Remember this image from my previous post?
The gymslip goes back to Martina Bergman-Osterberg (1849-1915).
Osterberg was a Swedish-born physical education instructor and a women's suffrage advocate, who spent her working life in Britain. She founded the first physical education instructor's college in England, admitting women only, and look, she has a blue plaque, which is cool.
Her school was founded at Broadhurst Gardens, South Hampstead, London.
Martina Bergman-Osterberg's contribution to the development of physical education in the English school curriculum was immense, and I guess in a round about way it connects with the NZ school curriculum.
A student of Martina's, called Mary Tait, is often mentioned as being the "inventor of the gymslip". In 1897, Mary was to have put together an outfit that allowed practical movement for sport playing women, who previously were decked out in ground-length skirts and mutton sleeve blouses, something like this maybe. Hard for us to imagine, isn't it.
You can see it in action in this image of an Irish hockey team. I always love the posed photographs of 19th century sports teams.
I can't locate any images that specifically relate to Mary Tait's creation, but I have come across this, however there does appear to be a discrepancy in the dates.
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| An 1893 Gym-Suit |
A cartoon connecting with this history.
These wonderful Butterick patterns were presented 15 years later in 'The Delineator' magazine. (The Delineator was an American woman's journal of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It was launched in 1876 by the Butterick Pattern Company and offered patterns of fashionable clothing by mail order system.)
Butterick 5169
It is a two piece, and was described as allowing for "perfect ease and freedom for going through any exercises combined with jauntiness and style...Girls will find that it makes a more than ordinarily attractive gym suit..."
The March 1912 pattern
In September 1912, 5625 was presented.
It is a reflection of the January one, what with the sailor collar, and described as "full-length or shorter sleeves sewed into deep armholes, a construction which makes it roomy, strong and in appearance up to date"...and apparently "It will not bind or pull at any place..."
This makes me think of an exercise I present my Year 9 Fabric class. Comparing and contrasting clothing, history and social/gender issues all rolled into one.
And for a much more intensive paper, check this link, it covers a variety of sports taken on by females in the USA. Page 242 of the pdf has a good sketched image of a gymslip.
So, the gymslip/gymfrock developed. You can see it quite clearly in the 5256 pattern.
A gymslip is a loose sleeveless tunic with pleats that start at the breast. (A pinafore dress could also be used for describing a sleeveless tunic with a pleated skirt.) The gymslip was often made out of serge, which is a fabric with good durability.
By the 1920s the gymslip, originally worn for gymnastics and sports, had developed into a major aspect of the female school uniform. It was/is usually worn over a shirt, with/without a tie and a belt or girdle.
Another Butterick pattern, and the garment is definitely looking like the article I knew.
And look, a Comme des Garcons dress, looks very inspired by a gymslip/frock.
Actually, this is a 'Comme des Garcons Girl'.
Rei Kawakubo established this particular label in 2015, with its concept being one of a new and fresh look delivering a feminine twist that meets the conceptual aesthetic of the main CdG label. The above dress will connect with one of the CdG collections, but I could not say which one. It definitely makes me think gymslip/frock, and I do like the scalloped edge of the yoke.
CdG create a number of designs that are based on a school uniform style, like this one for example.
They have presented it with a black CdG shirt, which does make it difficult to see the detail of the gymslip look. The different buttons might help.
If the history of Japanese school uniform interests you, then this link will provide more information.
All this discussion about gymslip history takes me back to my very young days, and a book I loved to read, which was about boarding school, Malory Towers!
Japanese school uniforms, called 'Seifuku' were introduced in the late 19th century thereby replacing the traditional kimono. The original girl's style was that of a sailor suit, while the boy's was more military-style.
Apparently this female style was taken from the sailor suits worn by the children from royal European families.
I was intrigued to read that many Home Economics classes in Japanese schools up until the 1950s presented sewing sailor outfits as class assignments.
Eventually a standard uniform of shirt, pleated skirt and blazer became more common place.
https://livejapan.com/en/in-tokyo/in-pref-tokyo/in-tokyo_suburbs/article-a0002110/
is reflected in this CdG design.
The pleats take me to this CdG creation, and as mentioned up above, pinafore dress is in a similar category as the gymslip.
This particular Japanese school uniform style,
Lots of gymslips on display, and they played lacrosse, but I didn't. I played hockey.
