
MDN
Controversy has arisen over the origin of the sailor outfit, an icon of Japanese schoolgirl uniforms, with a school in Kyoto claiming to have introduced the uniform a year before another Fukuoka school long thought to be the pioneer of the design.
Up until now, Fukuoka Jo Gakuin, which introduced sailor outfits in 1921, was thought to be the origin of the uniforms. However, Heian Jogakuin St Agnes School, located in Kyoto, says it introduced sailor uniforms in 1920...
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/national/news/20071008p2a00m0na004000c.html