1864, Queen Victoria of England set a precedent and put it on young princes and princesses. People thought it was "so cute!" This caused a wave, starting from France and gradually spreading to European countries. At that time, it was usually worn by children aged 4-5, and there was no distinction between men and women. So the sailor suit became the representative costume of children, and this fashion was later formulated as a uniform by aristocratic primary schools, which also became a formal costume. At that time, only children used it, and students above middle school did not have this fashion.
To some extent, it is a symbol of martial spirit to give the uniforms of naval soldiers to children. Because the British navy is the leader of the world navy, this popularity has spread all over the world, and Japan in East Asia has also been affected by the establishment of the Japan-Britain alliance.
At first, the sailor suit was only the suit of Japanese navy soldiers, which was introduced in about 1872 when the navy clothing system was formulated. Because the uniform itself symbolizes a concept of obedience, countries without navy rarely make it into uniforms even if they regard it as children's clothes, so the marine uniform will become a uniform in Japan, and the Japan-Britain alliance is a very important factor.
During the Meiji Restoration, Japan was addicted to the idea of strengthening the army as a rich country, so this kind of clothing with military significance was just to the Japanese's appetite. Originally, Japanese students' school uniforms were traditional and harmonious, that is, the so-called trouser skirts, which were worn by both men and women. Now they can only be seen at university graduation ceremonies. Due to the gradual Westernization Movement from the end of Meiji to the beginning of Taisho, Japanese schools abandoned traditional uniforms and adopted ordinary black-collar uniforms, which were improved from real military uniforms. In fact, it was the first naval officer's uniform, which was officially adopted by the Japanese aristocratic school in 1879. (Another story about the origin of the black-collar uniform is Meiji 15. According to the guidance of the Ministry of Education, the student uniform was first popularized in public schools, first adopted by aristocratic colleges and Tokyo Agriculture and Forestry School, then by Tokyo University, and then gradually became the official dress of schools above middle school. This is because traditional Japanese uniforms are not suitable for military training and gymnastics, and they are used as students.
As for girls, because there were no clothes for female soldiers, they borrowed sailor suits instead. At the earliest Fukuoka Women's College, they were first adopted as gymnastics uniforms, and then gradually became official uniforms, and then they became popular all over the country. Before the war, female students in Japan all wore sailor suits, and according to the national conditions, the pants in the lower part were also changed into skirts. Here we can see that in terms of clothing performance, they are also wearing navy uniforms, but there are differences between men and women. This is due to the traditional Japanese culture that men are superior to women, because uniforms represent authority and obedience. Male students wear uniforms of officers representing managers, while female students wear uniforms of soldiers representing the ruled class, thus determining the whole social order. Later in the war years, sailor suit also became an important accessory in the whole national mobilization system, symbolizing the meaning of absolute obedience. Originally, simple children's clothes from other countries spread to Japan, but there have been such great changes, which Britain did not expect.
After the war, in order to meet the team spirit needed for high economic growth, uniforms, as a tool to cultivate group consciousness, revived again. Just because militarism was suppressed and pacifism rose, sailor suit was not as popular as before the war, but with the changes of the times, it has other special significance. I didn't expect simple clothes to have such complicated origins and meanings. Some female education administrative officials may not think sailor suit is cute after knowing that sailor suit has such historical background and significance.