The High School "Uniform"
Were any of y'all in high school in 1963?
In that year, I enrolled at a big high school in Atlanta, Cross Keys High School. This was a big school about 1,400 students.
In those days, they had 8th through 12th grades all together in high school. So I was a sub-freshman, about 350 students in my class.
I was little, 105 pound, 12 year old kid. I was the youngest kid in 8th grade.
I quickly discovered that there was a "uniform" at Cross Keys. All the cool guys wore the same thing.
It started with the jacket. This was a London Fog windbreaker, dark blue. You had to wear the collar up. If you had a London Fog and didn't wear the collar up, you were a nerd of the worst sort and would be laughed out of school.
Also, you had to wear a Madras shirt. This was a dark blue and red checkered shirt.
Then, a "must" was the alligator belt.
And you had to have Gold Cup socks.
And, you had to have Bass Weejuns loafers.
To top it off, you had to use English Leather cologne.
I mean, there were 170 boys there in the 8th grade, and most of them had this uniform on. All the "cool guys" wore this outfit.
I had just graduated from grade school, just 4 miles away, just 3 months earlier, and there was none of this "uniform" stuff.
But I was an impressionable little kid and I wanted to be cool. But my parents had 6 children and we could not afford an expensive London Fog windbreaker. My mom shopped at Penney's. So we were in Penney's one day, and I spotted the London Fog! Cheapo! Only problem was, it was not a real London Fog. It looked just like the real deal but it was a Penney's Fox jacket. So my Mom bought one for me.
Next day at Cross Keys, I was ready to be "In with the In Crowd" as the song went. I went strolling down the hall ways with my dark blue windbreaker on. I had the collar up, of course. I had it made.
It didn't last until lunch, I was walking down the hall at 10 am during class break, three big bullies grabbed me and shoved me up against the wall. They pulled up the back of my windbreaker, and they saw the "Penney's Fox" label. FAKE!!! FAKE!!!
I was utterly humiliated. These bullies announced to the whole 8th grade that I was so sorry, I had a Penney's Fox and not a London Fog.
That did it for me I just checked out of the fashion scene after that, I never got the Bass Weejuns or the Madras shirt.
Never wore the Penney's Fox jacket again.
In that year, I enrolled at a big high school in Atlanta, Cross Keys High School. This was a big school about 1,400 students.
In those days, they had 8th through 12th grades all together in high school. So I was a sub-freshman, about 350 students in my class.
I was little, 105 pound, 12 year old kid. I was the youngest kid in 8th grade.
I quickly discovered that there was a "uniform" at Cross Keys. All the cool guys wore the same thing.
It started with the jacket. This was a London Fog windbreaker, dark blue. You had to wear the collar up. If you had a London Fog and didn't wear the collar up, you were a nerd of the worst sort and would be laughed out of school.
Also, you had to wear a Madras shirt. This was a dark blue and red checkered shirt.
Then, a "must" was the alligator belt.
And you had to have Gold Cup socks.
And, you had to have Bass Weejuns loafers.
To top it off, you had to use English Leather cologne.
I mean, there were 170 boys there in the 8th grade, and most of them had this uniform on. All the "cool guys" wore this outfit.
I had just graduated from grade school, just 4 miles away, just 3 months earlier, and there was none of this "uniform" stuff.
But I was an impressionable little kid and I wanted to be cool. But my parents had 6 children and we could not afford an expensive London Fog windbreaker. My mom shopped at Penney's. So we were in Penney's one day, and I spotted the London Fog! Cheapo! Only problem was, it was not a real London Fog. It looked just like the real deal but it was a Penney's Fox jacket. So my Mom bought one for me.
Next day at Cross Keys, I was ready to be "In with the In Crowd" as the song went. I went strolling down the hall ways with my dark blue windbreaker on. I had the collar up, of course. I had it made.
It didn't last until lunch, I was walking down the hall at 10 am during class break, three big bullies grabbed me and shoved me up against the wall. They pulled up the back of my windbreaker, and they saw the "Penney's Fox" label. FAKE!!! FAKE!!!
I was utterly humiliated. These bullies announced to the whole 8th grade that I was so sorry, I had a Penney's Fox and not a London Fog.
That did it for me I just checked out of the fashion scene after that, I never got the Bass Weejuns or the Madras shirt.
Never wore the Penney's Fox jacket again.
