For the first time ever, we have only one child going back to school tomorrow. It's the last year of uniform, and she is determined to wear the much rolled-over short skirt and the sweatshirt with the shredded cuffs to the bitter end. I'm delighted I don't have to go shopping for uniform ever again - and that sewing in name tapes is a thing of the past. I've never been convinced by the need for school uniform, and I've followed the recent debate (and some great letters) about it in The Guardian with great interest and amusement.
The only aspect of school uniform that interests me are the colours. This is Phoebe with my 'School Colours' blanket (pattern in the knitting book) which is knitted as five scarves that are then sewn together. It's designed to go with any school uniform (only colours missing are grey and black) as I never could adhere to uniform rules. It took me six weeks to knit and reminded me of how happy I was to get out of my own black and gold uniform.
[I could have called this post 'The Eyes Have It']
Yarns from the Julia range by Kristin Nicholas
After all this time I can finally disagree with you on something. I wish a chic, smart school uniform (NOT sweatshirts with logos) was compulsory - and black & gold sounds particularly cool!
Posted by: Gary | September 06, 2011 at 15:55
Stockport Grammar?
Posted by: Janet | September 06, 2011 at 16:12
No, not Stockport Grammar - no boys at the school I went to, but still lots of uniform-adjustments, hairspray and mascara before catching buses home.
Posted by: Jane | September 06, 2011 at 16:20
Despite living here all my life I will never understand the British obsession with school uniform. Indeed it was a topic that caused great hilarity at my sister's wedding in France.
Posted by: Wendy | September 06, 2011 at 17:00
I thoroughly enjoyed setting fire to my navy blue uniform on my last day at secondary school. I couldn't wait to get to uniform-free sixth form to parade the '80s fashions (and big hair!). Other than jeans, I don't think I've worn navy blue since!
Posted by: Anita | September 06, 2011 at 17:43
Her eyes certainly DO! What a lovely gal...and the blanket is too!
Best wishes for the new school year!
(((hugs)))
Posted by: Knitnana | September 06, 2011 at 17:51
Well, here's a different twist on school uniforms. In the larger urban areas of California, gang problems are rife so many schools have adopted either uniforms or strict rules on what colors cannot be worn. I don't know how much it helps because here in Northern California, our gang problems are consistently getting worse.
As a Catholic School student for 12 years, I too wore navy and white uniforms. Consequently, I don't have any navy in my closet. However, I am becoming enamoured with hand dyed indigo linens so I may have to adjust my thinking.
Posted by: leilani | September 06, 2011 at 18:08
Oh I do like those yarn colours :) Is the yarn available in the UK?
My school uniform was brown, yellow and white and totally dire ... even your lovely blanket could not have cheered it up!
Posted by: Annie | September 06, 2011 at 18:47
lovely eyes and a delightful blanket!
Posted by: Eliz. K | September 06, 2011 at 20:17
Lovely blanket Jane!
Posted by: Izzy | September 06, 2011 at 20:36
My 'baby' turned sixteen on August 18th so we're out of the school uniform thing ... thankfully! Girls especially seem to look a bit bonkers in uniform when they reach sixteen ...
Funny old thing, though, babies growing up so quickly ....how did that happen?
My daughter's uniform was brown so at least she won't have an aversion to navy blue ....
Posted by: Jayne Croghan | September 06, 2011 at 20:40
our local school's uniform is black head to toe - deeply unimaginative and not very 'country'
Posted by: janice | September 06, 2011 at 22:18
We are from the UK and therefore uniform does not sound at all unusual. However at the school where my husband teaches here in Australia, and where uniform is the norm right through to 18, I have admit that boys in grey shorts (with socks and black lace ups) when they are 6'4" and as broad as a bus is quite comical and the girls in their checked, above the knee dresses (like the little gingham ones I knew as a child) always make me smile......
Posted by: Deborah | September 06, 2011 at 23:09
The best thing about school uniform is how quickly my girls can get dressed in the morning for school - no decisions to be made on what to wear just grumbles about the uniform that they dislike.
Posted by: http://lheureduthe-jennifer.blogspot.com | September 07, 2011 at 00:13
I was in public (regular) school until Grade 11, at which point I moved to a private school that had uniforms. I LOVED it. No worrying about whether you are wearing the "right" brand or colours, or if your jewellery is expensive or cool enough. Kilt or pants? Socks or tights? Blazer or sweater? DONE! Having done both sides, and seen that uniforms really DO cut down on bullying about appearances, I am whole-heartedly for them. I only wish we had been allowed to wear the summer uniform polo shirts all year!
