This is an ode to a pretty ugly [divided] skirt that has become an unforgettable emblem of my school days.
We called them 'Browns' and while we tugged them on and zipped them up every morning at around 7:15am [rushing to the dining hall for breakfast] we despised them dearly.
I grew up in one of the best residential schools IN THE WORLD [Hell Yeah, I'm proud of my school!] and we were surrounded only by tea gardens. Keeping that in mind, our uniforms were a really off coloured combination of brown and green.
While we were still in school, we heard numerous rumours about a change in our uniform and boy, were we glad! Even a simple black and white get-up would've been a saving grace from our light brown shirt, dark brown skirt + shoes and green sweaters/blazers/socks/belt and ties! Oh yeah, it was pretty bad as you can imagine. Don't even get me started on our sports get-up and evening wear! In fact, even our riding breeches were a strange colour cross of brown and green! I really hated my breeches as well but you know what I'm going to say now, don't you? I hopelessly wish I had saved one of them! They were oddly close to the Balenciaga Fall 2007 jodhpur pants.
All in all, the atrocities of our uniforms can only be understood by us Aviators [And I still don't know who coined that term for us because we sound like an aviation club!]
Yet after 7 years, you learn to love the browns and greens. What's worse? You miss it once you're out of school and although you banter on about the ugliness of the browns and greens, you can't help but talk about it and secretly miss it.
I made sure to save m uniform once I left school. I'm a collector and I sure as hell love to collect anything that were a reminder of the good days and well... my browns were surely one of them!
It's not surprising that it still fits and is the same length. What's surprising is that the brown doesn't look all that bad and isn't really an eye sore if put together well. It created a rather nice combination with a breton stripped T-shirt too. Of course, the weather doesn't permit one to wear only a T-shirt anymore so maybe that might need a bit of summer sun.
To you if you're still in school, keep those uniforms safe! To you if you have managed to keep them around, recreate, reinvent, reuse, recycle and reduce one less garment on the 'to-buy' list. Of course, if you're in Delhi I'd advice you to keep away from skirts because apparently wearing shorts and skirts are *ahem* inviting troubles upon ourselves, eh?
Part school girl, part equestrian minus the breeches [Cat Hat substituting the riding helmet], I am sure there must be a few changes in the uniforms at school. The sports gear have definitely gotten fancier from what I have seen but hey... I like to remember what was around me when I was there. AVS in 1998... I like we think we had a grander time. I could be wrong but I'm sure we all think that our time was the best, no?
Yet, whatever said and it, we are students from a school that stick together no matter what. Even if we are batches apart, we'll still get along just fine because we were in the same school. It's definitely a trait of boarding schools. [I've noticed it with students from Mayo, Doon and the likes too]
So while this blog post wasn't much of a fashionable school journey, it was more of me swimming across time and space and reaching out into my imaginary pensieve where I had recorded all the moments -remainders and reminders- of my time spent well.
What are we without the past reminding us where and what we have come from and where we are now?
x
photographed by: Zubeni Lotha.
9 comments:
Only you would be able to pull off a hat with cat ears, and an old school skirt. And that's a compliment, if there ever was one :)
Also, appreciate the new layout, lady!
Love, Miffalicious. [www.miffalicious.com]
Wow, that cat hat really makes you look like a cat ^_^
Love what you wrote, as always :)
ahhh you made me saved my old school uniform which i was gonna throw asap :D
U know even m using my school gray pants n m 4rm maharani gayetri devi school n I stay in assam nly :)
Really love this, the old school skirt looks really cool! My own school uniform was a all navy blue skirt, knitted jumper and light blue blouse (with school tie in the winter). The skirt had to below the knee (we too also hitched them up sky high in rebellion lol) and the only shoes you could really get away with were mary-janes.
I used to think the whole thing was horrific, but looking back now it wasn't actually that bad! I even find myself pining after my old school skirt sometimes, especially as the whole school girl chic is a thing now xoxo
Thanks for the love you lovelies. :)
always a pleasure to read the comments. :)
@Love-Miffalicious: You are too kind! Thank you.
@Anon 1: meow? :D
@Anon 2, Priyanka + RCagz: Glad I mde you save your uniforms and glad to hear that you wear them tooo!! ^__^
much love. x
Just out of emotional attachment, even I have saved my school skirt, but seeing you pull off this look is the only reason I would consider wearing it again :)
And yes that hat is perfect for you! You make it look good no matter what you wear... it must have been one of those things that you just had to buy when you saw it :)
The Creative Bent
The shoes are lovely..
@The Creative Bend: Yes! you must wear the skirt! :) And as for the Hat, thank you. I was quite lucky to have the lovely people from www.romwe.com send it over! ^___^
@NS: Thank you. :)
xx
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