Figure 1.--.

Style

The most popular style throughout those years from about 1965 to 1972 that I remember was called the Kiltie Alex sandal, which was made with dark tan leather and given an aged effect. The pattern cut into the sandal consisted of a small round hole, then an inch-or-so wide, very narrow slit, then another small round hole. This pattern was repeated another two times, one under the other. I remember these details because this was the style of sandals I wore to school during this time. I stopped wearing them at the age of eleven when I moved on to secondary school.

Another very common style was called the Wonder sandal, which was a lighter brown in colour with a 'daisy' pattern.

During the 1960s and early 1970s, I saw only one boy wearing sandals with a double strap. The single strap was far and away the most prevalent.

There were styles for boys and girls, although many were quite similar. Sandals for boys tended to have male-sounding names like 'Buster' and Startrite 'Brigands' for example, while girls' styles had more feminine descriptions though I can't think of any examples at the moment.

When it came to the issue of style the final decision was usually a concensus between my mother and myself - she would balance the cost and suitability against my desire to go for the sandals which offered the best package of freebies along with the footwear. I think in the end I ended up with the most popular style at the time. I would try on different styles depending on what kinds I'd seen other boys wearing and had liked, and which ones my mother had seen and thought I should try.

On the subject of the wide centre strap, I can only recall that appearing in the early 1970s. I don't recall any styles before then with the wider centre strap, though that's not to say they didn't exist by then, I just don't recall seeing any.

Features

I particularly liked the crepe rubber soles on sandals available in the sixties and early seventies. This was because my junior school, like most, demanded the wearing of indoor shoes like plimsolls inside the building to make sure the floors didn't get marked so those who wore ordinary shoes were constantly changing their footwear between lessons and playtimes. Those of us who wore sandals didn't have to go to that kind of trouble.

Colours

Boys school sandals were invairably brown. There was no need for my mother to specifically ask for brown sandals in the shoe shop and there was certainly no need for me to tell my mother that was the colour I wanted. Any attempt to make me wear 'girly' coloured sandals would have led to an all out rebellion. Apart from that my mother, fortunately, was aware of the difference and would have frowned on her pride and joy wearing red or blue sandals which she herself would have considered odd.

Girls

Girls wore the same styles of sandals worn by the boys. While the boys' sandals were invariably brown in colour, sandals bought for girls alone would often come in different colours, particularly in blue or red. They were worn with white long or short socks.

Socks

The kind of socks worn with sandals by boys was inevitably grey, and more often than not long socks pulled up to just below the knee. Only the shades of grey were variable, ranging from plain light grey which are still commonly available today, to a very dark, muddy grey with two narrow coloured stripes at the top. The colour of these stripes would depend upon the colour of the school uniform worn. Some boys wore short socks but these again tended to be grey, and some had the same twin coloured stripes. The requirement of British schools for boy pupils to wear grey socks was such that, from my recollection, nobody thought enough about it to have any preference.

I can only say I hated the dark muddy grey ones for some reason I couldn't even begin to explain. I just didn't feel it was my shade of grey, perhaps. I knew of one pupil who always wore blue socks. He had a long pair which he usually wore, and only broke with that tradition one rare occasions when he switched to blue short socks. Another boy arrived one day in the gaudiest pair of long, multi-coloured socks I have ever seen, endured all the ribbing everyone could throw at him and persisted in wearing them regardless. However, these deviations from the norm of grey socks were rare.

Out of school it wasn't uncommon to see boys wearing football socks with sandals, or indeed short socks in any other colour but grey for a change.

School

Elementary school

When I attended a state-funded English junior [elementary] school in the 1960s, it was almost a rarity for a boy not to wear school sandals.

Secondary schools

Even at secondary school a small number of boys wore what I consider to be 'traditional' styles of sandal. I myself stoppped wearing sandals and shorts to school the moment I moved on to secondary school at the age of eleven. I never wore them again after that, I suppose because at secondary school they were a rare sight. One boy who did wear a traditional style of sandals to that school did so for only one day because he was teased so much. I think at secondary school sandals were regarded as 'childish' footwear and lacking any kind of credibility.

