Throughout the 120 years of St. Scholastica Academy’s existence, students have worn uniforms, but how did it get to be the way it is today? And what different changes have been made throughout the years? This article seeks to answer these questions and more, the evolution of the SSA uniform spans a long period of time. It will be best to start with the beginning.
The first uniform was introduced with the founding of SSA in 1903. This initial version had students wearing black skirts that went below the ankles, white or black long sleeve blouses (depending on the season), blue neckties, belts, black stockings and black boots. This uniform emulated women’s fashion at the time, which also included longer skirts and blouses.
The second iteration of the uniform was introduced in 1929. This uniform included a white collared shirt, black skirt, tights, collar ribbon and no particular shoe was required, with black boots still being worn. This uniform doesn’t deviate too much from the first version, but it still has a few differences.
The third version of the uniform was introduced in the 50s. In this version, students wore black jumpers, short sleeve collared shirts and the now iconic, saddle oxfords. In 1964, students traded in their jumpers for plaid skirts, though some skirts at this time were still plain black. Other features of this uniform was the continued use of white collared shirts and saddle oxfords. The skirts continued to be below the knee, as that was in fashion at the time.
The uniform changed for the fifth time in 1968. This uniform had students wearing a v- neck button up t-shirt with a pointed collar, a darker plaid skirt and brown dress shoes, with an additional cardigan with SSA being embroidered on the side. In 1986, this cardigan changed to a sweatshirt.
In 1993, an optional long sleeve uniform shirt was introduced, though the shirt was still a button up. In 1995, the current uniform shirt was introduced, which had the embroidered SSA logo on it, and a pin with the student’s name was to be worn with it, though some students still wore the old shirts.
In 1997, the uniform shirt worn by all students had a long sleeve and short sleeve, cuffed part at the bottom and a bit on the sleeve. The skirt was slightly above the knee and brown shoes were still worn. In 1999, the now-iconic navy SSA sweatshirt with the the plaid and yellow appliqué made its first appearance, though it is not seen very often.
2002 saw start of students wearing their uniform for school pictures. The uniform shirt now has the student’s name embroidered on them and a new black zip-up jacket was introduced. Then in 2003, students began to don black blazers for dress uniform for the first time.
In 2007, some student ministers received special red shirts, though this wasn’t a staple just yet. In 2008, a new navy blue fleece appeared with an embroidered dove on the side. In 2009, some very big changes took place. Students wore SSA socks, and student ministry and student council both received special shirts (in red and yellow respectively), and the Seniors get special fleeces to wear. During 2011, some students began to wear colored lanyards, and the senior fleeces were in class colors instead of gray. In 2013, students are given shirts to represent their class, and the senior fleece returns to gray.
In 2014, the SSA cardigan returned, and uniform shirts were no longer long sleeved, instead the shirts were short-sleeved button ups. In 2015, the black embroidered SSA sweatshirt and black zip up jacket were phased out. 2017 sees the navy zip up jacket change to a royal blue color, then in 2018, the two button shirt returned. Then, just last year, students were given the option to wear white shoes instead of saddle oxfords, and colored lanyards were worn as part of the uniform.
Today, the uniform consists of a white, two buttoned collared shirt with an SSA logo from 1997, plaid skirt from 1964, lanyard with class color, SSA socks from 2009, and the choice of saddle oxfords from the 50’s or white tennis shoes. The embroidered shirts with student’s names are being phased out, as are cardigans for dress uniform days. The navy blue sweatshirts from 1997 are now becoming the standard uniform jacket, while the blazers remain the choice for dress uniform days. A lot has changed with the uniform in the 120 years of SSA, but many things have still stayed the same.
