Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Uniformity

As you know, there was a lot of discussion about Ainsleigh's (ridiculously expensive) school uniform. In case you forgot, here is what the summer uniform looked like. It comprised of a short sleeve dress, red money belt, embroidered cardigan, white or red socks, and black heelless shoes.
For arrival and departure, they also wore a hat and a blazer, both of which were embroidered with the school crest.
The angle never quite worked with the ponytail, and since it was a requirement to pull hair back (with a red hair tie), the hat was always at an awkward angle.
Then there was the winter uniform, which I think was the better of the two. This consisted of a long sleeve blouse, gray jumper, a different hat (which I believe to be a substantial improvement compared to the summer hat), tights, the money belt (which she isn't wearing here), cardigan, blazer, and an overcoat.

There were also other miscellaneous clothing articles in the uniform. There were multiple PE uniforms which included an embroidered polo and embroidered sweat suit, and even a swimsuit and swim cap. I'm sure there were also other things I'm forgetting, such as the severely overpriced art smock that just came back to mind. There was a fleece jacket, which the girls are wearing here at a class field trip to Hampton Court Palace. I'm pretty sure they only ever wore it to field trips and on the coach (that's right, coach--not bus) to the swimming pool once a week. As a South African mom who was also new to the school said to me, "They're going to need a separate uniform to go to the loo pretty soon."
Peering out into the courtyard (displaying a non-standard issue bag):
It's an ensemble fit for meeting a King:
Here is the last uniform picture. This is one I took following an afternoon trip to the Richmond Hill Bakery, which we frequented often as it was on the way to Rippy's school.
This is my favorite picture of Ainsleigh in London:

2 comments:

Leslie said...

Ainsleigh looks fabulous in the uniform of course. Also, I love that South African mom's comment. I love it when South Africans have such cheeky senses of humor.

the edwards clan said...

Wow....I don't even know where to begin! I live such a sheltered live and had no idea such "uniformity" still existed! I can only imagine how much that all cost. Holy cow. Well, Ainsleigh sure did look cute, and what fun memories she'll have of that time in her life when she got to be a little British school girl. :o)