Wearing sneakers to school.

fuzzybuddy

fuzzybuddy

SF VIP
Location
The Sticks, Northeast PA.
I'm not sure if this was just a local thing but.......... When I was a kid (1950s), wearing sneakers to school was just not done. If you did, well, talk about the moral decay of American youth. It was pure "juvenile delinquency". Being a "JD" was a big thing back then. We were all going to hell, and justifiably so. OMG!!! Wearing sneakers in school!!!!!!! It was as bad as wearing a leather jacket. Looking back at that time, sneakers in school was the crime of the century, and I can remember my parents being aghast that someone might wear sneakers to school. Does anyone else remember the taboo about no sneakers in school? Are there any other taboos from the "old days" you remember?
 

They were called Gym shoes here, and that's all we used them for ..PT..... Some were white most were black some were slip on some laced.. but always for gym. However there was sometimes kids who were poor and had no choice but to wear their gym shoes to school, but the parents were encouraged to get them school shoes asap. We all wore school uniform, including ties and blazers... and dark coloured shoes..

61nx1FEkGCL._UX395_.jpg
71LdlS9IlHL._SY395._SX._UX._SY._UY_.jpg
 
Canvas shoes were ok by the time that I came along but we did have many rules about things like skirt length, halter tops, length of boys hair, raggedy jeans, T-shirts with various images, military clothing.

Among the kids, the taboos were jeans with rolled-up cuffs, your underwear showing, fairy loops on shirts, new clothes in general, etc...
 

I can relate! In my area and day, sneakers were worn for physical education (gym) class only! The rest of the time, I wore leather shoes that were child versions of what adults wore...lace-up shoes, or when I became a teen, loafers. Every year, my parents would buy me a pair of new sneakers that were to be worn for phys. ed class. I'd be allowed to wear last year's sneakers after school only until they were outgrown or worn out. We wouldn't have dreamed of wearing jeans to school either or there would have been consequences, like calls home about proper attire... :)
 
Girls were required to wear dresses. Mini skirts were the rage. The problem in middle school was that it was two stories tall with stairs that had to be climbed for classes. Boys would loiter at the bottom and look up girls' skirts as they went up the stairs.
I led an after school protest/request for girls to be able to wear pants. Only a handful of girls showed up to lobby for it. We had signs, too!
I think the administration thought our protest was "cute" and were amused by it.
Not long after that an announcement was made that the school dress code for girls was changed to include wearing slacks. No jeans or shorts were allowed. VICTORY!
 
No sneakers, no jeans, boys had to wear jackets and ties.

If you wore sneakers, you had to sit in the cafeteria all day and were given school work to do.

If a boy didn't have a tie, he was given a green crepe paper "tie".

I remember one guy in high school who always wore dark suits, white shirts, cuff links, a black overcoat and carried an umbrella. He also wore a black derby hat. Looked like a funeral director but he also looked fantastic.
 
Aunt Bea said:
Canvas shoes were ok by the time that I came along but we did have many rules about things like skirt length, halter tops, length of boys hair, raggedy jeans, T-shirts with various images, military clothing.

Among the kids, the taboos were jeans with rolled-up cuffs, your underwear showing, fairy loops on shirts, new clothes in general, etc...
Click to expand...

we didn't have those rules because we wore school uniform...Only rules we had really were that our navy blue school skirts ( 60's minskirt era) couldn't be more than 2 inches above the knee ( we rolled them up at the wait anyway). :D .. and that we must wear ties done up, and no open collars...
Blazers had to be worn at all times, except in class... boys had to wear grey or black trousers.. and both sexes worse blue or green shirts...

I left school in the 70's...this is the rules of the school 50 years later, almost exactly as they were back 1/2 a century ago...

  • Dark Blue Blazer (compulsory). No denim jackets or tracksuit tops. All outdoor jackets, with the exception of the blazers should be removed in school and placed in lockers.
  • Black trousers for boys and black skirt/trousers for girls. Shorts, denims, black jeans or leggings should not be worn. Skirts have to be of an appropriate length.
  • Socks for girls wearing skirts should be either white or black
  • White, or blue school shirt (which buttons to the neck) and a school tie compulsory
  • Ties must be tied at all times unless in gym class
  • Appropriate plain black footwear preferably shoes, or black trainers, only.
  • A plain black/navy jumper or cardigan may also be worn in colder weather. All outdoor clothing must be removed in school (with the exception of the blazer) and placed in lockers.
  • For Physical Education pupils are asked to wear dark shorts and a black (T-shirt) with embroidered school logo for indoor activities. For outdoor work, pupils can also wear a PE hoodie with embroidered school logo. Please note the hoodie can only be worn in PE.
  • Fashion accessories (e.g. large earrings, large belts, chains, excessive jewellery) will not be acceptable in school.

  • There are forms of dress which are unacceptable in school on Health and Safety, moral or other grounds and are not allowed. Such items are those which:

  1. Could cause health and safety concerns such as loose fitting clothing, dangling earrings, shell suits and jackets of flammable material
  2. Potentially encourage faction (such as football colours)
  3. Carry advertising
  4. Could cause offence (such as anti-religious symbolism or slogans which might be regarded as political or carrying a questionable moral message).
  5. Could be used to inflict injury on other pupils or be used by others to do so.
 
