Why do nurses wear white uniforms?

Just was reading here on the site and had a thought and was curious to know if anyone knows why nurses used to wear white uniforms? I find it odd that they did in er's and such with a fair amount of blood around. Is it because the uniforms could be bleached if needed?

I'm not that old, but easy cleaning sounds like a good reason to me.

Most likely in the days before synthetic fabrics, white was good because it could be bleached and cleaned. Now that we have synthetics that can be easily cleaned, colors are easily laundered.

The white also had a super clean, pristine appearance.

BTW, we don't wear white uniforms anymore. We wear scrubs. Almost any color goes.

Whatever the reason, I think white uniforms make the nurses look hot! Where I live, they've now shifted to 'house colours' or the colour of the hospital's branding, or the pastel version of it. So I've seen powder pink, sky blue and a beige as well...

Nurses uniforms have changed SO much over my lifetime. My mother was an RN from a diploma school back in the day when that was how almost all RNs were taught. She used to have to wear a girdle as part of her uniform. It was REQUIRED as were white hose and shoes and not snearkers either but white nurses shoes with the Nurse White polish reapplied each day. I was 6 or 7 when they stopped making them wear their caps and remember the soap opera General Hospital making a big deal out of some of the nurses fighting to wear slacks and then later jumpsuits as uniforms. Now it's all scrubs and most of them are some bright montage that look loike Walt Disney threw up or you escaped from a Hawaian Lua. Not a complaint per se. My wife is a childrens LPN anf the bright colors and cartoon characters distract the kids which is a good thing. But. there are times in the hospital when I'd like to know who are the nurses and who are the houskeeping staff without having to eyball their ID card.

I can still remember nurses at the hospital across from where I worked wearing their blue capes over their uniforms (complete with caps, white dresses, stockings,and shoes)

Originally nurses had to wear white uniforms because when nursing was started people did not wash their clothes on a regular basis. The white dresses that nurses needed to wear showed that their clothes were clean and ensured that nurses washed on a regular basis.

In the 80's nursing went to scrubs and became more colorful. Now the trend in hospitals is to institutionalize things. Nurses are in one color uniform usually blue, nursing assistants are in burgundy, transport in green, etc. hospitals are getting rid of individuality of their employees.

I definitely prefer the nurse uniforms of the 1970's. it was a transitional time as they still wore white shoes and pantyhose, but the hemlines were way up above their knees. I think that had a sexual attraction for me. I always fantasized about the "naughty" nurse and how she should be punished for being such a tease.

In illustrations of nurses made during the Great War - now almost 100 years ago - there are many kinds of uniforms for nurses to be seen. Many were national variations, but there were many variations in the same country, since many of these nurses were employed by different organizations, each choosing their own type of uniform.

White is indeed predominant in most illustrations, but part or a substantial part of a nurses uniform could be in either light or dark blue. Belgian nurses were often dressed like this. They wore a sort of blue uniform with a large white frock over it, often with a red cross on armbands or on caps. You also see white and light blue striped uniforms, this on some German nurses. At times you might see a red skirt or red fringing on white uniforms. Capes and caps were also often in dark blue.

Early in the war, British nurses often dressed in khaki, probably in order to give a military impression. These uniforms looked like officer's dress, once again probably to impress upon the Other Ranks, that just like officer's, nurses were off limits and not allowed to fraternize. There are many memoirs that write of local French and Belgian population looking on in amazement at British volunteer nurses dressed in khaki and high black boots, almost as if they were men! Some people disapproved, but most admired these nurses for their willingness to share the hardships and dangers in the military. This said, when it came to work in wards or operating rooms, they will most likely have traded in their khaki for more traditional versions of white, or white and blue uniforms.

I love the look of an old fashioned nurse wearing a white cotton buttoned dress, white hose and white shoes. I have several such nursing uniforms from eBay that I rotate wearing while examining patients. I also have a vintage WWII wool dark navy nurse's jacket plus an upside watch that pins onto my white nursing uniform. Girdle or not? I am too much of a lady to say 😃. I let the patient discover it for himself.

Lady Teddy, who loves to dress vintage

For those interested in the history of the nurses uniform, there is a book on the subject. It goes on sale next month. This book is published in Canada, so the uniforms will most likely be only from their cultural heritage. Here is a link for it on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/A-Cultural-History-Nurses-Uniform/dp/0660201844/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1358622233&sr=8-1

Originally nurses had to wear white uniforms because when nursing was started people did not wash their clothes on a regular basis. The white dresses that nurses needed to wear showed that their clothes were clean and ensured that nurses washed on a regular basis. \nIn the 80\'s nursing went to scrubs and became more colorful. Now the trend in hospitals is to institutionalize things. Nurses are in one color uniform usually blue, nursing assistants are in burgundy, transport in green, etc. hospitals are getting rid of individuality of their employees.

The hospital where a friend is a respiratory therapist does this, and the respiratory therapists wear scrubs that are almost black. Personally, I don't think black is a very good color for the medical profession; I once told my friend that if someone came walking into my hospital room wearing black scrubs, I'd be looking for the scythe. :-) Recently, a temporary doctor at the clinic I go to wore black scrubs, and I even pointed it out that I didn't think black is a good color for a doctor to wear.

Florence Nightingale always wore a white uniform. White, of course, is a symbol of purity, and in the case of a nurse, an appropriate and practical one as white quickly shows any dirtiness.

Generally the only nurses in the Uk that wear scrubs are specialty nurses (ITU, PICU, NICU, HDU, theaters, labor ward and some A&E's) the rest wear mostly a tunic and trousers, dresses are rarely worn nowadays.

Because the white color looks good nurse....

Agreed with someone below, I always thought it was to show cleanliness. White has that connotation anyway, and it also shows stains and dirt very much, so if the uniform looks sparkling, it gives the sense of being sterile and clean.

Of course, it is all scrubs now, which is a loss!