Gymslip
A gymslip is a sleeveless tunic, or pinafore dress, with a pleated skirt, most usually worn as part of girl's school uniform.
Originating in the 1880s as a more flexible form of dress for female athletes and gymnasts, while yet remaining suitably modest and feminine.
By the 1900s, the gymslip had begun to be worn in british schools, and by the 1920s it was compulsory in many private, convent and high schools, and was almost the entirely ubiquitous with girls' school uniform. When so worn, they were usually acompanied by a blouse, tie, belt, hat, socks and shoes, and was thus a substitute for a skirt.
Gymslips remained in fashion as school uniform until the early 1960s, at which point they fell out of use, and have not subsequently been revived.
The wearer of a gymslip is therefore immediately identifiable as a schoolgirl, and in the stories and images, the gymslip may well be a sign that the events portrayed are set in the past, between the 1920s and at the latest the early 1970s.
See also
- Pinafore (apron)
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