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You forgot about the long madras wallet that stuck up out of your rear pocket to match the shirt and the turtle neck dickey. 0 -
concert shirt, bell bottom jeans and hiking boots 0 -
I remember the jocks all wore there jerseys or similar jacket /shirt announcing them self as one , the hippy's [:D] bell bottom jeans tie dyed shirt if a true die hard . t-shirts were norm
converse tennis shoes were "it"
the nerds well they have never changed they have always dressed like nerds [}:)] used army jackets were always a statement of what I am not sure but cool to have ,
I remember started high school I weighed 83 pounds in 9th grade
got my first job and bought a pair of red converse my parents never had much money so my shoes and clothes up to then ( my first job and pay check ) were the cheapest they could find
I recall wearing patches on the knees of my paints before it was popular [:(]
I never tried to fit in but was considered a hippy if anything
I was the whipping boy being short and a little guy even the girls made fun of me . being locked in lockers tossed down stairways put in trash cans or toilets they did try but I would fight to the death before my head was going in
when I graduated I was a whopping 120 pounds . but could fight like a wild dog so by then I was left alone
school was not a great memory for me [:(!][:(!][:(!]0 -
In the 50s the boys "uniform" was a T shirt, blue jeans & tennis shoes.
Of course we all had a pocket knife since grade school.0 -
At my school late 60's, early 70's, all the jocks wore varsity Letter jackets that were two toned in the Black & Gold school color's.
Coming from a very big family, and being a middle child, I wore a lot of hand me downs. I was a true loner in high school!
All of the "clique's" included; Jocks, Nerds\Geeks, Ski-Bums, Farmers (FFA), Grease Monkeys, Hippies\Freaks, and a few cigarettes which were very much in the closet back then.
If you ever wore white socks on a Thursday.....you were labeled a Q.u.e.e.r.[:0]0 -
no uniforms in my school 
https://youtu.be/h7I_9MMcWvk0 -
Lots of rules of dress. I had a London Fog that you described. Did it have a carpet looking zip out liner? Mine was tan. I liked that 3/4 jacket. I don't think I had it long since I kind a shot up and out. 0 -
I wore what my folks bought me. It was often fairly easy to tell the "poor folks" kids cause they showed up at the beginning of school in new blue jeans about 2 sizes too big with the expectation of them still fitting at the end of that school year. The REALLY "poor folks" didn't have new jeans and were wearing hand-me-downs.
The division between "in crowd" and farm boys was often noticed in gym class. The "in crowd" usually had name brand basket ball shoes while the farm boys wore whatever was cheapest cause they had no other use for that sort of foot wear. The fancy shoes didn't help the city punks keep up with the farm boys who'd been working in the hay field all summer.0 -
Official uniform back when was hand me downs. Ring around the blue collar neighborhood.
Now in that neighborhood they have uniforms- free if your on the obammy gravy train.
WHY?? Because they were stabbing and shooting each other over jackets -clothes and sneakers.0 -
quote:Originally posted by Brookwood
At my school late 60's, early 70's, all the jocks wore varsity Letter jackets that were two toned in the Black & Gold school color's.
Coming from a very big family, and being a middle child, I wore a lot of hand me downs. I was a true loner in high school!
All of the "clique's" included; Jocks, Nerds\Geeks, Ski-Bums, Farmers (FFA), Grease Monkeys, Hippies\Freaks, and a few cigarettes which were very much in the closet back then.
If you ever wore white socks on a Thursday.....you were labeled a Q.u.e.e.r.[:0]
FFA for me With Cowboy hat and cowboy boots. But I stood out in a Crowd cause Hoss was who I wanted to be so it was a 10 Gal hat.0 -
It was in to have the unmistakable "condom ring" in your wallet showing thru the hip pocket of your tight jeans. For those that could not acquire a condom, a poker chip would suffice. [:D] 0 -
Small town grades 9 - 12 in one school house. Graduating class 300?
Someone mentioned a 3/4 coat and that reminded me. Had one in 1963/64. Not sure about the brand but many wore what we called a "Trench Coat" it was a "light tan" with a "fleece" liner. Just above or below the knee??
Really liked that coat and thought it "cool". The only thing missing was the Ray Ban Aviators.[:D][:D]0 -
schools should have uniforms/dress code for all...stops a lot of this nonsense 0 -
quote:Originally posted by droptop
Small town grades 9 - 12 in one school house. Graduating class 300?
