Figure 1.-- This Belgian boy has his portrait taken in the 1930s. The studio was H. Driesmans in Brussels. He wears a colorful sweater, short pants, knee socks, and strap shoes. The boy looks to be about 8 years old. |
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We note several different types of footwear that were commonly worn by Belgian boys. We rarely see Belgian children going barefoot. We do not know to what extent wooden shoes were worn as in Belgium. They mau have been more popular n Flanders than in Walonia, but we are not yet sure of this. They seem to have been primarily worn by working-class or rural children. Many younger boys appear to have worn strap shoes. This varied over time. We note different types of strap shoes. We notive boy dress and casual play styles. Sandals were also popular, mosly closed-toe sandal. They were also different style. High-top shoes were very common. They were commonly worn to school but we also see some boys wearing strap shoes and sandals. Her there was a seasonal factor. We see low-cut oxfords becoming more common in the 1930s. We mosly notice standard oxfords. Belgian boys rarely wore sneakers until well after World war II. As in much of Europe we oly see them becoming popular in the the 1970s.
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