Figure 1.-- At age 5-6 years, one retains many memories about our childhood. I was quite proud to wear rompers. I rather liked the look. In this time, for us boys it was perfectly normal to be dressed in rompers. Many of our frinds also wore rompers. And I recall that adults said that we looked so cute. At that age we liked getting compliments. Here I am at 5 years old in 1952. with my parents, brother André, cousins, and greatgrandmother born in 1866. I am wearing a blouse and romper outfit. Note how smartly dressed mother was. I loved her very much.

Only the mothers and grand-mothers decided in France during 1920-70 concerning maters of children's garments. The fathers had no word to say, even when the child was teen. This was certainly the case in our family. Today, both father and mother choose the garments and the child himself too. I remember the cloyhes I wore as a child very clearly. And we have family photographs for the time that I was really young. As a result I can privide very detailed information about what I wore as a boy. My mother was a very stylish, fashionable women. And she wanted us children to be dressed fashionanly as well.

Rompers

I usually wore rompers as a little boy. Here I am dressed with a dressy white romper ar age 5 years. It is a classic French barboteuse. I was the petit garçon modèle to my mum. The classic white romper was worn for special outings such as to church. But white rompers were also worn during the week. Light blue was another popularcolor for romper suits. I think mine were mostly ewhite, at least the batboteuse romper suits. I wore several romper suits in different styles and material. There were the classic barboteuse rompers which were one-piece romper suits with little puffed sleeces. . In addition I had the Barboteuse bain de soleil, These were sun suit rompers that could be worth with or without a blouse. Thry had a bib and straps that buttoned to the waist. Sometimes they had two little pockets. The bain de soleil rompers were done it colors. The rompers also buttoned at the crotch. All the rompers in small sized did so. I'm less sure about the ones I wore when I was 5 years old. There were plain, Vichy (gingam), and knitted rompers. As far as I can remember and with the help of family snapshots, rompers were the principal garment I wore until I got near school age. From the family album I can tell that mother often dressed me in white rompers. I do recall wearing rompers. At age 5-6 years, one retains many memories about our childhood. I was quite proud to wear rompers. I rather liked the look. In this time, for us boys it was perfectly normal to be dressed in rompers. Many of our frinds also wore rompers. And I recall that adults said that we looked so cute. At that age we liked getting compliments. My aunt was a bit jealous becaus her son (my cousin) never was a petit garçon modèle. Here he is the little boy 6 years old, at my side. I stoped wearing rompers at about age 6 when I began school. Some boys wore than longer, but not at school. But this was the quite common to stop wearing rompers once you began school.

School Smocks

My mother entered me in a private school near home. She liked the idea that there were mixed classes with both boys and girls at the school. At the time this was still quite rare in public schools. Most of the children wore smocks ( tablier ). The smocks were not compulsory, but most of us wore them. The Catholic schools trended to have stricter rules about dress than the public schools. Up to age 9 years old I always wore nice tabliers. [Tablier = smock for boys 2 to 8/10 years old. Fashion till 1960s. It was buttonned at the back, had a waist belt buttoned at the back too.] These smocks were made in plain or gingham cloth. The smocks were a pupil garment but could be also worn in the street for playing. plain or gingham cloth. I have a photograph of my classes in 1954. I would have been 7 years old. I am wearing a smock. You can als see a barrette to keep ny hair in place. The school was located at Nogent sur Marne.( Cours préparatoire 10 ème ).

Sunday Dress Wear

From about age 10, I began wearing blouses** and still I wore short pants. I had two short pants, one was worn for Sunday and other was worn during the week. For Sunday my short pants were navy blue. Maman always put out white knee socks for me so I would look "beautiful" as she would say.

First Communion

For my first Communion I well remember wearing a casspck. This was one of several different outfits worn for First Communion. I was still wearing short pants, and knee socks under my cassock.

Short Pants

After I began school, my clothing changnged. I had been wearing rompers. For school I wore short pants. I did not immediately stop wearing rompers at home, but all my new outfits were short pants. I had different kinds of shorts. As a younger boy I wore bib-front shorts rather similar to rompers. I began wearing shirts rather than the blouses In often nwore with rompers. As I got older I began wearing shorts without the straps. I wore shorts to school (with a smock), for play, and when dressing up. Short pants were still very popular in the 1950s. With the growing popularity of American jeans, shorts declined in poularity by the 1960s, especially during the cold winter weather. My brother wore both shorts and knickers befiore he began wearing long pants. Unlike my brother, I did not wear knickers as a boy. I wore rompers and shorts. Knickers had had gone out of style before I was old enough to wear them. My little brother also commonly wore shorts. I did not have lomg pants until my teens, even for winter wear.

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Last updated: 1:55 AM 3/9/2011