1950s and 60s leisure wear. Was school uniform worn socially?

As girls, no we didn’t. Always wore pretty dresses, made by my Mother, sometimes shorts or cotton trousers (mine were made from black out blinds!) for play. I do have family photos of young boys, cousins uncles in school uniform on the beach in the 50’s.
My brother (born 1970’s) never wore uniform socially, but this was of course later.

My brothers wore school uniform for formal occasions. They didn’t have other smart clothes.
We all took our uniform off and hung it up as soon as we got home.

I remember going to church in early 70s a boy who had recently started at our school was there wearing his uniform, I remember thinking it looked strange as we normally wore Sunday best clothes, My friend used to go to local grammar school and was from a poor family but everyone in the extended family bought her something from her uniform list. I am sure remember going to town on the weekend in the late 60s seeing some older children, boys mainly, in the grammar school Blazers.

When I went to the grammar school, it had its own uniform, including a wretched beret, which you were meant to wear until you got home. It would have been expensive to buy , only from a particular shop, and the rule was definitely the first thing I did when I got home was to take it off and hang it up proprerly, and was so glad to be able to get into trousers and t shirt or jumper. I was very much a tomboy and loved being outside and in particular at my granny's farm feeding animals and climbing trees etc, so absolutly not worn out of school

We had velour hats which had to be sent off to be 're-blocked' once a year in the summer break.
What a faff!

No self respecting fashion conscious Sixties teenager in with the In Crowd would be seen dead in school uniform outside of school.

No, he said it was a whole morning of detention for not wearing full uniform the day before! His tie hadn’t been knotted properly! Harsh.
Still the same here now. A boy got put in isolation for taking his tie off on the way home.
I would have put that teacher in isolation for over-reaction and to think about what is really important.

I have a photo of my husband when he was about 10/11 - he's at his aunt's wedding and he's in school uniform. It was seen as 'smart'. Also there wasn't money to buy extra clothes when he had a perfectly good outfit already.

My DGM was so proud when I passed the 11plus and got a place in a top grammar school in 1964 , that she took me in full uniform to visit her cousin 20 miles away 😂.
I think it was because she gave birth to my dad in 1925 ‘out of wedlock’ and was looked down on by her family. She wanted to show them that her life had turned out ok despite having had her baby .

I was confused when I saw a photo of my husband as a boy wearing his full school uniform on what was obviously a family afternoon party. Weird I thought. He explained he’d been at school all Saturday morning so no time to change. Extra lessons, prep work ? I asked. No, he said it was a whole morning of detention for not wearing full uniform the day before! His tie hadn’t been knotted properly! Harsh.

We were never allowed to wear outdoor shoes in the house, but changed them for slippers or indoor shoes.

We had to have outdoor shoes and indoor shoes for school too. Along with a science overall, PE kit, hockey stick, tennis racquet, pumps, hockey boots, a gaberdine mac and a wool reefer coat for winter etc. I'm not sure how my parents afforded it.

Our school unifors were so expensive that we certainly were not allowed to wear them at home, or when going visiting. Or the shoes that were regulation either.
But we were photographed in our new uniforms.

Uniform was to be changed out of and hung up or folded neatly the MINUTE we came home. We put on an "everyday dress" or a skirt or slacks and a jumper.

We were never allowed to wear outdoor shoes in the house, but changed them for slippers or indoor shoes.

My mother wore some of her older clothes at home, with an apron, which she took off before putting on her outdoor things to go shopping. Only on formal occasions did she change into a "better dress" or what she called "a nice skirt and blouse " before going out.

Indtil I was about ten, Daddy wore a suit, consisting of trousers, waistcoat and jacket with a starched shirt, tie and black or brown shoes when doing his rounds, and donned a starched white coat in his consulting-room. Afer 1961 (when I was ten) his suits were made without waistcoats, which I never thought look so nice, and he continued to wear suits in the practice until he retired in 1980.

For casual wear he wore an ancient pair of trousers (from his demob suit, if I remember correctly,) and checked shirts. For formal wear, his kilt usually with a tweed jacket, although he did have a velvet one for evening wear.

We girls could wear shorts in the summer, but I have never seen either of my parents in shorts. And shorts were strictly casual wear for us girls - we had to change into a skirt or a dress if we were invited out to afternoon tea or for dinner with friends.

