In 2017 Saint-Jean de Passy, a private school in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, introduced what it called a “practical, modern and sober” uniform for all its pupils. On its website, the school explains that it took the decision because “we are living in an age where the competition of appearance all too often take precedence over the search for the simple dignity of the individual”.
Six years ago, Saint-Jean de Passy was an outlier among French schools, one of the few establishments where pupils arrived in matching skirts, trousers and jumpers. The few that did were overwhelmingly private Catholic schools, and more have followed in the years since.
