British School Scarves, Blazers and Caps
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Clothing courtesy of 
Manchester Tie & Scarf
The Chaytow Group Since 1850.

To contact Manchester Tie & Scarf:
Phone: 44-161-654-8304
Fax: 44-161-655-3365
Email: tieandscarf@chaytow.com

Makeup supplied by Shu Uemura.
Makeup Artist Grantley McIntyre.
To learn what colors and products
Grantley used from the Shu Uemura Spring/Summer 2000 line,
go to the next page.
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To contact Shu Uemura: 
800-743-8205

New York Boutique: 
212-979-5600

Ye distant spires, ye antique towers,
That crown the watery glade,
Where grateful science still adores
Her Henry's holy shade;
And ye that from the stately brow
of Windsor's heights th' expanse below
Of grove, of lawn, of mead survey,
Whose turf, whose shade, whose flowers among,
Wanders the hoary Thames along
His silver-winding way;

Ah, happy hills, ah, pleasing shade,
Ah, fields beloved in vain,
Where once my careless childhood strav'd,
A stranger yet to pain!
I feel the gales that from you blow
A momentary bliss bestow,
As waving fresh their gladsome wing,
My weary soul they seem to soothe,
And, redolent of joy and youth,
To breathe a second spring,

On A Distant Prospect To Eton College, Thomas Gray

So begins the famous elegy to Eton College, one of Britain's oldest and most historic "public" schools. The tradition of public schools (which here in the US we call private schools) dates far back in England's history, back to the time of the Henry kings. Eton was founded in 1440 by Henry VI for the education of his son, the future Henry VII.

I love the ancientness of the whole idea of British school colors and patterns. I know that their origins are even older than the schools themselves; that they are as old as ancient Scottish tartans. School clothes and colors are a way of "marking the tribe." Of making you one of a group; apart from the "others," whether on a field of battle or a cricket field. The classic stylishness of the look, always so chic and contemporary, never marks time or trend. The style is above that. The graphic use of color always works. These school clothes are items one keeps, and wears, for a lifetime.


British public schools like Eton remain exclusive to a large degree; admission has always been based on one's family background, wealth, and, but not always exclusively, one's academic acumen. Eton College is a primary school, even though it is called a college. Both Princes William and Harry, the sons of Diana, Princess of Wales, attend Eton.

Upon graduation, many of the graduates of these rarified public schools (if they didn't go into the Navy, Royal Air Force, or other military branch), then attend either Oxford or Cambridge Universities. Both Oxford and Cambridge are very ancient (founded in the 12th Century), very historic. Oxford and Cambridge are comprised of many separate colleges, each of which has its own specialized areas of study, dining halls, and, of course, colors and shields (what we call badges).

In the British tradition, one's school is one's universe, and at boarding schools like Eton, the insularity of one's universe is even more profound. One had, and has, school hymns, school songs, a school credo, but as I have said, perhaps most visually arresting, school "colors" -- evidenced in the students' jackets, scarves, ties, cut of pant, and sports gear.


The colors, the ornament, the cut and style, the crest and creed, have remained essentially constant. The long line of tradition has not been broken even through divisive religious unrest (the Reformation), many, many wars, and the thousands of societal changes that have occurred in England through the centuries.

As you see in these images, we have used authentic British public school jackets and caps, and Oxford and Cambridge college scarves, not as uniforms, but as elements of a wardrobe, for a person of student age, or not, and accessorized them in a non-traditional way.


Enjoy this trip through history that remains as fresh today as it must have seemed hundreds of years ago.