The djibbah, copied from Roedean, was the main part of the Downe House uniform from the beginning until the late 1970’s. Made by Sheba of Sloane Street, it was a thick woollen garment with a yoke embroidered with the Downe House shield, and it fell from the shoulder over the bust, with no belt. ‘They were not pretty, but we were very fond of them,’ is a constant recollection, as is the observation that they were very practical for teenage girls of all shapes and sizes. The point was to have an old djibbah: as Jennifer Hollings (Hunt DH 1947) writes, ‘It was a matter of prestige to have an old and multi-patched djibbah, and I was miserable when my unsympathetic mother wasted clothing coupons on getting me a new one which was not nearly as smart to discriminating eye.’ They started with deep hems which were let down as their owners grew, and they patched again and again as the wool, particularly at the back of the skirt, wore out on hard school chairs. It was not known for coach drivers to remark on the scruffy appearance of the girls from what they thought was an expensive school! This scruffiness was not helped by the custom of storing all the term’s letters in the djibbah pocket, which became floppy and distorted as a result.

Miss Willis said of the djibbah that she tried to alter the design so that it would be less difficult to design so that it would be less difficult to make, but her efforts fell on stony ground. ‘Do not blame me if you find djibbahs distasteful.’ she wrote in the Scrapbook. Her first pupil longed for a complete school uniform, so purple blanket coats, made in Northern Ireland, were commissioned, together with purple felt hats. It is often thought that the school colours, purple and green, were chosen in support of the Suffragettes, but Miss Willis herself said this was not the case: the colours represented Scottish heather; to celebrate her own and Miss Carver’s pride in their Scottish ancestry.

Sheba also made the summer uniform, which evolved into cotton tunics of a standard design but in any colour their wearers wished. Summer school photographs were, as a result, a riot of colour. Brown leather belts, de rigueur with the summer uniforms in the 1940s and 1950s on formal occasions, had to be worn at just the right height from the ground during displays so that all the belts were at the same level.

Long and short-sleeved white blouses were worn under djibbahs and tunics, embroidered around the neck in green and purple, and without collars or cuffs (to help with ironing). Then there were the essential thick woollen cloaks in winter, green lined with red, which replaced the purple coats during the Second World War. The cloaks were by tradition never buttoned up when worn over the shoulders but were buttoned round the waist when they were worn in class as long skirts, to keep out the cold. Frances Dowson (Green DH 1959) recalls that ‘cloaks which had differently coloured linings seemed the height of sophistication; the few that sported tartan lining were truly exotic.’ She also records: ‘The Head Senior “inherited” the purple jersey to go over the djibbah. This was threadbare and darned, but much the most important part of the jersey was the assortment of name-tapes of past Head Seniors culminating in the incumbents. Rumour had it that the jersey would disintegrate if it was washed.’ This historic jersey survived until the mod-1990’s when, sadly, it disappeared.

Trunks were sent ahead PLA – Passenger Luggage in Advance – and there were rituals involved in unpacking them the day after arrival. Gill Grimes (Townsend DH 1948) remembers unpacking in Ancren Gate the day after she arrived at Downe at the age of nine. ‘Each of us with our school trunks had to lay our clothes in piles on our bed to be checked for nametapes and numbers. Three pairs of most things including three pairs of white knicker linings and three pairs of green knickers to go on top.’ Her sister Elizabeth Knowler (Townsend DH 1943) remembers that ‘blue legs were almost as much a part of Downe as the djibbah, as it was the “in” thing to always wear only ankle socks, regardless of the weather.

By the late 1970’s djibbahs had become not only extremely expensive but outmoded and impractical. With the arrival of Miss Farr, a new uniform was introduced, with the school colours changing from green and purple to green and red. The everyday uniform was a dark green skirt, a green and white striped shirt, and either a green or red V-neck sweater. The skirt later changed to a kilt. The green cloaks with red linings continued until the early 1990’s. A green blazers with a red stripe were introduced at that time.

A new uniform was introduced in 2019 and now features a plain green blazer with blue pipping, a light blue blouse and a pleated tartan skirt.

There is no longer a summer uniform and instead the uniform is the same all year round.

The Sixth Form have a separate uniform which consists of a black suit (black trousers or black skirt) with a plain or striped shirt of their choice. A plain crew or V-neck jumper may also be worn.

Gowns are worn at formal events by Sixth Form girls who are Seniors and hold a leadership role in the school.