Italian School Uniform: Garments


Figure 1.--The boys at this primary class during 1952-53 mostly wear their regular clothes. A few boys wera the dark school smocks and one boy a light-colored smock.

The school garment most associated with Italy of course is the school smock. Italian school smocks have varied over time. The classic style was a dark blue or black smock worn with a wide white collar and big floppy red bow. Originally smocks buttoned at the back. Many schools no longer require smocks, but a number of Itlalin schools still do. Boys generally prefer front buttoning smocks and this style has become more common. Colors have changed too. Some schools have different colors for boys and girls. Common colors include different shades of blue, white, and pink. While some schools have required students to wear smocks, there seems to have been a wide toleration as to just what the children wore under their smocks. The smock was most common in primary schools. We notice a variety of different styles in secondary schools.

Headwear


Jackets


Sailor Suits

We see many Italian boys wearing sailor suits to school in the late 19th and early 20th century. The sailor suit seems especially popular in the 1910s. Younger children wore smocks, but we see many children in secondary schools, neginng abpit age 11 wearing sailor suit. We note many different styles. We do not notice a dominanant traditional style based on the Italian naval uniform. The poplarity in secondary schools shows that the sailor suit as in other countries was especially popular with middle-class families. Working-class children generally did not go to secondary schools. These wee not school uniforms, but outfits parents chose for schoolwear. Silor suits of course were not the only outfirs selected, but tthy clearly were a popular choice. YThey seemed to have slowly declined in popularity after the early 1920s. We do not yet, however, have detailed chronological information. We still see sailor suits during World War II (1939-45). As far as we can tell, the sailor suit disappeared as a school style after the War. We also notice girls wearing sailor outfits, but not as commonly as for the boys.

Suits


Shirts


Pants


Smocks

The school garment most associated with Italy of course is the school smock. Italian school smocks have varied over time. The classic style was a dark blue or black smock worn with a wide white collar and big floppy red bow. Originally smocks buttoned at the back. Many schools no longer require smocks, but a number of Itlalin schools still do. Boys generally prefer front buttoning smocks and this style has become more common. Colors have changed too. Some schools have different colors for boys and girls. Common colors include different shades of blue, white, and pink. While scome schools have required students to wear smocks, there seems to have been a wide toleration as to just what the children wore under their smocks.

Hosiery


Footwear











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Created: September 1, 2001
Last updated: 6:03 PM 4/17/2008