Boys Historical Clothing Essays: National Descriptions--English Short Pants/culotte anglaise


Figure 1.--Here is a " Culotte anglaise " for 2-10 year old boys offered in the catalogue " Vert Baudet " Fall-winter 1984-85. The heading "Chics, les habits fefê" which means "???, party clothes". This firm targeted the popular market for middle income familie. The price for this outfit, however, is a little on th epnsive side for the mid-1980s. Click on the image to see the type of shorts English boys were wearing in the 1940s and 50s.

The French refer to long, knee-length short pats as English short pantse-- culotte anglaise . I do not know of any other country with the possible exception of Belgium in which this term is used. This term became common after World War II when French boys were wearing much shorter-cut short pants. As far as I knowm the English never called the shorter shorts French shorts. English boys wore longish cut shorts through the 1950s, but by the 1960s, Englisg boys were wearing the same short cut short pants popular in France and other Continental countries. A French reader provides us some background, "The term ' Culotte anglaise ' has been used in France for some time. The English short pants are cut longer than French shorts at the time and had a fly. French shorts for boys under 10 generally did not have a fly. They also had a crease and hem. The colors were normaly grey, blue or white. They were made in a heavy material and always lined." British boys began shifting to continental-style shorts in the 1960s. English school children and Cubs by th 1970s were wearing the continental-style shots (figure 1). The French concept of English shorts has change in recent years as Frnch boys in the 1990s began wearing longer cut shorts. Our French reader writes, "To day we call " culotte anglaise " the dressy short pants for a weding , visit , or for school uniform. The casual mid-length short pants we call " short anglais ". The French have always considered from the 19th century that the English styles hase look of class. We also see the American styles as a casual look. Many rich or noble English families have for some time lived on the French Riviera. In Nice there is a seaside road called " Promenade des Anglais ". A few wealthy French children in the 20th century had an English look and sometimes an English nanny. My uncle had an English nanny so he was able to speak English fluently without an accent at an early age."

Country Usage

The French refer to long, knee-length short pats as English short pantse-- culotte anglaise . I do not know of any other country with the possible exception of Belgium in which this term is used.

Chronology

This term became common after World War II when French boys were wearing much shorter-cut short pants, but the conntation have changed over time concerning tge term Culotte anglaise .

1940s-50s

English boys wore longish cut shorts through the 1950s, but by the 1960s, Englisg boys were wearing the same short cut short pants popular in France and other Continental countries. A French reader provides us some background, "The term ' Culotte anglaise ' has been used in France for some time. The English short pants are cut longer than French shorts at the time and had a fly. French shorts for boys under 10 generally did not have a fly. They also had a crease and hem. The colors were normaly grey, blue or white. They were made in a heavy material and always lined." The HBC English personal experiences page has considerable information about the short pants worn by English boys over time.

1970s-90s

British boys began shifting to continental-style shorts in the 1960s. English choolboys and Cubs by the 1970s are wearing the continental-style shots. The French concept of English shorts has change in recent years as Frnch boys in the 1990s began wearing longer cut shorts. Our French reader writes, " To day we call ' culotte anglaise ' the dressy short pants for a weding , visit , or for school uniform. The casual mid-length short pants we call ' short anglais '. A good example of ' culotte anglaise ' is seen here from the Vert Baudet 1984-85 catalog. The heading indicated that the outfits are for party clothes. The French have always considered from the 19th century that the English styles hase look of class. We also see the American styles as a casual look. Many rich or noble English families have for some time lived on the French Riviera. In Nice there is a seaside road called ' Promenade des Anglais '. A few wealthy French children in the 20th century had an English look and sometimes an English nanny. My uncle had an English nanny so he was able to speak English fluently without an accent at an early age."

Continental-style Shorts

As far as I knowm the English never called the shorter shorts French shorts. We have noted, however, many references to continental-style shorts. British boys began wearing these continental-style shorts in the 1960s and they were widely worn in the 1970s and 80s.





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Created: December 8, 2003
Last updated: December 8, 2003