Dear Lorraine
Having read the letters from Brenda and Morag , I feel that I must write to you about my love for school uniforms, in particular, like Brenda and Morag, regulation gaberdine raincoats.
Like Brenda, I attended a small private school for girls, where we had strict school uniform rules. We always had to wear blazers, fastened with three buttons. Between October and the end of the Spring term our gaberdines, grey in colour, were compulsory.
The gaberdines had to be buttoned and belted but many girls left their top button undone.
My mother always insisted that I wore my gaberdine with the top button fastened, the hood up and neatly tied under my chin.
She liked to fasten the buttons on my blazer and gaberdine to make sure that I always looked smart.
In addition, on wet days, girls were expected to wear shiny black Wellington boots. Not all the girls did so but my mother insisted that I wore mine constantly in wet weather.
In the sixth form we could replace our striped blazers with a grey blazer, though this still had to buttoned correctly. Girls could replace their gaberdine with an anorak! I hated the anoraks and I asked my mother if I could have a new gaberdine.
I continued to wear my raincoat throughout the whole of the Sixth Form and always buttoned up to the neck.
Sixth Form girls were allowed to wear leather boots instead their Wellingtons, but I loved them so I continued to wear my Wellingtons. Like Brenda I did come in for some teasing, but I didn't mind, because I always felt absolutely fantastic with them on, dressed in my full uniform.
For my 18th birthday, and for all presents after that, I asked my Mother if could have school blazers, gaberdines and Wellington boots. Once I had left school (in 1986) I was desparate to go on wearing them.
Giving me the presents I had begged was easy for my Mother, as she was the manageress of a school uniform shop. She was able to keep me well-supplied with the different coloured blazers and gaberdines and Wellington boots I was so anxious for.
Every day, since leaving school, I have always worn a school blazer, with the three buttons fastened, always so smart and immaculate.
My only "coats", since leaving school, have been the regulation gaberdines, which I always wear long - to the bottom of my calves. Even on hot Summer days, I always fasten my top button and wear my hood up.
I simply love dressing in this manner. I love the feeling when I slip my arms into my fantastic gaberdine raincoat, and have my buttons fastened - it is exciting to this day when my top button is fastened, my hood pulled up and tied under my chin.
I have continued to wear my shiny Wellingtons when wet or dull and sometimes on nice days, just to complete the most perfect outfit I could possibly wear.
I was very interested to read about Morag's rubber mackintosh with the face flap.
As my love was for school gaberdines, and I have never wanted a rubber raincoat, but I have always liked the idea of a face flap. My mother sewed three buttons on each side of the hood of one of my many navy gaberdines and made a face flap from another one. Words can't describe the exhilarating feeling that I got she dressed me one evening when we were going to the theatre, fastened my buttons, put my hood up - and then fastened the face flap across so that all that could be seen were my eyes. I remember flinging my arms round her neck and saying "Oh mummy, mummy." It was so truly amazing!
I now have a navy, a grey and a maroon gaberdine with face flaps - which must always be completely fastened.
I remember on that first occasion sitting through the whole performance in my gaberdine with the face flap buttoned across! I received quite a lot of looks, but - what can one say? - it was just absolutely amazing and fantastic! As Morag I'm sure will agree.
Unfortunately, the school uniform shop was taken over and my mother is no longer the Manageress, but by then I was lucky enough to have built up a collection of over a hundred school blazers and over eighty school gaberdines of different colours, some of which have not been worn. I also have over seventy pairs of shiny black Wellington boots, which I have had to number so that they remain in pairs.
Brenda says that she would love to buy a very long new school regulation gaberdine. I can only suggest that when she is visiting a town, she goes into the school uniform shop and see if they have any left in stock, and if not ask if they know where she could buy one. She might strike lucky like I did once in Scotland, where I found a uniform shop had eight long navy gaberdines in my size or just slightly larger, stock left after the school decided to drop the gaberdine from their uniform. I was able to buy the whole lot at a greatly reduced price!
Whereever I am now I always go into the local uniform shop to see if they have any different coloured blazers to my own, and I often buy at least one.
I was once in Ireland with my mother when we passed a girls' school on a wet day - and saw the girls wearing brown gaberdines and shiny brown Wellington boots. My mother and I went to the uniform shop actually within the school and I was allowed to purchase 3 brown blazers, 3 brown gaberdines and 3 pairs of the brown Wellingtons.
I felt so fantastic walking round the following day in my new brown gaberdine and brown Wellingtons even though it was not raining.
Also if you see somebody wearing a gaberdine, contact the school and ask if they could tell you where to purchase a gaberdine. I have obtained gaberdines in this way.
I suppose it is very obvious that I just love wearing uniform, even when I am at home in the evening, reading or watching television: a blazer, the three buttons fastened, a wonderful, wonderful gaberdine, with the top button fastened, the hood up and the face flap fastened, and a pair of shiny black (or brown) Wellington boots. I may be hot but what a truly exciting feeling!!!
I know that I have gone on for a long time, but I hope that Brenda and Morag are happy to share my love of school uniforms and Wellingtons with me. I realise from their letters that they also love wearing school gaberdines, but it would be interesting to know whether or not they loved their school blazers and Wellingtons.
Thank you for allowing me to share my love with you.
Abigail.
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