Thursday, 2 October 2008

Gymslips, School Boaters, Ribbons and Spanking Drawers

Hi folks, I'm kinda cheerful today: my eye test yesterday went quite well and today - touch wood (as we say here for luck) - I'm seeing quite sharply (or at least I was until a few moments ago when I put in my eye drops). So I'm back at my desk and things are almost, but not quite, back to normal - except that I've decided to try to go three months without booze while at the same time training hard at the gym (with a little pharmacological assistance purchased off the Internet, must be said).
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Today I'm going to upload a few more of those vintage photos sent in by ‘Domestic Disciplinarian’ along with one or two that I've come across myself.

I'm pretty sure that just about everyone out there now knows exactly what a gymslip actually is, and more importantly, hopefully has a better idea of the form of the garment as I imagine it applied as a disciplinary measure to the various young ladies populating my tales. But nevertheless, for completeness (and because several people visiting this site have been looking for gymslip pictures) I thought I'd add a few more variations and in particular a couple of different views of arguably the perfect example (click to view previous example). It is the open-sided bodice form that I envisaged my storylines, with a sharp-pleated skirt. I've included a couple of pictures of the closed-sided form for interest and also because others may be looking for pictures of these styles.

If you have read INSTITUTIONALISED volume 1 you will have encountered it several times, primarily within the context of the domestic aspect of a girl’s regime. In the forthcoming volume 2, and particularly in volume 3, you will encounter a form of it as part of a young lady's uniform in a more institutional environment. In the latter volume, a particularly strict governess, one highly skilled in her rather unorthodox approach to curbing the young women under her care (I can say no more without the risk of giving too much away), is seen to introduce a singularly unusual variation on the theme - suffice it to say that her version pays little heed to the relative maturity of her charges.

Incidentally, I had intended to include a couple of these gymslip pics in any case at some point as they illustrate so well the type of traditional ribbon-adorned school uniform hat that I envisaged when writing INSTITUTIONALISED: it is alluded to that one of the protagonists has been required to wear something like this as part of the uniform insisted upon by her ‘aunt’ at home prior to being delivered to the doors of institution and as it with her upon her arrival. It will be encountered again in volumes 2 and 3, albeit in a more exaggeratedly beribboned form.

The picture of the girl in the car I've included as much for the detail it shows of the pleating of her skirt as for the view it gives of her uniform school hat and blazer.
This final picture has very little to do with gymslips or any of the uniforms worn by the hapless young ladies incarcerated in the institution - it is of a far earlier time - but I just had to include it: those drawers (a form of old fashioned knickers) they are wearing are just so perfectly made for a caning, aren't they? Just bent them over, whip open the back and… swish…Crrrrack!

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