I definitely remember this one, so I think the 'Armada Paperbacks for Boys & Girls' were the ones I read. Apparently these ones were the first paperback editions in the series.
The Malory Towers stories fed my romantic view of boarding school, so when my Mother informed me I was going to be off to St John's Girls' School in Invercargill and boarding Monday to Friday, I thought "Hey great, Malory Towers, here I come!" Okay, it wasn't quite M.T. but I still thrived on it. I guess it had a lot to do with the age/stage I was at (Form 1/Year 7).
Malory Towers is set on the Cornish coast of England, and was published between 1946 and 1951, which was "a backdrop of a postwar Labour government, focused on social equality, rebuilding society and creating a social welfare state". I do remember a sense of community among the girls and their deciding things as a team. Perhaps that is what I longed for, hence thinking boarding school would be so cool, because I would find it there. I think I still yearn for that sense of community and belonging.
I also think I got a good sense of "the little spites and deceits of school life, the loyalty and generosities of friendships, and the never-ending impact of one character on another". Maybe Blyton's writing was clunky, with a "whiff of entitlement", but it was about girls coming of age together and working out their "collective moral code", and I did actually go through that. However, looking back, I think I could have done it better. I know, old head, young shoulders stuff.
The St John's uniform was a grey gymfrock, blue and white striped shirt, tie, navy blazer and hat. I loved it.
When I returned for the 100th anniversary in 2017, I wore a t-shirt with the above photo printed onto it. It is presented in my blog side bar, but this is a photo recorded the day I attended the centennial. I quite like this image, as it is like a still image of a film, a record in time, which it is. I am holding a painting of the school hat badge,
One very cool aspect of St John's was the shield. Every student received one at the end of the school year. One of the teachers (Mrs Comer in my day) recorded the required information, all those little things where you had experienced success. You can imagine what some of the girl's shields would have been like, as they attended the school a lot longer than I had.
And you also received a book for your class prize, how fab is that...not sure how many schools continue that tradition today.
Just to stick with literature connecting to gymslips, isn't this a glorious photo. Janet Frame with each actress who played her in Jane Campion's 1990 film, 'An Angel At My Table'.
Karen Fergusson (adolescent Janet) Alexia Keogh (child Janet) and Kerry Fox (Adult Janet).
I so remember the scene in the film...Janet getting her menstrual period for the first time, horrified, her Mother is preparing her with the towels, and Janet crying out "Everyone will see!"
"No they won't, now get on!"
Near enough to the next scene, Janet is sitting on a stool in one of her classes, looking around, aware that blood is on the back of her gymfrock. Oh God, one's worse fear! I appreciated Janet Frame being able to write about such a real social embarrassment for a young teenage girl, who was on the edge of entering that next phase of her life, becoming a woman.
And here are Juliette Hulme (Kate Winslet) and Pauline Parker (Melanie Lynskey) in their Christchurch Girls High School gymfrocks, in Peter Jackson's 1994 film, 'Heavenly Creatures'. Melanie Lynskey captures the brooding look of Parker so well.
And, of course,
The Brodie Set...
written by Muriel Spark.
Isn't this a great shot of the author!
'The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie' is Spark's best known work. It was first published in The New Yorker in 1961.
And this one, there she is in a gym frock.
Set in 1930s Edinburgh, it is the story of a charismatic teacher Miss Jean Brodie, who is assigned to a class of 10 year-old girls, six of whom become known as 'The Brodie Set'.
Miss Brodie considered herself to be working to the original sense of the Latin verb educere "to lead out", thus felt she was giving her students a wonderful lesson in what life has to aspire to. Although Miss Brodie is a cool and inspiring teacher who challenges her girls to be independent, she has one flaw, she is a fascist admirer.
One of 'the set', eventually betrays Miss Brodie, which ruins her teaching career. I found it great reading. The film is okay, Maggie Smith is beautiful and the school girls are what school girls can be. You can check it out in this video. There are only 4 who make up The Brodie Set, but the whole school crowd scenes are like rivers of grey gymfrocks!
Another great film about school life is Lindsay Anderson's 1968, 'If'.
Reviews do say the 1978 television series with Geraldine McEwan as Jean Brodie, is the better production. It probably is able to recall the full story in more depth than the film. An interesting aspect is one of the girls joins a religious order.
If interested in delving deeper into understanding the novel, read this site, heaps of fascinating information.
Watch it via this video...a young Malcolm McDowell, pre Clockwork Orange.
