Figure 1.--The Lisbon town council in 1928 forbade going barefoot in the city. In the photo here we can see a free dispensation of canvas shoes, in order to encourage the use. However a lot of Lisbon inhabitants ignored the town council decree for many years, especially the women and the children. Out of the capital, especially in villages and in the country, the children (and sometimes also the women) went usually barefoot until some decades ago. Note one boy here looks to be wearing a school smock. Por edital 1928 do Governo Civil de Lisboa passa a ser proibido andar descalço na cidade. No Pavilhâo Favotita, ao lado do Teatro Maria Vitória, foram ditribuídas alpercatas aos miúdos de Lisboa entre os quais muitos ardinas.

HBC has been unable to acquire much information on Portugal. We assumed that the was considerable similarities with Spain. One HBC reader reports visiting Portugal in the 1960s and was surprised how the country contrasted with Spain. He felt that the children were not as well looked after or as well dressed as in Spain. The boys wore long shorts or long trousers. One reader reports tht it was very common for Portuguese boys to go barefoot. This presumably reflected the fact that for much of the 20th century, Portugal was a very poor country. The Lisbon town council in 1928 forbade going barefoot in the city. In the photo here we can see a free dispensation of canvas shoes, in order to encourage the use. However a lot of Lisbon inhabitants ignored the town council decree for many years, especially the women and the children. Out of the capital, especially in villages and in the country, the children (and sometimes also the women) went usually barefoot until some decades ago. An Italian reader tells us, "I visited the north of Portugal in September 1979. Except in the towns (Porto and Braga) all the children were barefoot." Since Portugal has joined the European Community, there has bee tremendous economic growth. We suspect that clothing styles are now very similar to those in the rest of Europe. Hopefully our Portuguese readers will provide us some information so we can expand our coverage. We do, however, have a Portuguese-language glossary. We do not have a Portuguese art page yet, but we note one Portuguese artist, Carlos Reis.

Limited Information

HBC has been unable to acquire much information on Portugal.

Geography

Portugal shares the Iberian Peninsula with Spain. There are considerable cultural and linguistic affinities. We assumed that the was considerable similarities with Spain. One HBC reader reports visiting Portugal in the 1960s and was surprised how the country contrasted with Spain. He felt that the children were not as well looked after or as well dressed as in Spain. The boys wore long shorts or long trousers. One reader reports tht it was very common for Portuguese boys to go barefoot. This presumably reflected the fact that for much of the 20th century, Portugal was a very poor country.

History

Portugal is one of the two modern countries that has emerged from the many small kingdoms that appeared on the Iberian Peninsula after the fall of the Roman Empire and the Germanic invasions. The situation was further complicated by the Morrish invasions of the 8th century and the 600 year war between and among Moorish and Christian kingdoms which did not end until the fall of Grenada in 1492. Portugal in fact was born from this struggle to reconquer Iberia from the Moors and the first Portuguese king was the son of a French nobel. Portugal in the 15th century burst on the European stage as the country leading the great European voyages of discovery. Here Prince Henry the Navigator was a leading figure in making Portugal a leader in maritime technology. This allowed Portugal to acquire great wealth through trade and an create an expansive empire. The corosive impact of the Inquisition on thought and discourse including the expulsion of the Jews caused a long period of decline during rich Portugal became a European backwater and one of the pporest countries in Europe.

Chronology

Garments

We do not yet have much information on the specific garments worn by Portuguese boys. We believe that it was similar to those worn by boys in the rest of southern Europe. Sailor suits seem to have been a popular style. Climate was a factor. We do not note Portuguese boys wearing heavy suits as common in northern Europe. Sailor suits seem to have been popular, often worn with bloomer knickers or knee pants. Smocks were worn as a school garment, but seem less common for everyday wear. We do not notice long stockings as commonly as in many other European countries. Because of the poverty in the early 20th century, many children went barefoot. The Lisbon town council in 1928 forbade going barefoot in the city. In the photo here we can see a free dispensation of canvas shoes, in order to encourage the use. However a lot of Lisbon inhabitants ignored the town council decree for many years, especially the women and the children. Out of the capital, especially in villages and in the country, the children (and sometimes also the women) went usually barefoot until the economy began to improve after World War II. some decades ago. An Italian reader tells us, "I visited the north of Portugal in September 1979. Except in the towns (Porto and Braga) all the children were barefoot." Since Portugal has joined the European Community, there has bee tremendous economic growth. We suspect that clothing styles are now very similar to those in the rest of Europe. Hopefully our Portuguese readers will provide us some information so we can expand our coverage.

Activities

We have very limited information on Portuguese boys' activities at this time. We do have some information on Poruguese schools. We know little about Portuguese choirs. Nor do we have much information on hiliday celebrations in Portugal. We have some informsation on Christmas.

Portuguese Glossary

We do have a Portuguese-language glossary. A knowledge of cloyhing terms is essential in using Portuguese-language terms.

Art

We do not have a Portuguese art page yet, but we note one Portuguese artist, Carlos Reis.

Post Cards

One useful source of information about early 20th century fashions is post cards. They were, however, commercial and thus they are not reliable depictions of what the average child was wearing. They do depict garments that were worn, but often how mothers wanted to dress their children rather thasn how they actually did. Another problem is that post cards were widely sold in Europe and the cards available were mot always made in the countries where they were sold. Portugal did have a national post card industry, but we are unsure how important it was.

Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing Polish pages:
[Portuguese choirs] [Portuguese movies] [Portuguese orphanages] [Portuguese school uniforms] [Portuguese sailor suits] [Portuguese youth groups]

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Created: 4:32 AM 9/18/2005
Last updated: 4:13 AM 2/24/2008