School Uniform: School Regulations--Garments

New Zealand school uniform
Figure 1.--Regulations concerning school uniform vary widely among countries and between schools. Some schools require boys to wear a fairly formal uniform all the time even to school athletic events, like these Australian boys watching a rugby match in 1999.

School uniform regulations have varied widely for different garments. Many countries have schools with that do not require uniforms. Other countries have many schools that do require uniforms. There are even countries where the Government has nandated a single natuioinal uniform. More commonly it was an uindividual school choice. Regulations have varied betwwen countries and within countries. There have also been major differences over time. Some countries did not have real uniforms, but boys commonly woire school caps. Other countries had schools with very strict uniform rquiresments including virtually all a students outer garments.

Headwear

We notice a range of rules about headwear. The controversey over the traditional school cap was a major issue in British schools and in British colonies like Australia and New Zealand. Many schools while not requiring caps, expect the children to take them off in the classroom. Even this basic requirement engenders critics. When a teacher on the internet explains that students aren't allowed to wear caps in the bulding. He is asked why. The reply was, gang symbolism, off-color slogans, and common courtesy. The quite amazing respnse was, "If banning hats to prevent gang symbolism and off-color slogans is a good idea, then banning all cloth for the same reason would also be a good idea. As for common courtesy, that one escapes me. Are you saying that concealing body parts is discourteous? Or do you limit the discourtesy to covering the upper 25% of the head? If the latter, I'd appreciate understanding why."

Pants

The controversy over pants styles was also a major issue. American schools for years banned jeans. Curiously while British boys in the 1970s at some schools were arguing to be allowed to wear long pants, some American boys were asking for the right to wear shorts. Schools have had various ways of assessing the proper length or who could wear longs. In most cases it was by grade or form, but in some cases by age or even height. Schools and students have also disagreed over the length of the short pants. Schools have had rules in some cases prohibiting to long or to short shorts or other details such as material.







HBC






Related Chronolgy Pages in the Boys' Historical Web Site
[Late 19th century] [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]


Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing Web Page
[Return to Main school uniform regulation page]
[Return to Main school uniform page]
[Introduction] [Activities] [Biographies] [Chronology] [Cloth and textiles] [Clothing styles] [Countries] [Topics]
[Bibliographies] [Contributions] [FAQs] [Glossaries] [Images] [Links] [Registration] [Tools]
[Boys' Clothing Home]




Created: 1:33 AM 8/8/2007
Last updated: 1:33 AM 8/8/2007