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Did you ever wish you could wear trousers to school instead of skirts?

(62 Posts)
OnwardandUpward Fri 19-Nov-21 08:39:00

I did.
Just read this story about Keira Bell again and it's struck me how it was her Mum who asked her if she wanted to be a boy because she wanted to wear trousers to school, not skirts. www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10060533/Detransitioned-activist-takes-war-puberty-blockers-Supreme-Court.html

Honestly, it makes me sad for all she's gone through. As someone who constantly wished they could wear trousers to school, I feel for her (because if the seed was planted in my mind at a tender age perhaps I'd have thought it was the answer, too?) I often used to say I wanted to be a boy because I thought boys and men had it easier, but I've never wanted to actually change gender and in any case it would have been nonsensed by my Mother. Kids today have a much harder job knowing who they are because we never had those choices to get sidetracked by.

Sarnia Fri 19-Nov-21 11:21:49

Trousers weren't an option in the 50's. My uniform consisted of a vest, liberty bodice, fleecy knickers, long socks, gymslip and a hand knitted cardigan.

Visgir1 Fri 19-Nov-21 11:24:36

And me too... never occurred to me. All girls school late 60's - early 70's I spent more time thinking could I get away with Make up.

Sarnia Fri 19-Nov-21 11:32:48

Visgir1

And me too... never occurred to me. All girls school late 60's - early 70's I spent more time thinking could I get away with Make up.

And rolling the waistband of your skirt over to make your skirt shorter grin

lemongrove Fri 19-Nov-21 11:35:39

No, at the time I never thought about it.
Only teenagers ( girls am talking about) wore jeans at home and that wasn’t until the mid sixties.I didn’t know anyone female of any age that wore trousers.
It certainly would have been warmer though.

lemongrove Fri 19-Nov-21 11:38:11

I never thought of wearing make up for school either, different days.

Kali2 Fri 19-Nov-21 11:41:17

I did- quite normal in most parts of the world.

Germanshepherdsmum Fri 19-Nov-21 11:44:27

When Kali? Certainly not the norm in England when I went to school - 50s and 60s. I think you may be somewhat younger than most of us.

25Avalon Fri 19-Nov-21 12:23:14

Like most others never really thought about it at school in the sixties. I do remember at home wearing trousers for women called slacks which had the zip at the side.

Late 60’s the fashion was for Levi’s which were made for men, not women, and consequently had the zip down the front, and also to get the hips fitting right were too big on the waist. I had to go in a men’s outfitters to buy my first and loved pair of Levi cords.

Also early 70’s working as a buyer for the NHS we were not allowed to wear trousers to work. Mid 70’s we were allowed to wear smart trouser suits. Men could wear jeans.

muse Fri 19-Nov-21 12:49:31

glammanana

I never wore trousers to school in fact the shorter my skirt the better much to my mothers horror we used to turn the waistband over at the top during the winter we had really cold knee's & thighs but put up with it all in the cause of the fashion of the 60's.

Exactly the same for me glammanana. When tights came along, I wore black ones and on the first day of wearing them, was called to Deputy Head's office and was told they were not allowed. Ordinary fine tights were OK though!

Kali2 Fri 19-Nov-21 12:58:28

Germanshepherdsmum

When Kali? Certainly not the norm in England when I went to school - 50s and 60s. I think you may be somewhat younger than most of us.

Not in the UK- wearing of uniform is a very Anglo-Saxon thing based on the old Public School system.

Calistemon Fri 19-Nov-21 13:00:49

silverlining48

Slightly off subject but from today schools cannot force parents to buy uniform from a particular shop. All to do with high cost of uniforms. Interesting to see how that works out.

Is that being introduced from next September, silverlining? DH told me it was on this morning's news.

However, that will probably only apply to England as education is devolved. DGD's uniform is quite strict and mostly purchased from one outlet.

Calistemon Fri 19-Nov-21 13:01:10

sorry, that is in Wales, silverlining

Nannan2 Fri 19-Nov-21 13:10:22

It was a big thing back in the mid 70's when two of our girls high schools merged in a brand new building and we were 'allowed' to choose either skirts OR trousers for the first time ever.?

