Why did schools change and wear sweatshirts and cheap blazers?

[Neweternal]

I'm curious when I was at school you had wool blazer (expensive yes in the 1980s they were £50) tie shirt etc. Now I see kids going to school in those hideous cheap polyester ones, are the days of school exchanges gone? Also I've seen sweatshirts and polo shirts in primary and secondary and it doesn't look smart at all and after the first term their sweatshirt and polo shirts are bobbled and discoloured. White cotton shirts can be bleached out in the sun. Surely no one thinks that looks better than a shirt and tie? Also children learning to buttons shirts up, tie you ties, they're life skills. What are the pros of sweatshirts, non wool blazers? Yes more ironing is involved with a clean shirt everyday, but my child takes pride in being smart. Poor kids in the 1960s managed school uniform, so I'm not convinced this is purely a financial argument. Should state schools not be competing with private on uniforms? Wearing polo shirts and sweatshirts to secondary if like an acceptance they're going into the trades and not going to need to tie a tie for work, (nothing wrong with trades I have one) but its about aspirations and dressing raises aspirations too. I know private schools still have the school exchange. What's the thinking behind all this?

You'd be mortified if you came to my office then.. we get paid to actually do the work, not what we look like doing it.

The men that run the after school club wear full suits? Do the women do this aswell?
I'm a childminder should I be wearing a duit to look after the kids all day 😂

No woman at the club, just men.

..and to add, we're a public service organisation, full of professional and educated people. I wouldn't work somewhere that enforced smart dress again, it's so nice knowing that I can wear what I feel comfortable in to work and I work far better for it.

You must run in a very select circle if men choose to wear suits and ties for something as casual as a book club.

You don't have to spend 13 years practicing wearing a tie or buttoning a shirt, people who have to wear them can learn in about 5 minutes...

Thousands of children in places like France, Germany, US. Netherlands etc seem to manage just fine with suits in adult life having spent their school days in casual clothes...

St Paul's Girls school in London has no uniform. Their alumni seem to manage just fine.

Private school here, no tie, no blazer.

I work in Financial Services, we are on permanent dress down unless face to face with Clients. Children should be comfy to enable them to learn and play.

What do your kids wear to school, OP?

My D.C. attend an American elementary school with no uniform.

My DS nevertheless knows how to properly knot a tie (it’s not rocket science)

Both children know how to dress properly for church, dinners, family occasions, weddings etc as do all their classmates.

All without ever having worn a uniform.

We live in a very affluent suburb with highly educated and successful parents. Not many of these children will be going into a “trade”.

They all have appropriate levels of school spirit and pride.

None of any of the skills you have mentioned have anything to do with wearing a uniform everyday. Wearing uniform is traditional in the U.K. - that’s all.

Seems people like no uniform/sweatshirts and no ties. It was just a thought and it's made me think, good arguments about countries on the continent. Are they private schools on the continent or is it the same idea as here? In which case what's their social mobility like? Can't help but think it looks far better.

I was a civil servant and then lobbyist, working with ministers and MPs. I rarely wore a full suit (am female, so no tie). And certainly, not every MP or MEP wears a tie at all times - some are far less formal, and they aren't suitable for every occasion anyway. My suits only really came out for interviews, and I don't even own one now, just smart separates.

DH is a programmer, it's a remarkable day if he wears trousers rather than shorts for at least six months of the year. My friend's dh is an engineer, I've known him for years and can only think of one occasion when he's worn trousers - his own wedding day. Both perfectly respectable, very skilled, and well-paid jobs, despite their lack of formal attire.

Times are changing, and stuffing children into uncomfortable uniforms is just daft, IMO. Smart? Yes, absolutely. Children should be taught to take pride in themselves, which includes being smart and well presented. But their clothing should be fit for purpose as well, meaning comfortable. They shouldn't be boiling or freezing in blazers, or half strangled by ties. A smart pair of trousers or a skirt, polo shirt, and school sweatshirt is perfectly acceptable, especially for younger children. That's what I wore for all but two years of my education, and I seem to have survived.

My junior school had capes as part of the school uniform
the boy's school had corduroy britches
maybe all boys should wear shorts till they leave prep school?

You are ignoring what we are telling you OP. Which is that children learn best if they are comfortable, the private schools are also ditching the wool blazers & ties & the poshest uniforms tend to belong to the worst performing schools.

I work in a company thats turnover is in the £100 millions. No one wears a suit let alone a tie. Directors are normally in jeans and shirt.
Other half is a doctor and most of her male colleagues whilst wearing a tie are in chinos or trousers and their shirts are generally checked etc. Sleeves always rolled up.
Friends who work in the city don't wear suits or ties.
I was at school in the eighties and always wore my jumper with a shirt and tie. My polyester blazer was awful, in the end I didn't have one and took one from lost property for assembly.
It's a pointless dress code form a bygone era to highlight class and the job you did.

Let’s face it, girls in ties is completely bonkers.
I have never seen a woman in a tie in the workplace.
And most private schools would not dream of asking girls to wear ties.

Presumably though the gender neutral lobby will force schools down the trousers and ties for all route even more in the future.

The thing I do agree about is the polyester - there's no need for a polyester blazer/ jumper/ trousers. Ditch uniform altogether.

I live in Germany. There are no schools with uniforms anywhere near us. I think the international school in the next city might have one. Private schools here tend to be more, not less, liberal and non conformist than state schools.

I hate that mine have to wear any kind of blazer and shirt and tie I would much rather them be comfortable.

I’d rather my child learnt good sentence construction, grammar and punctuation so she can communicate effectively with others than wore something smart to school.

Primary school kids in ties and blazers! Whose stupid idea was that?

New my D.C. go to the local state elementary.

The very expensive private school (think $45k pa) nearest to our home wears a uniform but it’s polo shirt and khaki shorts/skirt/trousers.

Some other private schools do wear shirts and ties but to be honest they really aren’t very practical in Texan heat.

My D.C. wore uniform when we lived in the U.K. and I always thought it was a good idea (practical, social leveller, supports good attitude etc) however my time in the US has shown me that I was completely wrong on every point.

The children here are never sitting roasting in sticky blazers, never freezing in school skirts and blouses. They can choose their clothes appropriate to the season and weather conditions. They are comfortable while learning.

It’s nothing like dress down day in the U.K. They wear their own clothes every day so they don’t care what each other are wearing.

Social mobility here largely depends on professional success. My DH is pretty senior and doesn’t wear a tie. Neither do any of the men senior to him (although they dress smartly)

Copper that's my experience of non uniform too - kids here universally wear jeans and t shirts. Nobody cares what anyone else wears and kids don't seem to worry about their own clothes much either. I've never had any stress with my kids, including a teen girl, about what they wear to school, nor have I heard of it discussed as a problem amongst parents. MUFTI days in English schools are crazy purely because of the novelty.

I'd also say that if we're worrying about preparing for employment, learning to choose your own clothes for the next day is far more useful than practicing putting on a blazer and tie chosen by someone else for 13 years ...

My son came home caked in mud and I was delighted to be able to bung his polyester blazer in a gentle wash and not have to dry clean or owt else.

When I was at school our uniform was a shirt and tie. About 90% of students tucked their ties in and we all looked a mess. Polo shirts would have looked smarter.