From wool to cotton blends, uniforms unveil
tradition
Throughout Marian’s
49 years of excellence, not only has its outward appearance changed, the
uniforms worn by the student body have also changed.
Marian’s very first
uniforms were worn by students attending Marian between 1955 and 1965.
At that time each
student was required to have two uniforms. There was a winter uniform and a
spring uniform.
The winter uniform
consisted of 3 pieces, a white button-down shirt with a pointy collar, a
gray-blue a-line surge material 3-button vest along with a knee length, gored
and surged skirt in the same color.
In the spring,
students wore a short sleeve, 100% cotton “golfer” dress’, which was belted and
buttoned all the way down. The dresses
came in an array of pastel colors including pale yellow, powder blue, mint
green and powder pink.
Although students
were only required to have the blue dress, many students had at least two
colors.
“I loved the
uniform! I liked the spring uniform the most because you could pick your
favorite color and wear it everyday,” said Mrs. Michelle Delisi, class of 74’.
With both the
spring and winter uniform, students wore the popular bobby socks, similar to
today’s crew socks, but were worn folded or rolled down, the thicker the
better!
Some students even
put tissue in between the folds to make them appear thicker.
Between the years
of 1965-1969 the spring uniform stayed the same, but the winter uniform changed
quite a bit.
Students wore a
wool plaid, teal blue and tan pleated skirt, with a long sleeve white oxford
shirt. In addition, students had an optional teal blazer and matching
knee-highs.
At this time,
unlike today, students were not aloud to come to school looking any way they pleased.
Every student had to look sharp, everything had to be pressed, tucked in,
buttoned and zipped.
“Marian’s uniform
code was very precise, there were no options for deviation,” said Ms. Kathy
Tocco, class of 61’.
In the 1970’s, the
atmosphere at Marian became a little more laid back. Some even called this era
the “sloppy 70’s”. Students no longer cared about their appearance.
Many students began
to wear bandannas and hats with their uniforms.
However, the
privilege of wearing hats only lasted for a few years. The no hat rule was
added after many students went too far with the hats they chose to wear and
began wearing crazy hats, similar to the Dr. Seuss top hats.
In the spring of
1970-1974, the uniform stayed the same, but the winter uniform changed.
Students wore wool,
front and back pleated plaid, light blue and camel skirts with a button down
white oxford shirt, a camel colored cardigan and blue or camel knee-highs. For
shoes many of the students wore “waffle stomper” hiking boots.
In 1974, both Marian’s
spring and winter uniforms changed. This time, in the spring, students wore
front pleated, plaid, navy blue and gold culottes with a white oxford shirt and
a herringbone vest.
In the winter,
students wore a gray-blue, wool herringbone skirt, an aqua blue, pointy colored
button down shirt and a blue v-neck sweater with Marian embroidered on the left
side.
By 1989, Marian had
decided to do away with the summer and winter uniforms, changing to a uniform
that was suitable for all seasons.
Students still had
the same white oxford shirt. In addition to that, students had an optional navy
blue crew neck sweater or a navy cardigan.
For a skirt, students had two options, goulashes or a pleated skirt.
Both skirts were
blue and green plaid, similar to the ones that we have today, the only
differences were that the lines in the plaid were thinner and the skirts were
100% wool.
In 1992, the
uniform was almost where it is today except for the “M” emblem, which was
changed in 1997.