Figure 1.--Here we see a First Communiion dinner at a Catholic school, probably in the 1930s. Most of the boys wear white short pants outfits with long white stockings. |
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Here we have an unidentified First Communion scene. We think the children are having a First Communion banquet in the school gym/auditorium. We do not, however, see any food on the table, but are not sure why else they would be sitting at a table. The gym/auditorium is why we think it is a school rather than a church scene. The portrait is undated, but we think it was taken in the 1930s. The 1920s is possible, but it looks like the 1930s to us. Here the wedding dresses and shorts look more like the 30s than 20s to us. One reader guesses the mid 30s, about 1935. The girls' head veils suggest the early 30s to us. Perhaps the early 30s. First communion suits varied in the 1930s. Dark knicker suits seemed to have been the most common, but we see some white suits as well. The boys here seem to be wearing white shirts rather than jackets, although it is difficult to tell. This is important because outfits without jackets would be much less expensive for parents to purchase. After First Communion, there would be only limited opportinities to wear a white suit jacket. We are not sure what the chikdren normally wore to school. We would guess knickers would have been common in the 30s. Catholic schools at the time did not generally have uniforms, but they did have dress codes. The girls all wear white junior wedding gowns. The boys mostly seem to be wearing white short pants outfits. Two boys wear dark outfits, but we cant' make them out very clearly. One boy wears knickers. All the boys we can see wear white long stockings. It wasn't very common in the 1930s for boys to wear white long stockings. First Communion and other formal events were an exception. There are some children behind the table that we are mot sure about.
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