Norwegian Boys' Clothes: Individuals



Figure 1.--A HBC reader has sent us a set of photographs of a boy in Norway, Sweden, and on vacation in other European countries. We are not sure though if he is Norwegian or Swedish. The images do, however, provide some glimpses of a Scaninaviann boy and his family in the 1950s. Here we see the family at a camp site in Norway during 1953. Notice the thick forrest. Also note the boy's beret, a cap style still worn in the 1950s but not very commonly in France.

We have few personal accounts from Norway. Hopefully our Norwegian readers will provide us some information about their experiences. Some personal accounts about or touching on Norway are very helpful in understanding fashion and clothing as well as general social trends.

Norwegian Boy (1940-50s)

I was born in 1940 i.e. during World War II so I do not remember mything about the early 1940s. I do begin to remember about my clothes by the mid-40s. I and other boys often wore short trousers a large part of the year in the late 40s and early 50s boys. As yoou know, Norway because of its northerly location has very severe winters. When it go really cold from September till early May, we wore long stockings up to about 10-12 years of age. During the winter we usually used knickers. I guess one reason for using short trousers and long stockings was that we outgrew long trousers quickly and then short trousers were practical.

Scadinavian Boy (1950s)

A HBC reader has sent us a set of photographs of a boy in Norway, Sweden, and on vacation in other European countries. We are not sure though if he is Norwegian or Swedish. The images do, however, provide some glimpses of a Scaninaviann boy and his family in the early 1950s. The photographs were talen in 1952 and 53. The family is camping in Norways and Itly. There is a bicycle race in Sweden. The boy wears a military-stle cap and a beret. The pictures look to be taken during the summer and the boy wears short pants with ankle sicks and knee socks. We're not sure how he dressed during the winter. Perhaps our Scandinavian readers will have some insights to offer here.

An American Boy in Europe (1960s)

The strongest memories that I have about the clothes I wore as a boy was the short pants I wore as a little boy. After an embarassing experience as a younger boy in Colorado, I was a little shy about wearing short pants. While I still wore shorts for play and casual wear, I never thought as a 12 year-old ready to begin 7th grade that I would ever dress up in short pants and knee socks. That was, however. before my dad got a job in Paris and I found myself in Europe. After the school year finished in June 1964, we left Hawaii and took off for Europe. We spent the entire summer of 1964 touring Scandinavia, the Low Countries, and the British Isles before settling down in Paris. Every where we went, I saw European boys in short pants--often strikingly short and sometimes with knee socks, neckties and jackets.








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Created: 9:59 PM 12/21/2006
Last updated: 9:59 PM 12/21/2006