Posted by: Karlie | September 07, 2011 at 01:27
Yes, the eyes definitely have it - a pretty girl (at least, it seems so)!
Posted by: Lisa G. | September 07, 2011 at 01:54
Julia (the girl, not the yarn) started school last Wednesday. No school uniforms here - I would love that for sure b/c there would be no decisions nor discussions.
I'm about to do a giveaway for your book, along with a boatload of yarn too! I'll let you know when!
Book is great! It's time for knitting (finally).
Posted by: Kristin Nicholas | September 07, 2011 at 02:52
Honoured to be posting after Kristin, the "mother" of Julia and the Julia yarn - when will that ever get to central Europe?!
I love the idea of uniforms - my own were brown/yellow from 4-6 and grey/royal blue from 6-8, whereupon we left uniformland - but I do wish they would go with more practical and flattering garments. I know some do, but others... no wonder the kids feel the need to "do something" about them!
Why not make plain denim or chinos with a school polo and/or sweatshirt a uniform? I know English girls wore skirts for PE for years - do they still? I couldn't believe it when I went back to the UK for 6th form in the 80s and therefore studiously avoided the classes...
Posted by: Swissrose | September 07, 2011 at 08:52
Does Phoebe sport ripped black opaque tights too?
Posted by: Liz | September 07, 2011 at 09:57
I've never thought uniforms help discipline, but I do think they're really important. When all children have to wear the same clothes, there's no issue of being picked on for wearing the 'wrong' clothes, for wearing unfashionable clothes, or for wearing cheaper clothes. Everyone wears the same.
Posted by: Rhian | September 07, 2011 at 12:46
Am just off to the Uniform shop to buy a longer skirt following the inevitable call from school re skirt lengths. They have changed the uniform requirements and the roll-over is very much no longer tolerated! As she is in Yr 11 my daughter will be furious when she comes home to find a new skirt.
Posted by: Karen | September 07, 2011 at 13:22
I think I could do with a uniform to wear to work sometimes - it would certainly make deciding what to wear each morning easier. The half-hearted uniforms the kids turn up in at my school can be so hilarious at times. Since when has Minnie Mouse and Hello Kitty been our school logo? x
Posted by: PinkCatJo | September 07, 2011 at 16:57
What a great blanket! Joseph would be proud to own it! My school uniform was a French blue box-pleated skirt, 1" off the ground when you knelt down, with a rather smart collar-less jacket and blue and white striped open neck blouse- I loved it, and still wear blue!
Posted by: geraldine | September 07, 2011 at 19:51
I certainly value the ease with which my daughter can dress herself in the morning having only a limited choice. At her school they have the polo shirt option but are very strict on hair, make up adornment etc. Makes for less attention to personal rivalries. Compared to some of the school kids that we get visitng my work place (short skirts, thick make up, busts on show, Yes!!and whats with the new grey hair color? I spend a fortune fighting back the grey) I'm glad her school are restrictive. As for the lovely tailored versions, many are cheap and nasty nylon and hideously sweaty and baggy and no doubt smelly! Ironically when I was at school (all girls) we could only wear skirts. Even when the heating went off and it was a deep cold winter. No fashionable thick tights in them days. We actualy went on strike to make them let us wear trousers.
By the way, how's the table cloth quilt coming along??
Posted by: Julie Shackleton | September 08, 2011 at 20:03
i taught school for a short time out in the Pacific Islands (the Gilberts) and it was the law for every school child from class 1 to form 6 to wear a uniform. in my school, Wednesdays were non-uniform days, and the uniforms were supposed to have been washed. each student owned two, so that a clean one could be worn every day. it is also against the law to bother or detain a student while they were wearing their uniform. this is supposedly to keep them safe. interesting concept!
Posted by: Tola | September 08, 2011 at 20:49
I thought that my school uniform was rather silly as it required girls to wear neckties (one colourway, while the boys could wear any necktie they wished), but am very happy to dress my three children in uniforms daily. The "I have nothing to wear" lament doesn't occur, and they experiment with their own fashionable concoctions after school and on weekends. Everyone, fortunately, is happy.
Posted by: Miss Cavendish | September 12, 2011 at 01:19
She's a lovely girl! And what a pretty afghan!
Posted by: Sara | September 12, 2011 at 19:02