Wow, that's a small town? Our school had about 250 total in grades 9-12.0 -
I was a HS Senior in 63. Pretty much the same, London Fogs, Lacoste/Izod shirts, and before that the Madras shirts which bled dye and changed colors when washed. I still wear Izod and Lacoste shirts because they are comfortable. I was a slim kind too, about 120 lbs when I graduated. Nobody messed with me, I had large friends. 0 -
I was a HS Senior in 63. Pretty much the same, London Fogs, Lacoste/Izod shirts, and before that the Madras shirts which bled dye and changed colors when washed. I still wear Izod and Lacoste shirts because they are comfortable. I was a slim kind too, about 120 lbs when I graduated. Nobody messed with me, I had large friends. 0 -
quote:Originally posted by Horse Plains Drifter
quote:Originally posted by droptop
Small town grades 9 10 - 12 in one school house. Graduating class 300?
Wow, that's a small town? Our school had about 250 total in grades 9-12.
Thought about it, looked it up and it was grades 10 thru 12. School had added some annexes to accommodate the influx of baby boomers. Google maps show no more annexes, since the town is about half the size and my guess, half as many houses and half as many students. Satellite view shows whole neighborhoods with all the houses torn down.
One High School, three stories.0 -
70's for high school. Black leather biker jacket (senior year). [:D] Before I got that it was my uncles Ike Jacket. 0 -
I was a sophomore in 63. We didn't have any "Dress code" in the little town I grew up in. Just as long as you had all your "bits" covered, you were good.
I'll always remember the absolutely overwhelming smell of new denim on the first few days of school. [:D]
Wow, is the autosensor turned off, or did someone edit all the silly "bad" words.0 -
Ah the beauty of going to a small (and I mean REAL small - 68 in my graduating class) HS, you could be in any and all of the cliques.
We wore what we wore and were more interested in what the female students were (or weren't) wearing.
Sizzler dresses were in fashion.
Glad my folks transplanted me from Detroit.0 -
Mid to late Sixties....Catholic School made it simple...tie and a sports coat....though some of the " cool" kids tried to make it an imperative to wear a particular brand knit tie....they soon found out if they pushed it with the other guys , they got punched in the face..[:)]
My older brother was a clothes horse...he went into the Air Force when I was a sophomore...suddenly I was a man of fashion and style..[^]0 -
My Senior class had 31 that graduated. My Sophomore class had 20% quit school due to overactive hormones and the results of acting on those hormones. [:)] 0 -
Bummer. We didn't have that sort of problem where I grew up, Allen. At least I don't recall it. Back when I was 12 or 13, a wave in the front of the hair, muscle shirts, and loafers...blue suede was popular for awhile. [:D] Oh, yes! And, no belt! [:D] 0 -
One time when I was teaching 8th grade English I was trying to get the students to write a "persuasive" paper.
School uniforms was always a good topic to get them engaged so we were discussing the topic.
One girl protested that she wanted to be "fashionable" and not look like everyone else.
I asked her to define "fashionable" and she suddenly realize that her answer of "What everyone else is wearing" was a little lame.
Kid in back of class commented, "She walked into that one."
In my high school back in the late '60's (total enrollment 250, my senior class had 46 in it) the only "fashion" was wearing your letter jacket with your jersey number on the left sleeve.
How small was my school? I was a starting tackle at 152 pounds.[:D]0 -
quote:Originally posted by Wild Turkey
One time when I was teaching 8th grade English I was trying to get the students to write a "persuasive" paper.
School uniforms was always a good topic to get them engaged so we were discussing the topic.
One girl protested that she wanted to be "fashionable" and not look like everyone else.
I asked her to define "fashionable" and she suddenly realize that her answer of "What everyone else is wearing" was a little lame.
Kid in back of class commented, "She walked into that one."
In my high school back in the late '60's (total enrollment 250, my senior class had 46 in it) the only "fashion" was wearing your letter jacket with your jersey number on the left sleeve.
How small was my school? I was a starting tackle at 152 pounds.[:D]
[:D]0 -
Mid to late 50s. Country boy, small town school. We were largest class all the same kids all four years; 22.[8D] 0 -
I was 5 probably just out of a High chair! 0 -
Class of 57, duck tails, blue jeans and engineer boots. 135 in school, 35 in my class. The same school now graduates over 400 seniors.
We had seven buses, they now have over 75. Their marching band numbers over 220.0 -
I graduated from High School in 1963; there were 28 members in our graduating class. There were no uniforms; it was wear what you had! 0 -
"Wow, that's a small town? Our school had about 250 total in grades 9-12."
51 in my graduating class.0
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