By the time I started work at 15 it actually fitted me properly. So I think I still wore it. Those were the days……

My gabardine secondary school Mac was my only coat , so I wore it everywhere I went.
I had a couple of blouses but only one school skirt which was purchased far too long so like emerald, I gradually unrolled the waistband as I slowly grew,. It had to be kept clean in the week, and was handwashed every Friday evening, ready for Monday.

keepingquiet

David49

I can't imagine many boys wearing school uniform out of school, the risk of getting it dirty or damaged was far too high

Yes they did- I have photographs to prove it.

Maybe not for playing 'out' in, but certainly for family parties and get-togethers.

Maybe you had a privileged childhood, or you are too young to remember?

Not wanting to get school uniform dirty or damaged does not mean a privileged childhood. I would have thought quite the opposite, that it was too expensive to wear when playing out in case it got damaged. It was carefully hung up as soon as we got home.

Some of my out-of-school clothes were hand-me-downs from my Mum's employer who had a daughter a bit older than me. They were very well-off. I remember going out in a coat from Jane, climbing a tree, slipping and ripping it on a branch. 😲

You’re joking! Wouldn’t have been seen dead in it, especially the horrid pinafore dresses we had to wear in the 6th form (and we had to make them!)🙄

I started grammar school in the late 60’s, this was the first time I had to wear a uniform.

I didn’t wear any item of school clothing outside of school. First thing I did on arriving home was to take it all off (including regulation underwear) and put on something else.

Emeraldforest

I didn't have many clothes apart from uniform. My parents bought/ made my uniform too big and consequently it lasted most of my secondary school life!
As soon as I could sew I made my own non school clothes out of whatever I could find or was given.It was the 60s and I was mad on fashion ( still am) and London fashion was yet to filter down to the West Country. My school skirt had to do for Guides too...I don't remember it ever being washed, not all things could be then.

I remember some clothes being washed infrequently. And Saturday night was bath night, we didn’t have a bath any other day, though we would get a rub over with a flannel some days.

I didn't have many clothes apart from uniform. My parents bought/ made my uniform too big and consequently it lasted most of my secondary school life!
As soon as I could sew I made my own non school clothes out of whatever I could find or was given.It was the 60s and I was mad on fashion ( still am) and London fashion was yet to filter down to the West Country. My school skirt had to do for Guides too...I don't remember it ever being washed, not all things could be then.

I did wear my school blazer when visiting with my parents in the mid 1950's. I think I only had that and a coat for Sunday best.

David49

I can't imagine many boys wearing school uniform out of school, the risk of getting it dirty or damaged was far too high

Yes they did- I have photographs to prove it.

Maybe not for playing 'out' in, but certainly for family parties and get-togethers.

Maybe you had a privileged childhood, or you are too young to remember?

I went to a comprehensive school at 11, and my mum spent a fortune on a grey duffle coat which was listed as part of the uniform. As was the norm, it was at least a size too big, to allow 'growing room'. When I got to the school, most people wore grey or black coats that were in fashion, so I stood out in my Paddington Bear coat, and as it was so expensive I didn't get a separate winter coat that year, so had to wear it out of school, and stood out there too. I loathed that coat .

M0nica

Winter outer clothes were expensive so my school winter coat, whether woollen coat or gaberdine mac was the only winter outer garment I had and I wore it whenever I went outside, rgardless of whether I was in school uniform or not.

I had my first non-school winter coat for my 13th birthday, a lovely scarlet 3/4 jacket. I loved that coat and wore it on all occasions. I was still wearing it when I first went to university. I wore it until it was completely worn out; fraying and worn.

Same here MOnica. Ditto with my school kilt and jumpers, but not not the tie and the hat.

At one point my parents couldn’t afford to buy me a coat other than my school one so I’m wearing my purple (yes, really) school gaberdine in all our holiday pics for a couple of years. It was the early 70s and purple was fashionable then so I didn’t feel too bad! My husband had to go to school on Saturday mornings as many did then (direct grant school) so wore his uniform in town on Saturday afternoons.

I can't imagine many boys wearing school uniform out of school, the risk of getting it dirty or damaged was far too high