White canvas sneakers were OK when I was in high school, but they needed to be blinding white to be "cool". We would freshen them up with the white baby shoe polish that came in a bottle with a sponge top. Heaven help you if you got caught in a rainstorm with freshly polished sneakers, though. You'd be standing in a white puddle.

Later on, the sneakers needed to be scuffed up to be "cool". Heaven help you if you showed up in pristine white sneakers.

I always wondered exactly who it was who decided what was "cool" and what was "out". Certainly wasn't me......I was always trailing along at the end of the fad. All those fads: penny loafers, Bass Wejuns, desert boots, Peter Gunn boots (which, because I had big feet, my father referred to as my "Peter's gun boats".....thanks, Dad), ballet slippers, go-go boots, tight shiny vinyl high boots that cut off the circulation in your legs.
 
I went to school in the 50s and no sneakers were allowed,dresses and skirts were measured and had to be a certain length. The boys couldn't have the back of their collars up and no cleats on their shoes.

When I was a junior in high school we had a class picnic. We were allowed to wear shorts but had to change into them at school and had to change out of them in order to take the bus home.
 
Because of the logging camp environment of my boyhood, nearly all boys wore leather boots to school. The rich kids among us even had boots with a leather pouch sewed to the side of one of the boots for carrying their pocket knife. I seldom left home without my pocket knife but I carried it in my pocket since I didn't have fancy boots. Gym shoes were for the gym, however, when school ended for the summer these same gym shoes became all terrain mountain climbing, creek wading, tree scaling general utility shoes. By end of summer their tattered remains only barely resembled shoes

A lot of the girls wore boots from home to school and then changed into mary janes while in school.
 
fuzzybuddy said:
I'm not sure if this was just a local thing but.......... When I was a kid (1950s), wearing sneakers to school was just not done. If you did, well, talk about the moral decay of American youth. It was pure "juvenile delinquency". Being a "JD" was a big thing back then. We were all going to hell, and justifiably so. OMG!!! Wearing sneakers in school!!!!!!! It was as bad as wearing a leather jacket. Looking back at that time, sneakers in school was the crime of the century, and I can remember my parents being aghast that someone might wear sneakers to school. Does anyone else remember the taboo about no sneakers in school? Are there any other taboos from the "old days" you remember?
Click to expand...
Being a female I wasn’t allowed to wear boys jeans, I couldn’t get my ears pierced or I would be called a tramp!! I couldn’t wear pants to school either they weren’t allowed no matter how cold it was!! I don’t remember the sneaker thing I don’t even remember owning sneakers. We did have gym so I must have had a pair.
 
Last edited:
Saw a girl wearing a short skirt last week .. I said to my hubby, "I remember freezing my legs off in winter when I was a kid, and through high school". Guys were lucky they didn't have to go through that.

Getting on topic - we had sneakers (which we called 'running shoes') only for PE .. and they were always white. In fact, I don't remember seeing any that weren't white. Now, sneakers are a fashion statement, and some are very expensive. I wear Nikes, as they're comfortable and give me the cushioning I need.

Things were so much better when our daughter went to school. Fleece outfits were nice and warm for winter when she was little. As a teen, though, so many of them insisted on wearing sneakers rather than winter boots. She's fortunate I volunteered at her H.S. so she got a ride.
 
We wore the white canvas shoes as well-but they "had" to be "Keds" brand and that`s what we called them-Keds. We bought them at Gallencamp Shoes.Not sure if they were nationwide. Started wearing those in elementary school. We "polished" them with the white baby shoe polish too. Couldn`t wear pants to school ever-they started allowing girls to wear them the year after I graduated. Made for some really chilly walks to school in the morning.OK,it was California,so our cold wasn`t the same as Minnesota cold,but it was still cold lol.
 
By the way,I still remember how much the Keds were-3.99. If you were really broke and needed shoes TODAY,you could go next door to Karl`s Shoes and get their "knockoffs" for 2.99. And if you were REALLY broke,you could even get them at Mac & Mac for 1.99,but they were very poor quality and looked it.
 
Ruth n Jersey said:
I went to school in the 50s and no sneakers were allowed,dresses and skirts were measured and had to be a certain length. The boys couldn't have the back of their collars up and no cleats on their shoes.

When I was a junior in high school we had a class picnic. We were allowed to wear shorts but had to change into them at school and had to change out of them in order to take the bus home.
Click to expand...
Maybe we went to the same High School...!!
 
When it came to canvas gym shoes in my youth, you were either a devotee of Redball Jets or PF Flyers. We boys had lengthy debates about the comparative effectiveness of the suction cup pattern used on the soles of our preferred shoe. I was a Redball man myself.
 
Last edited:
The elementary school I went to didn't forbid sneakers, but they did frown on it, as sneakers allegedly make feet perspire.
I recall when we were in 5th-6th grades, a few of the girls coated their gym sneakers with chalk to try to keep them white :rolleyes:
 
all my school days was a strict uniform -sneakers would have been dismissal for sure .
black plimsoles for games indoors /out/
 
In elementary school, we were not allowed to wear tennis shoes, as we call them around here. Those were strictly for gym class. I was told once that we could only wear them in gym because otherwise we would track in gravel that would scratch the finish on the shiny wooden floor.

By the time I went to high school in the early 70s, those kinds of dress code rules relaxed and we could wear pretty much what we wanted.
 

You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top