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What's a djibbah, how long has the old school tie been around and do yellow petticoats really repel vermin? How have social and educational changes affected the appearance of schoolchildren? This book will provide answers to these questions and more, in an engaging foray into 500 years of British school uniform history from the charity schools of the sixteenth century through the Victorian public schools to the present day.
In this cross-disciplinary work, Kate Stephenson presents the first comprehensive academic study of school uniform development in Britain as well as offering an analysis of the social and institutional contexts in which this development occurred. With recent debates around the cost, necessity and religious implications of school uniform and its (re)introduction and increasingly formal appearance in many schools, this book is a timely reminder that modern ideas associated with school uniform are the result of a long history of communicating (and disguising) identity.
Kate Stephenson offers the first comprehensive study of school uniform development in Britain, and as such offers the reader a reminder that the modern ideas associated with school uniform are the result of a long history of communicating identity akin to the consumption of clothing in a wider sense. As such, this publication would be of interest to anyone with an interest in the development of school uniform and the wider social, cultural, and historical context in which it existed/exists.
A fresh take on issues of class and gender in education through the lens of that most iconic feature of English education: the school uniform…This excellent book will be of interest to most historians of education.
— Tuva Skjelbred Nodeland
...timely and necessary.
— Clare Rose
Kate Stephenson does a great job of bringing the topic of school uniforms to life while tracing their 500-year history. There is no book to compare this with, which shows how original and useful it is.
— Rachel Shanks
...a highly readable and engaging book that will appeal to both a scholarly and a wider audience.
— Stephanie Spencer
Kate Stephenson's book constitutes a rich and thorough analysis of the history of school uniform in English schools.
— Ines Dussel
...this book provides us with rich information on the history of the British school uniform and gives the reader an overview of how authorities and educational institutions regulated school uniforms in order to demonstrate their ideal image of pupils.
— Ami Kobayashi
This valuable study will be useful to anyone with an interest in the history of clothing and design as well as those working on the history of childhood and education studies.
— Rosie Kennedy, Cultural and Social History, The Journal of the Social History Society
Kate Stephenson is a cultural historian who has diverse research interests within the fields of dress and social history. She is an Edinburgh-based freelancer working in heritage and public engagement.
List of Illustrations
Acknowledgements
List of Abbreviations
Be Keen!
Introduction
1. The Charity Schools 1552–1900
Early School Clothing
Christ’s Hospital
Other Charity Schools
Traditional Appearances
Viewing Charity Children
2. The Public Schools 1800–1939
Sport and the Introduction of Uniform Clothing
Creation of the Public School Ethos
Uniform Design
Collective Identity
Emulation
Harrow—A Case Study
3. Public Schools for Girls 1850–1939
Early Girls’ Schools and the Feminine Ideal
Sportswear and Uniform
Day Uniforms
Formality and Conformity
4. Education for All 1860–1939
Middle-Class Secondary Education
Elementary Education for the Working Classes
Mixed Classes in Secondary Education
5. Fashion and Fancy Dress 1939–Present
Post-War
Dressing Up
Conclusion
Notes
Glossary
Bibliography
Index