April 11, 2010: Toffs and Toughs

[Cloud]

canes then (even tho to me they are synonymous). Were they a prescribed part of the dress uniform or something?

[monster]

Originally Posted by Cloud

canes then (even tho to me they are synonymous). Were they a prescribed part of the dress uniform or something?

A cane would generally not be strong enough to provide any walking support.

As Dana says, most likely the were part of the uniform. If you've read Harry Potter, remember Dudley's Smeltings stick? Whilst HP is fiction, very little in there outside of the magic comes purely from JKs imagination. Even the seven-sided muggle coins.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Originally Posted by Cloud

canes then (even tho to me they are synonymous). Were they a prescribed part of the dress uniform or something?

Male spectators wore toppers and tails, and women their summer hats and frocks. The Harrovians and Etonians themselves came in their most formal outfits – "Sunday dress" as Harrow called it – which only a very able student of the English social system could differentiate. The pupils at both schools wore, with minor variations in style, the clothes that at some point in the 19th century had become the uniform of the well-dressed English gentleman: a top hat, a tail coat, a silk waistcoat, a cane.