School fashions change

I have spent many minutes parked in front of the Middle School waiting to pick up our great-granddaughter at the end of the after-school program. I try to get there early so I can park in view of the door so that she can spot me easily. This gives me a good view of each of the young people as they come out the door. Each day my mind goes back quite a few years to the days when I was in Junior High School.

I see these students coming out with heavy book bags over one shoulder or on their backs. I remember that our generation carried our textbooks stacked on top of a large notebook. Then we held this on our lower arm while we rested the weight on one hip.

I walked about a mile to school most of the time when I was in the junior high grades. Usually I had a friend I would meet along the way. The students I watch each day are either picked up in a car or also start walking toward home. The school bus brings them to school in the morning but it doesn't operate for the after-school program.

The biggest difference I see in my past and the present generation is in the clothing. We girls wore mainly pleated skirts, sweaters and a full-length coat.

Our anklets or knee socks were almost always anchored in a pair of black and white saddle shoes. The boys wore dress pants or corduroy pants with a buttoned shirt (shirtwaists inside the trousers!) and often a sweater over the shirt.

Neither boys nor girls wore jeans.

In fact, the girls did not wear any type of slacks and the only shorts we wore were the "beautiful" green one-piece gym suits.

They even had a pleated skirt over ample bloomers.

Only the poor children wore sneakers.

Today as I watch the fashions come through the door, I see more blue jeans than anything else.

Once in a great while a girl will have on a skirt, but that is rare. About half of the youngsters wear a gray hooded sweatshirt as their only wrap. On colder days some wear heavier jackets or short coats, but not even the teachers wear full-length coats.

Our men teachers always wore a suit and tie.

The women teachers wore dresses or suits with skirts, hose and heels.

Thankfully the teachers today can wear more comfortable garb to stand and walk around all day.

One thing I have noticed about the students however is that many of the clothes don't seem to fit well. The boys' jeans look like they belong to their much bigger older brother. The girls' jeans however might really belong to their little sister. Even on cold days it is easy to see some exposed skin at the waistline unless they are wearing that gray sweatshirt which covers the body more completely.

In the "olden days" the girls wore scarves over their head. These were tied under the chin with a flap of material that would hang over the back to cover the area between the coat and the girl's hair. Most boys wore a cap.

These often had flaps that could be used to cover the ears.

Today, most of the students seem to be bareheaded except for the hoods of their sweatshirts or jackets. However they are not often being used.

I don't see any gloves being worn at all now, yet we always wore them in colder weather. It was necessary to hold those books together on our hips!