Heading Back to School In '65

As the kids head back to class this week, I find myself remembering my own grade school years, and recalling the annual buying of the school clothes. What excitement! It almost made up for the insult and injury of having to go back into the classroom for another year, so hard and sad to do after the long, halcyon summers of glorious free time and play.

A substantial amount of the shopping was usually done by catalog but a trip to the department store and the shoe store were always included. The list didn't vary much from year to year--a few dresses, maybe a skirt or two, blouses, knee socks, tights, and underclothes were the order of the day. (No pants for girls at school back then--though on an especially frigid snowy day, the rules would be relaxed to allow for a pair of slacks worn under the dress or skirt.) A pair of nice shoes, a new lunchbox or maybe a book satchel and a pencil case and we were ready for another year.

Girls' school dress styles in the mid-sixties were fairly simple. None of today's Daisy Mae bohemian combinations or flounces back then. I find myself longing for these simple classics to come back!

Here are some examples I found in the August, 1965 edition of Parents' Magazine.

I remember having a little grey striped dress like this one,
and a pair of little T-strap shoes, too!

The ruffle dress on the right was about as frou-frou as school dresses got in the mod mid-sixties.

Jumpers were the staple of my own school wardrobe.
I love this smocked one, and the little blouse with
the Peter Pan collar.

A jumper with buttons--I had one like this.

Velvety soft suede shoes--Hush Puppies were the popular brand. I had a beloved slip-on pair until I ruined them dropping a gooey toasted marshmallow on one!

Okay, I'm saving the best for last, but it will have to be in the next post. These scans take forever to load! But I'll leave you with this hint: