Figure 1.--

One factor which has to be considered in assessing French boys' clothing are regional differences. Americans tend to view European nations as centralized nations with homogeneous popultions. In fact there are very substantial regional differences. These differences substntilly weakened in the 20th century, but until that time were very significant. We do not yet fully understand these differences are their imapact on fashion, but we have begun to collect information.

Individual Regions

We have ome limited ingormation on specific French regions

Alsace-Loraine

We wonder especially if the German annexation of Alsace-Loraine (1870-1919 and 1940-44) might have resulted in some differences. Many people in northern France, especially Alsace speak German. A French reader, however, reports, that Alsatians since the 18th century have never considered themself to be German. They speak a distinct dialect. Many Alsatians probably rejected German fashions even during the German ocupation (1870-1918). Nowadays the young people are more likely to speak standard French and can't speak the parents' dialect. One HBC reader reports that his granparents came from Alsace, but moved to Paris in 1870 rather than live under German control. Another important regional difference is the warmer climate of southern France which has affected clothing trends there.

Basque region

Brittany

Brittany is surely the best known of the various French regions. It is a peninsula jutting out into the Atlantic, a geographic circumstance that has shaped the ecinomy and people of the region. It is a region where like Ireland and Wales, Celtic culture survived into the 20th century. The name derives from the fugitive Britons that sought refuge there (5th century). Breton history is a ongoing effort to achieve independence from the Franks (5th-9th centuries), Normans/Anjou (10th-12th centuries), and England/France (13th-18th centuries). The extentibction of the direction line of Breton dukes led to the War of the Breton Succession. Brittany was formally incorporated in to France (16th century). A measure of auttomy was granted (19th century). We note a Breton boy photographed with his family for his first communion in the 1950s. A particularly important artist noted for his genre works on Britatany was William-Adolphe Bouguereau.

Burgandy

Burgandy is one of the important regionsnin French history. It was the second duchy, created as an appanage of the French Royal family in 1363. It soon expanded its territories beyond France and into the more Germanic Holy Roman Empire, acquiring by various means lands in Alsace and the Low Countries. The lands were not held of fiefdoms of the French Crown thus giving the poweful Dukes of Burgandy greater status. The Burgundian Court became a brilliant cultural center, as successive dukes attempted to recreate the ancient Kingdom of Lotharingia--which ecolved from Charlemeign's Empire. The Dukes of Burgandy desored to build an independent kingdom independent of both France and the Holy Roman Empire. Duke Philip the Good was offered regal status as "King of Belgia", within the Empire, but he rejected te offer because it as not large or autonomous enough. The Burgundian aspirations, however, ended suddenly when Duke Charles the Rash fell in battle against Swiss forces and his only child Mary heiress married the Habsburg Emperor, Maximilian I. Their son wed the Spanish heiress, Juana the Mad. Burgandy thus was inherited by the Hapsburg rulers of Austrai and Spain. Spain retained the title even after losing the territory in 1713 to Louis XIV's forces. So did Austria after losing all the territories to Revolutionary French forces in 1795.

Corsica

Corsica is a Mediterranean island department of metropolitan France located north of Sardinia. It was in ancient times a Carteginia colony taken invaded by Rome. It was seized by the Vandals, but was laster ruled by a secession of Italiazn regimes. Corsica is perhaps best known as the birthplace of Napoleon Bonaparte. France seized the island a decade before the French Revolution (1768). As a result the young Corscican, Napoleon, became a French subject. The island is very wild and mountenous. Corsica until the 20th century was quite poor and dominated by banditry and family blood feuds. Local and Italian traditions resisted French culture and a nationalist movement has resisted French authority.

Normandy

French Names

HBC readers have provided us some background information on French names. This is useful in our discussion of French regional differences.

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Created: May 16, 2002
Last updated: 7:19 PM 1/28/2006