Girl's school tunic

This school tunic was worn by Adele Howison when she attended Wellington Technical College from 1954 to 1957. She was very sporty and won awards for cricket, both indoor and outdoor basketball, and athletics, as seen in the badges attached to the yoke of the tunic. She was also a House Captain.

 

Adele wore the tunic in winter over a long-sleeved white cotton flannelette shirt when the weather was bad or over a short-sleeved shirt when she wore her blazer. She wore a tie in a Windsor knot, and a yellow-edged girdle (belt) because it represented sport. She wore brown stockings and lace-up shoes. The uniform was topped off with a brown beret.

 

Origins of the tunic

 

Gym tunics were originally worn by girls for sport. From the 1890s, the tunic became the standard school uniform for girls throughout New Zealand, and some schools still retain it as a uniform to this day. Wellington Technical College students wore tunics from the 1920s until 1966.

 

Disguising femininity

 

School uniforms tend to suppress the individual, neuter sexuality, and enforce group identity. When looked at closely, the gym tunic is an unusual garment for a girl as it is based on a masculine tunic reminiscent of Roman gladiators, combined with masculine shirt, tie and lace-up shoes. Unlike boy’s uniforms which mimicked menswear, girls’ uniforms did not transfer to a young woman’s life after school when she was expected to appear in more feminine dress.