I did come across boys who wore sandals out of school beyond secondary school age...one boy, I'm sure, was aged about 14 years old when he finally abandoned his shorts and sandals though how he was able to wear them without feeling self-conscious and a bit silly I'll never know. I would have done at that age. His name was James and I knew him because he and I went to the same music lesson on Saturday mornings...every Saturday for about 5 years. He was only a year younger than me if not the same age, and he intrigued me firstly because he wore sandals at all, even though he must have been twelve years old when we both started going to the same music lesson. He also wore shorts much of the time, always fawn in colour and with short socks in a similar colour. He always wore socks that colour even when he turned up occasionally in jeans. He had a pair of closed-toe sandals in brown that had no open pattern on the front but had a narrow centre strap. He wore these for at least two summers if not three. He also had a pair of dark brown open sandals which he wore very occasionally. In winter he still wore shorts but reverted to jeans slightly more often, and instead of sandals wore black lace-up shoes. He was never teased because the classes we attended were small and friendly and we were too nice a bunch.

Not everyone was so lucky. Many boys did getvteased. I can remember in my first year at secondary school aged eleven, a boy who started at the same time and also of the same age came to school in sandals. He wore them on a daily basis with his school uniform, then vanished after a term and was never seen again. Another boy who arrived in sandals a couple of years later was teased mercilessly for the whole of the one day he wore them. I think the ordeal must have been too great because he never wore them again. The following day he arrived in his battered old shoes. Later on, in the fifth form where boys were aged 15 and 16 two or three boys began wearing sandals but these were a more 'adult' style, still brown in colour. I suppose because they were a style not associated with young children they had no problem wearing them and there was no reaction from any us as far as I recall.

Availability

Newspaper advertisements for boys' sandals during the 1960s and possibly beyond for at least a short time, advertised such footwear in sizes from toddlers to teenagers.

Popularity

I saw no problem with wearing sandals either to school or when playing with my friends afterwards or at weekends. In fact I quite liked the feel of them on my feet but so few boys wore them beyond junior school I would have felt strange had I not insisted my parents bought me Clark's Pathfinders black leather shoes...after all, they came with a free gift in the box as well.

The stigma of boys wearing sandals was brought home to me when I was about thirteen. I was with a group of friends, all of us aged from about twelve to fifteen, when someone spotted a younger boy in sandals and remarked that someone else we knew who was perhaps aged about 11 or 12 'still wore sandals'. The disccusion about who still wore them implied that any boy shod in sandals, above the age of about 8 or 9 anyway, must be a baby, a mummy's boy. Despite this I still remember two or three boys who wore closed-toe sandals until they were about 13 or 14 years old.

Conventions

Boys would wear sandals not only at school but also when they had to get dressed up for social occasions. In my case this depended on my sandals being smartly polished and presentable, just like any shoes that might be worn for such an occasion. Some boys would wear sandals to go out to play, using them rather as boys wear trainers today, but wouldn't wear them for school or as part of any smart casual dress. And while it was commonplace in those days for most boys to wear shorts, sandals would be worn with shorts or long trousers, even with denim jeans.

My Last Pair

I distinctly remember my last pair of sandals. They were dark brown with a pattern on and they were bought for me in the Spring of that year 1972. Later that same year I was due to start secondary school but I was quite happy to wear sandals to junior school at the time, as I have said before.

The crunch came when I did start to attend secondary school. I had a fairly new pair of sandals now lying redundant at home. I did wear them in the garden if I was sure none of my friends would call round but I certainly wouldn't have worn them voluntarily to play in the street. Although I had started secondary school I did sometimes wear my sandals to mess about around the house or in our garden as long as I could be sure none of my friends would come around and catch me. I would never have worn them out in the street to play--by this stage I and general trends had come to regard that kind of footwear as babyish.

My mother clearly wanted me to continue wearing them while I objected. The last time I ever wore them was the following year, when I was 12, and we were going to visit my grandparents who lived a good long drive away. I was also forced to wear shorts and my school blazer, so there was a considerable row before we even left the house. I felt silly, overdressed and desperately hoping none of my cousins would be there. I think that was the turning point because the sandals were finally thrown in the bin a short time after the incident.

Modern Styles

While there seems to be a revival in sandal-wearing the styles are now very much along the lines of sportswear...It's hip and trendy...and certainly not like the styles of thirty years ago which were considered a social gaffe if worn beyond the age of junior school and eventually, if they were worn at all.

Paul

Created: October 25, 1999
Last updated: November 10, 1999