blue. However, he has seen specific schools wearing their own products ie shirts with school colors and their emblem on their pockets. Most boys in prep schools wear shorts only while most boys in high schools wear long pants.
Most younger schoolboys wear open collar, short-sleeve colored shirts. Many of the secondary-level boys wear white shirts, without neckties.
Instead, the shirts have shoulder tabs of various colors to identify the
respective schools.
English school boys forvyears wore a classic grey shirt, a practical color for a boys as it did not show dirt like a white shirt. I'm not sure when bots began wearing grey shirts, but they were already wide spread by the 1930s. English school boys in the 1950s wore two basic styles of shirts, mostly long sleeves. The most common were the Rugby style where the buttons only went half way down the shirt. The other style was the regular shirt which buttoned all the way. Both styles were usually grey except for special occasions. There was a third less common shirt, the Aertex shirt, which was usualy grey with an open weave material. It was generally short sleeved and worn in the summer. The material in the 1950s was mainly of a wool mixture (Viyella), making for a warm, rather heavy shirt. Whilst the Vyella shirts are still available, at about L30 per shirt, they cost mist more than the more common L5 cotton shirts moat boys now wear. The Rugby stle declined in popularity during the 1970s. Grey shirts are still comonly worn, but not as universally as in the 1950s. They are still very common in preparatory schools and to aleeser extent for the older boys in public schools. Grey shirts are not very common in state secondary schools where sweat shirts are replacing traditional blazers.
No information available on French school shirts at tthis ime.
No information available on German school shirts at this time.
No information available on French school shirts at this time.
The wearing of school badges on shirts is very big in Hong Kong. Shirts (always lightweight polyester cotton, nothing else) are almost without exception white, although of course there are exceptions to every rule! Blue I suppose is the secondary colour, but it is a long, long way behind white. The badges are embroidered onto cloth (about the size of cap badges) and
sewn onto the left chest pocket (of that part of the shirt if no pocket!). Many schools there also have the school badge printed onto their ties. The reasoning behind this is that in summer when it gets stifflingly hot, jackets are not worn and therefore you can still always tell which school a child attends. I'll give you more details later if you wish.
No information available on Italian school shirts at this time.
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New Zealand school shirts were traditionally similar to English styles. Grey shirts are still very common in New Zealand, with the rugby style quite prevalent. Many schools have the traditional cotton summer uniform of matching light-weight grey shirts and short pants. Unlike the winter shirts, the matching summer outfit never uses ruby syle shirts and they do not have a neck button. A smaller number of schools have blue rather than grey shorts and they have a wide variety of summer shirt styles and colors from dark blue tomwhite. Quite a number of schools have begun to shift to colored polo shirts for summer wear. Winter uniforms are commonly grey long sleeved shirts worn with short pants of a heavier material. White shirts are generally reserved for special occasions, and are nearly always worn with a blazer and tie--it is unusual to wear a blazer without a tie.
Related Chronolgy Pages in the Boys' Historical Web Site
[The 1880s]
[The 1930s]
[The 1940s]
[The 1930s]
[The 1940s]
[The 1950s]
[The 1960s]
[The 1970s]
[The 1980s]
Related Style Pages in the Boys' Historical Web Site
[Long pants suits]
[Short pants suits]
[Socks]
[Eton suits]
[Jacket and trousers]
[Blazer]
[School sandals]
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