Witzend Fri 19-Nov-21 13:12:08

It was never an option, so it never occurred to me to want to.
As a teen I’m sure my friends and I wouldn’t have wanted to wear trousers in summer - much of break time (when there was any sun) was spent trying to get our legs brown!

I do notice quite a few senior age girls wearing trousers around here, but sadly they are so often very ill-fitting and downright scruffy looking.
One local (state) senior girls’ has a plaid skirt which IMO looks infinitely nicer.

Calistemon Fri 19-Nov-21 13:14:09

Back in my day (as annodomini would say wink) we had to wear gingham dresses in the summer, still with a blazer and also a panama hat.

Calistemon Fri 19-Nov-21 13:18:30

I was rather annoyed to hear that, even on the hottest days this year, pupils at my DGD's school had to keep their blazers and ties on at all times. I doubt that the headmaster was wearing a jacket and tie.

It really is rather ridiculous.
The idea of school uniform is not a bad one, imo, because it eliminates the stress of dealing with a child or children in the morning who are insisting on wearing unsuitable clothes for school and also eliminates some of the competition of wearing designer clothes, designer trainers etc.
However, the expense of school uniform has got out of hand and if the law changes that schools cannot insist on only certain suppliers being used then that is a good thing. Lots of outlets sell perfectly good school clothes.

ElaineI Fri 19-Nov-21 13:25:29

glammanana

I never wore trousers to school in fact the shorter my skirt the better much to my mothers horror we used to turn the waistband over at the top during the winter we had really cold knee's & thighs but put up with it all in the cause of the fashion of the 60's.

Snap ?

Ragtime Fri 19-Nov-21 13:25:50

I wanted to.,but in the 80's was not allowed. wasn't allowed to wear them at work (bank) in 1985.

dd wears trousers....because it's ok for girls to wear trousers!

Cold Fri 19-Nov-21 13:38:43

Mid 70s trousers were added to the school uniform. They had to be smart (no jeans) and black and worn with a plain white blouse or polo-neck.

Strangely enough I was told off for wearing smart trousers in a public sector job a decade later

BlueBalou Fri 19-Nov-21 14:40:54

TerriBull

It didn't occur to me, although I would have wanted them to be bell bottomed. Fat chance of that my convent school was very hoity toity about school uniform and the implications for the school if pupils were seen out and about without white gloves and straw boaters in the summer hmm so trousers as part of the school uniform would I imagine have them reaching for the smelling salts!

I think it's a very sensible option for girls today, especially when I read about what young women have to put up with, I'm thinking of up skirting shock

That sounds like my convent school too, I think that the nuns would have spontaneously combusted!

Georgesgran Fri 19-Nov-21 14:55:56

It was never an option at my all girl grammar school in the ‘60s. We had a strict uniform policy that had to be adhered to, which meant tunics in Winter and gingham dresses in Summer, always with a blazer and a seasonal hat.
My DDs education spanned 87 - 2001 and trousers for girls were not allowed.

Marydoll Fri 19-Nov-21 15:02:00

Female staff weren't allowed to wear trousers where I taught. The female head teacher was adamant, despite all our requests.
That is until, the LA cut her budget and the heating was turned down. One day, she turned up in a trouser suit and told us that we were now allowed to wear trousers, because the school was cold.

Germanshepherdsmum Fri 19-Nov-21 15:54:37

My son’s state secondary school eventually allowed girls to wear trousers and what a mess they looked. The uniform skirts were much smarter than a hitch potch of different trousers, so long as they were black they were allowed. So many different styles whilst the boys all wore pretty much identical ones.

Germanshepherdsmum Fri 19-Nov-21 15:55:12

Hotch potch…

OnwardandUpward Fri 19-Nov-21 16:10:37

It was never an option for me either to wear trousers, but it didn't stop me wishing I could. I never hitched my skirt up as it was a lined one from the (square) uniform shop and would have looked stupid. Some girls had the fashionable type and they would hitch theirs up.

Even now I wear trousers every day.