Figure 1.--This is appararently a fourth year secondary school class photographed in 1947. The children would have been about 15-16 years of age. We are not sure about the country, but would guess Germany. |
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Schoolwear was affected in Europe by World War II. Fashion went on hold duringb the war as clothing became increasingly difficult to obtain. Boys wore clothes longer than they might have in better times. Hand me downs were more commonly worn. Even after the War conditions were very difficult. Economies began to recover in 1948, but conditions varied from country to country. We plan to eventually construct 1940s pages for individual countries. Boys in secondary schools still wore suits to school, especially private schools or older boys in state schools. We note European boys commonly wearing short pants, especially in primary schools, but they were also worn in secondary schools as well as were knivckers. American boys wore a variety of clothes in the 1940s. A few boys wore knickers or short pants, but long pants were more common. This was particularly true of the late 1940s when jeans were becoming increasingly standard for primary school boys. I remember mine during the Winter had plaid flannel linings. Jeans were not allowed, however, when you moved to secondary school.
World War II began with the NAZI invasion of Poland (September 1939) and ended sith the German (May 1945) and Japanese (September 1945)surrenders. It was the largest conflict in history. Millions were killed and the economies of European and Asian countries left in ruin. Children are often the people most affected by the War, but rarely do military historians persue this aspdect of war. The impact on children was especially trur in World War II. The NAZIs in particulsr made children an actual target. The strategic bombing campaigns affected civilians, including children. Both Britain and Germany had mass evacuation programs. Clothing and schoolwear were affected bu the war. Fashion went on hold during the War, but there were notable changes in schoolwear as the War progressed. Clothing in general became increasingly difficult to obtain. Many countries rationed clothing. Boys wore clothes longer than they might have in better times. Hand me downs were more commonly worn. Even after the War conditions were very difficult.
World war II was followed byb the beginning of the Cold War, the conflict between the Soviets and the Western democracies. Here the impact on clothing was less obvious, One notable aspect of the Cold war was that the Iron Curtain errectef by the Soviets proved impervious to fashion. Although fashion and consumer ecomomics in geneal was not promoted by the Soviet planners, Western fashion slowly spread east. It often took some time, but fashions devekoped in the West were eventually adopted in Eastern Europe and the Sovirt Union. In contradst there was no fashion flow west.
Economies began to recover in 1948, but conditions varied from country to country. We plan to eventually construct 1940s pages for individual countries. Boys in secondary schools still wore suits to school, especially private schools or older boys in state schools. We note European boys commonly wearing short pants, especially in primary schools, but they were also worn in secondary schools as well as were knivckers. American boys wore a variety of clothes in the 1940s. A few boys wore knickers or short pants, but long pants were more common. This was particularly true of the late 1940s when jeans were becoming increasingly standard for primary school boys. I remember mine during the Winter had plaid flannel linings. Jeans were not allowed, however, when you moved to secondary school.
American boys wore a variety of clothes in the 1940s. A few boys wore knickers or short pants, but long pants were more common. This was particularly true of the late 1940s when jeans were becoming increasingly standard for primary school boys. I remember mine during the Winter had plaid flannel linings. Jeans were not allowed, however, when you moved to secondary school.
Few new trends appeared in the 1940s. World War II (1939-45) of course had a major impact. Rationing and the focus on the War precluded much attention to
fashion. For the most part school uniform trends continued unchanged from the 1930s. Some English observers report that rationing regulations caused
manufacturers to produce mostly short pants for boys, but I do not have details on this. Few new trends appeared in the 1940s. World War II (1939-45) of course had a major impact. Rationing and the focus on the War precluded much attention to fashion. For the most part school uniform trends continued unchanged from the 1930s. Some English observers report that rationing regulations caused manufacturers to produce mostly short pants for boys, but I do not have details on this. Shorts continued to be long and baggy. Most primary school boys wore sut jackets and short pants to school, but few scools required uniforms. Primary boys often wore school sandals and usually kneesocks. Britain inituiated a new state secondary system in the 1940s. The younger boys going to these schools often wore short pants. I do not know if this was a requirement are simply what the boys wore. Schools that did have uniforms such as private schools and grammar schools had trouble maintaining uniform standards with rationing and shortages. There were also a lot of transfers because of the evacuations. Almost all children were back with their parents by 1945, but shortages and rationing continued.
We have collected individual school experiebces from several different countries, including America, England, France, Germany, Italy, and other countries. .
We have found information on quite a few individual schools during the 1940s. These are archived in the country pages which we will link here. We are gradually expanding our coverage of the more important countries. We also have found images that are dated, but we are unsure about the country--although most are European. We often can guess about the country involved, but can not be positive. These unidentified images are useful to see trends during the decade in other countries besides the larger countries for which we have information. And as we do not know the country involved, here seems to be the best place to archive the images.
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