The Heritage of Singapore’s Uniforms

By Jamie Lee

We look at the development of three uniform designs in Singapore – school uniforms, the Singapore Police Force, and the Singapore Girl of Singapore Airlines, through their portrayals in Singapore’s newspapers.

Introduction

With Singapore’s independence in 1965 and its strive to be an economic power, uniforms have played an important role as signifiers of national identity and markers of the country’s historical milestones. In this article, we explore the development of three uniforms from colonial to postcolonial days in Singapore – school uniforms, the Singapore Police Force, and the Singapore Girl of Singapore Airlines, through their portrayals in Singapore’s newspapers.

School Uniforms

Figure 1. Students of Singapore Chinese Girls’ School from the early days of the school, 29 July 1989 (Taken from: *New Nation*)

When Singapore was still under British colonial rule, the wearing of school uniforms had already been established. This was because the British had implemented the use of uniforms since the 17th century. As early as the 1930s, all English and Chinese schools were already adopting uniforms for both male and female students. It was believed that when students don their uniforms, they would look smarter and feel proud of the school they attend and as a result, they would be loyal to the school. At boys’ schools, the pupils were identified by distinctively designed hats. For girls’ schools, uniforms were compulsory with dress codes even for the shoes the students could wear. In the early days at Singapore Chinese Girls’ School, which was founded in 1899, the pupils wore the baju panjang and sarong as borrowed from Peranakan culture, as well as the Chinese sam foo, as seen in Figure 1. Later on, the uniforms were made to be more westernised.

Figure 2. Angela Loke’s sketch of a recommended uniform style for female students, 4 June 1974, (Taken from: *New Nation*)

When Singapore gained independence in 1965, the government made education compulsory for children up to the age of 12 years old. Uniforms were still mandated for primary, secondary, and pre-university students. Many of these schools replaced their old uniforms with new non-crushable materials, which made ironing easier. In June 1974, Angela Loke from New Nation wrote that uniforms were still the best attire for school as they were practical and saved parents time on thinking about what their children wore daily. Also, as children tend to outgrow their clothes quickly, families could save money on buying entire sets of clothes, and two to three pairs of uniforms could last them a few years. Loke also believed that it lessened discrimination if there was a social and class gap between a well-to-do student and a student who came from a lower-income family. While students were generally pleased with wearing school uniforms, they felt that it could be made to better suit the tropical weather of Singapore. Loke further suggested a simple, sleeveless design (Figure 2) that at least two schools were already following, which would be more flattering for the physiques of growing females and to tackle the heat problem of wearing stuffy uniforms in Singapore’s tropical weather.

In the 1970s, the business of producing and selling school uniforms was booming. Estimated to be a million-dollar annual business, the uniforms sold especially well during end-of-year holidays before school would reopen for the new year. One example is the Yangtze Kiang Tailor managed by Mr Low Fun Boon, seen in Figure 3, with more than 60 years of practice. Mr Low sold on average about 1,000 school uniforms per day. In the early 1980s, it was reported that Mr Low owned four shops and a factory to produce school uniforms. The uniforms were made in the factory before it was sent to the stores to be sold. Uniforms were mass-produced to keep the costs low and sell the uniforms at affordable prices. Sizes were based on standardised measurements because it was assumed that most students would be similarly sized. Mr Low’s stores stocked uniforms for more than half of Singapore’s schools, with the designs and colours for each school assigned by the schools’ principals respectively. The most popular colours used for uniforms in the 1980s were blue and white.

Figure 3. Mr Low Fun Boon attending to two boy customers at his People’s Park Centre shop, Yangtze Kiang Tailor, 10 March 1982 (Taken from: *The Straits Times*)

Police Uniforms

Singapore’s first police force was created in 1819, but it was only in 1946 that uniform codes were established. From 1949 onwards, the police donned the colonial uniform of a grey flannel tunic, khaki shorts, black lanyard and a beret. Policewomen wore khaki skirts and light blue blouses. Starting in 1937, traffic police who previously wore brown khakis, began donning all-white uniforms which separated them from the rest of the police force (Figure 4). All ceremonial uniforms were in all-white ensembles. The uniforms were produced by Mr Yik Lin Fun, who came from Guangzhou to Singapore in 1924 and worked as an apprentice to a tailor for a decade before setting up his own company. After World War II, Mr Yik would go on to design and tailor an estimated 10,000 uniforms for the colonial police force within six weeks.

Figure 4. “Constables of the Traffic Branch wearing the old khaki and the new white uniforms which will distinguish them from the rest of the Singapore police force,” 2 August 1937, (Taken from: *The Straits Times*)

In 1967, The Straits Times reported that new army and police uniforms were being designed. This was announced by Mr Wee Toon Boon, then Minister of State for Defence. The reason behind the new look was to disassociate from the colonial era and mark Singapore’s progress towards a new future. Mr Wee also disclosed that new badges for police ranks would do away with the British crown. In 1969, the police force had a new look: a navy blue ensemble of a shirt and pants, modelled after the American-style uniform. The new shirts were long-sleeved and had the police crest pinned on both sides of the collar. Trousers were pleatless, without folds and had two side pockets. All 6,000 members of the police force would be issued web belts, blue peak caps, and a blue and white lanyard. Traffic police sprayed their white Norton motorcycles to the same navy blue.

