An Alfred Eisenstaedt photo of students signing yearbooks on the last day of school at New Trier High School in Winnetka, Illinois in June 1950. Several girls can be seen wearing the Mexican inspired peasant blouses which were so popular in the late 1940s and early 1950s.
Jumpers (the American definition, not the British) enjoyed a great deal of popularity in with schoolgirls of all ages in the late 1940s.
I love that selection from Fall 1947 is marketed as clothing that “Teens will love to wear… mothers will love to buy”, hinting that the age-old battle between mothers and daughters over appropriate school attire really is age-old.
High school girls in Phoenix model frilly skirts and blouses in October, 1946. This style, inspired by traditional Mexican attire, was incredibly popular with young women in the late 1940s and early 1950s.
Suits and ties remained the everyday apparel of respectable young men of high school and college age until the early 1950s.
This variety of sport and leisure suits is from the Fall 1946 Sears catalog. I find the “nifty” plaid-sleeved leisure suit (second from left) particularly fabulous.
Suits consisting of a pleated skirt and vest over a white blouse were the standard for younger girls in 1946.
The classic “schoolgirl” look of pleated skirts and white blouses, which is the basis of so many modern school uniforms, became popular in the aftermath of WWII. This page of stylish looks for the “High School Crowd” is from the Fall-Winter 1946 Sears catalog.
Smart suits and cute jackets were the recommended attire for schoolgirls in fall of 1945.
A 1943 photograph of a St. Augustine, Texas high school class shows girls wearing a variety of styles of dresses, skirts, blouses and sweaters.
A charming junior’s knit skirt and sweater ensemble from Fall 1938.
This 1929 picture of a class of high school students from rural Claiborne County, Tennessee shows a bit more variety in fashion than students from larger cities where trends had a much greater hold.
