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We do not have a detailed chronology of English sandals yet. We are beginning to understand the chronology betterin America becausewe have a good bit of evidence from clothing catalogs. We do not yet have this information from England. Our ininital assessment was that sandals in America were an import from England, but we cannot yet confirm this. Closed-toe sandals appeared in the early 20th century. We doi not know how popular they were in the early part of the century. We do know that that after World War I in the 1920s that British boys who hd been wearing heavy boot-like shoes were commoly wearing sandals. The sandals worn in Britain were almost all closed-toe sandals. These sandals became known as school sandaks because they were commonly worn to school. The dominant style was a single-bar sandal with a center strap. They were also a major tyoe of casual and play footwear for children especially during the summer. The school and play styles were the same. During the summer they were commonly worn without socks, but socks were wirn when attendung school. This general pattern did not change until well after World War II. A new type of sandal appeared in the 1960s. Open-toe sandals appeared. They were commonly worn without socks, although we see many adults accustomed to hosiery wearing them with socks. These open-toe sandals were a summer garment. We note children continuing to wear the closed-toe sandal to school. A few schools adopted the open-toe sandal as part of the uniform, but this was relatively rare. The closed-toe sandal continued being the major style of sandal for younger children aznd for schoolwear. The open-toe sandal was commonly seen as too informal. Another major development, espcially by the 1970s was the groiwing popularity of trainers (sneakers). We note children increasingly wearing sneakers rather than sandals. Some schools banned smeakers, but trainers became increasingly popular. Many children began to see sneakers as trendy and sandals as for younger children and girls. We note sandals appearing that looked more like shoes.
We do not have a detailed chronology of English sandals yet. We are beginning to understand the chronology betterin America becausewe have a good bit of evidence from clothing catalogs. We do not yet have this information from England. Our ininital assessment was that sandals in America were an import from England, but we cannot yet confirm this. Closed-toe sandals appeared in the early 20th century. We do not know how popular they were in the early part of the century. Closed-toe saandals became know after World War I as English school sandals. We can not yet conform, however,
that they originated in England or were even commonly worn in England at the turn-of-the 20th century. We do note sandals being wirn in America during the early-20th century. No one seems to know why they are called "English Sandals", but probably because they are associated with school wear in Britain.
We do know that that after World War I in the 1920s that British boys who hd been wearing heavy boot-like shoes were commoly wearing sandals. The sandals worn in Britain were almost all closed-toe sandals. These sandals became known as school sandaks because they were commonly worn to school. The dominant style was a single-bar sandal with a center strap. They were also a major tyoe of casual and pklay footwear for children especially during the summer. The school and play styles were the same. Diring the summer they were commonly worn without socks, but socks were worn when attendung school. This general pattern did not change until well after World War II. We note Engkish boys usually wearing the single bar t-strap, and not generally the two strap -- although we certainly have a few examples of two straps being worn, especially in Scotland. I do not know why it was the single bar fashion that became so popular in England.
Closed-toe sandals were commoly worn by English children in the 1930s. A reader seeing a Clarks advertisement writes, "That advert brought back memories. I wore sandals of the T-bar sort every summer as part of my summer school uniform. This was going back in the 1930's. The style had not changed markedly by 1971 from what we wore before World War II."
Sandals were still commonly worn by British children, both boys and girls during the 1950s. The popular style was the standard t-strap closed-toe sandals. They were very common for both casual wear and schoolwear. They were commonly won by Cubs. Sneakers called plimsols were still motly a gym shoe. The term 'trainers' had not yet entered the lexicon. The photographic record clealy shows British children commonly wearing sandals into their early teens. The photographic record clearly shows how prevalent sandals were in England. We do not yet see the popular boys' style with the center post made wider to look more like a shoe. They may have appeared at the end of the decade, but we do not yet see them showing up in the photographic record. Girls did not wear this style, sticking to the standard style with the cross bar ad ceter post of the T-strap the same width. Girls also wore strap shoes with out he center posts. Boys except for pre-school ages or for formal occassions did not wear strap shoes. Children during the summer commonly wore ankle socks or no hosiery at all. Once school began and the weather turned cooler, knee socks became more common. One HBC reader, Derek, tells us that at his prep school in the 1950s, sandals were part of the uniform. But this was only during the summer term. A HBC reader, David, recalls wearing sandals during the 1950s and 60s. He confirms wearing them without socks during the summer.
A HBC reader tells us about the school sandals he wore during the 1960s. A new type of sandal appeared in the 1960s. Open-toe sandals appeared. They were commonly worn without socks, although we see many adults accustomed to hosiery wearing them with socks. These open-toe sandals were a summer garment. We note children continuing to wear the closed-toe sandal to school. A few schools adopted the open-toe sandal as part of the uniform, but this was relatively rare. The closed-toe sandal continued being the major style of sandal for younger children aznd for schoolwear. The open-toe sandal was commonly seen as too informal.
Another major development, espcially by the 1970s was the groiwing popularity of trainers (sneakers). Rubber-soled canvas shoes were not new. Children for many years wore plymsols for physical education--mostly indoor gym. They were not very stylish. The increasingly stylish trainers of the 70s had far greater appeal. We note as a result, children increasingly wearing sneakers rather than sandals. Some schools banned smeakers, but trainers became increasingly popular. Many children began to see sneakers as trendy and sandals as for younger children and girls. We note sandals appearing that looked more like shoes. The sandals the boy here is wearing is a good example of the style with more of a shoe look (figure 1). Many of the boys preferred them to the more open look of the traditiinal "T" bar school sandal. We note a Clarks advertisement for summer sandals in 1971. We begin to see Cubs wearing sandls with their unififirm. Earlier sandals were very poplar.
Sandals declined substantially in popularity during the 1980s, especially among boys. More and mores wanted to wear trendy trainers for casual wear. We increasingly see sandals being worn at scghool rather for casual wear, even durung the summer. We see them at state primaries and even here we see more trainers. Sandals were especially common at private preparatory schools, in part many schools made them part of the uniform.
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