I attended a viewing of the film in London, and was given my own "Prefect's Badge". Cool.
Just while I'm about English schools and uniforms, I must share my experience of Blue Coats School. It has a wonderful history. From a very early date in English education charity school pupils received donated garments. Famously, a Tudor-style blue coat, knee breeches and yellow stockings are still worn at Christ's Hospital, Horsham, the 'Bluecoat School', which opened in 1552.
I am aware of a NZ school, St Margaret's, Christchurch, which has an interesting approach to the school uniform. (Admittedly it is a private school, so it will be more than what is expected of the standard state school.)
In 1991 Claudia Wysocki was appointed the new principal of St Margaret's, and one of the first things she did was to introduce a new uniform (not uncommon), which was seen as a complete re-branding of the school plus a re-building of self-esteem and pride.
Christchurch designer Barbara Lee was approached to think about designing the school's new uniform. Wysocki chose Lee, because she had designed a corporate uniform for the ANZ Bank, inspiration for Wysocki. Lee took a similar approach to her school uniform design, i.e. "a corporate look".
This link will allow you to view the St Margaret's School uniform, and see the choice a student can make each morning, when she thinks "What shall I wear today?"
The design of St Margaret's School uniform was the beginning of Lee's business in school uniform design. The gymfrock is still there, just presented in a more modern form.
https://style.kiwi/a-stitch-in-time/
While still discussing boarding schools, I recently went to see the film 'Six Minutes To Midnight'. It is a pre-World War 2 spy story set in Augusta Victoria College, an elite English boarding school for the daughters of the German aristocracy and the Nazis regime. This school operated from 1933 until a few weeks before war was declared in 1939, when I imagine most of the participants quickly scurried back to Germany!
Before leaving the boarding school scene, another memory from my childhood and the Gore Public Library.
A young girl who had many delightful stories to tell in her name....although I never really saw a gymfrock, she was attired in a sweet school outfit. Little Madeline.
"In an old house in Paris that was covered in vines, lived twelve little girls in two straight lines..."
Check out this 'Flip-Along' video.
A 1998 film was made starring Frances McDormand as Miss Clavel. It looks like the film makers saw her more as a nun, as opposed to a nurse and teacher. Admittedly her attire is a bit nun-like, but she is always referred to as Miss Clavel, never Sister Clavel or Mother Clavel. I think it is the Idiots Popopov (circus clowns in 'Madeline and the Circus') who refer to Miss Clavel as a nun.
Another designer who likes a school uniform look, is Thom Browne.
Could Browne be inspired by the school uniform worn by Gabriele, Petra von Kant's daughter in Fassbinder's amazing film 'The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant'? The costumes for the film were designed by Maja Lemcke. It is a fascinating film.
This is a very interesting uniform ensemble of Browne's. I see it as a coat.
I have just finished rereading... 
In an early section Vivienne is talking about her relationship with Malcolm..."He loved clothes. I remember once he bought me an outfit, very naval, coarse navy-blue with white pleats. He was very clever like that. And John Lewis school department sold schoolgirl uniforms and he bought those for me - blue dresses, white collars and red tights. I wore them with rubberized cotton macs from Cordings of Piccadilly. After my Dolly Bird look, this Malcolm style got me a different sort of attention."
Looking into some of Vivienne's collections, I came across this skirt, which was described as 'Anglomania school girl skirt' It's the plaid and the pleats.
These were the shoes! Unreal aren't they.
A couple of blogs back, the 'Mannequin' one to be precise, I presented a garment piece as my tribute to the passing of Kenzo due to Covid-19 complications.
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| 'This dress has been inspired by a Kenzo pattern I have. Kenzo's original 70s dress design made me think about the gymfrock from my St John's Girls School days. I have made it up in denim, did away with some of Kenzo's design features/functions, creating a dress that is about blending uniform with disarray, which the wearer is totally in control of.' |
Here it is teemed up with a jacket made by one of my pupils, which gives it the look of Military School attire.
What about another one, still meeting the tunic with pleats concept, but different type of pleat, serrated pleats
This idea is from one of the Japanese Pattern Magic series. Very interesting pattern work.
Also made up the CdG pinafore. The white shirt sets it of school uniform like, and someone on the staff has even made such a comment. It reminded her of her own school uniform from years back.
If any of this blog inspires a desire to know more concerning the 'Gymslip/frock' you may like to check out this book!
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