Yet, this new change was not without its setbacks. While the other branches of the police force would also wear the new ensemble subsequently, it was not immediately implemented. The Special Constabulary unit had to fight to be treated equally with the regulars after being labelled “third-class cops,” and the airport police received comments from airline officials and air travellers that they looked “somewhat colonial.” Both units could eventually wear the new look in 1970. A year later, this change was adopted by the Police Cadet Corps who would debut the new uniforms at the National Day Parade.

Policewomen struggled with the new change as well but for different reasons. In 1976, New Nation reported that a female police sergeant named Toh Soh Kheng remarked that the new uniforms were mass-produced and therefore did not fit and were out of shape. She highlighted the fact that while uniforms were free-of-charge, female officers were not allowed to alter their uniforms and had to go to police-authorised tailors who often overcharged. Sergeant Toh also commented that the skirts should be slightly flared — presumed to better fit the general female physique — and not straight cut.

The Singapore Girl Uniform

One of the most recognisable uniforms of Singapore is the sarong kebaya as worn by the flight attendants of Singapore Airlines. Singapore’s commercial aviation industry began in 1947 with the formation of Malayan Airways Limited (MAL). Known as “female pursers” at that time, MAL employed them to take care of the passengers by serving them food and drinks (Figure 5). The predecessors to what we know now as the Singapore Girl, wore a small hat, a white blouse and a blue skirt. Twelve years later in 1968, Malayan Airways became Malaysia-Singapore Airlines (MSA).

Figure 5. “MAL air hostess – in smart light blue suits,” MAL air hostesses pictured outside an aeroplane, 30 April 1977, (Taken from: *New Nation*)

MSA had their flight stewardesses wear the kebaya uniform for the first time, which was designed by French couturier Pierre Balmain and remains a hallmark of SIA today. Balmain took over a year to design the distinctive uniform, from the choice of batik to the strap of the flight sandals, and down to the silver buttons on the jackets. Balmain chose a deep blue batik, highlighted by clear orange, red, and brown prints, to complement the various skin tones of the Singapore Girls. The cotton fabric was chosen for its practicality as it was easy to maintain and comfortable. The cuts of the semi-fitting blouse and hip-hugging maxi skirt were accentuated by the border print of the batik. This maintained the ‘sex appeal’ of the Singapore Girls. The uniform also combined with a sentimental attitude towards Singapore’s cultural heritage and modern practicality, such that the Singapore Girls became both an emblem of Singapore’s national identity and a desirable career for modern Singaporean women.

In 1972, MSA was revamped as Singapore Airlines (Figure 6). Two years later, Balmain, pictured in Figure 7, would replace the familiar turquoise batik uniforms with a three-piece outfit consisting of a short-sleeved batik blouse, a matching red skirt that falls three inches below the knees, and a short-sleeved red tunic. Balmain changed the motif, but retained the colours of blue, red, brown and green. In 1980, New Nation reported that SIA stewardesses would have their ranks symbolised by the colour of their uniforms. While the blue kebaya, which marks the rank of a flight stewardess remains the trademark of the airlines, three other colours were added to represent the different roles and designations taken on by the Singapore Girl, as they progressed in their careers. Senior chief stewardesses would wear brown kebayas while chief stewardesses would wear red kebayas. Training check stewardesses wore blouses with long skirts. Previously, the ranks of stewardesses were identified by their name tags that indicated their titles. For male stewards, no changes were made; the senior chief steward donned a brown jacket and the chief steward wore a red jacket.

As the Singapore Girl image is iconic of Singapore’s national identity, rules were established around the behaviours of Singapore cabin crew in public spaces. SIA cabin crew were advised against smoking in public when they are in uniform, and even when they are off-duty. This came after members of the public made complaints that they had seen SIA stewardesses smoke and drink at a noodle shop in Changi Airport. A few SIA stewardesses had felt the airlioverreactedted to the public criticism and told The Straits Times, “Many of our cabin crew smoke while off duty. This is not unusual as a number of cabin crew of other airlines do as well. Yes, even in uniform.” Additionally, in 1990, The Straits Times reported that SIA would destroy hundreds of returned uniforms every year. This was to protect the company’s corporate image and prevent the ‘wrong’ people from wearing them, as the uniforms were synonymous with the branding. Former SIA staff were prohibited from purchasing the returned uniforms, which cost between SGD500 to SGD600 a set. These uniforms were returned when cabin crew members resigned from the company, when they were worn out, damaged, or no longer fit the wearer.