September 02, 2025 · By Bourgine

This week's report - August 31, 2025

This week marked the end of Summer break at 15 rue Racine. The Bourginettes are thrilled to be back together at their HQ.

Class photo of 2025

Who's who?

There was a time when 'back to school' meant uniform. Let’s take a quick look at the history of girls’ schoolwear in France.

The first public schools for girls appeared gradually in the 19th century, but it wasn’t until the 1880s that schooling became widespread thanks to the Jules Ferry laws. Education was made secular, free, and compulsory from ages 6 to 13 — for girls as well as boys.

Back-to-school day. Greater Paris area, September 12, 1951

Around the same time, the first public high schools for teenage girls were created but only offered courses in arts, morality, and sewing.

Maximum concentration in sewing class

No baccalaureate for girls! They were only allowed to take the exam starting in 1924.

There were a few exceptions in private education—like Julie-Victoire Daubié, the first woman in France to earn a baccalaureate, in 1861.

Unlike in the English-speaking world, school uniforms were never mandatory in French public schools. However, girls traditionally wore buttoned smocks in dark blue or gray or aprons over their dresses.

Striped, checkered, or plain smocks

Often required by school rules, the smock became a symbol of the republican spirit. It served two purposes: to protect children’s clothes (especially from ink and pen) and to hide social differences between students.

After May 1968, girls began seeking more freedom in clothing. They fought for the right to wear pants. As for the smock, it gradually faded away with the rise of ready-to-wear fashion.