Figure 1.--This is the front of a girl's back-buttoning smock about 1950. Note the long waistband which was tied un the bavk in a bow.
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Figure 1.--This is the front of a girl's back-buttoning smock about 1950. Note the long waistband which was tied un the bavk in a bow. |
There are several stylistic differences in French school smocks that commonly were associated with gender. The buttoning and back bow are perhaps the two most important, but they were not the only elements involved. After the 1960s, front buttoning smocks for boys became more common. But through the 1950s both boys and girls generally wore back buttoning smocks. One of the principal differences were that girl's smocks tied in a bow at the back like many dresses. Boys' smocks also had waist bands, but they buttoned in the back and did not tie in the back like girls' smocks often did. This is a very important factor. Boys except for the very youngest did not wear smocks with back tieing bows. A French reader tells us that there were also differences in the skirt (bottom partt) of the smock. The skirt of a boys' smock might be pleated--usually quite large pleats. Girls' smocks on the other hand were done with a kind of gathering of the cloth (in French: "plissé"). Many boys' smocks were collarless. Boys' smocks that did have collars generally had pointed collars while girls more commonly had rounded Peter-Pan collars.
The basic elements of smock styling woith gender connotations include the buttoning, waistband, rhe skirt pleats, and the collar style. These differences were not absolute, but the children involved (especially the boys) were awar of them and did not like wearing smocks with girl styling elements.
HBC first notices front buttoning smocks in the 1930s. They did not become the standard style for boys, however, until the 1960s. Earlier virtually all smocks were back buttoning garments. The smocks worn by French school boys fror early half a century beginning in the 1870s, did not change much. They were very basic garments and virtually all buttoned in back. The number of buttons in back varied from smock to smock. The buttons were usually just located on the top part of the smock. Generally the girls' smocks had more button closures than the boys' smocks. We begin to note more front buttoning smocks in the 1950s. After the mid-1960s, boys much less commonly wore school smocks and the ones that did were much more likely to wear front buttoning smocks. The one exception was very young boys still in nursery schools. By the mid-1960s younger boys might wear back buttoning smocks, but rarely older boys. Through the 1950s both boys and girls generally wore back buttoning smocks.
We still have limited information on early French school smocks. We believe, however, that they were back buttoning smocks which tied in back. We think that both boys' and girls' smocks both were tied in back with bows. We do not have any indication yet that there was any difference in this regard. We have, however, very limited information at this time. This changed in the 1930s. There was by the 1930s a developing difference in boys' and girls' smocks. One of the principal differences were that beginnig in the 1930s, girl's smocks tied in a bow at the back like many dresses. A French reader reports that this difference was well acceped for the smocks made in the 1940s and 50s. Young boys wearing rompers might have back tieing bows, but boys' school smocks by the 1930s did not--even the back buttoning smocks. Boys did wear rompers with back tieing bows, but their school smocks did not have such bows. Girls on the other hand had both smocks, pinafores, and dresses with back tieing boys. Not all girls had back buttoining smocks, but the vast majoity did and virtually all wistbands for back tieing bows.
Figure 2.--This is the back of a boys's back-buttoning smock about 1950. Note the much shoretr waistband that buttoned in the back. Also note the small number of back buttons. |
We believe that the waistbands worn by boys and girls on early smocks were virtually idetical. This cointinued until after World War I. Boys' smocks even by the 1930s also had waistbands, but they buttoned in the back and did not tie in the back like girls' smocks often did. This is a very important factor. Boys except for the very youngest did not wear smocks with back tieing bows. Boys straps commonly had waist straps which buttoned at the back. Sime girls' smocks also had these back buttoning waist straps, but the boys' smocks never had the back tieing bows. We have noted this convention firmy established by the 1930s, we are less sure about the smocks worn by French children.
A French reader tells us that there were also differences in the skirt (bottom partt) of the smock. This is something that HBC had not previously noted. We believe that this is a difference which developed in the 1920s and 30s. As far as we know, the smocks worn before World War I did not have the pleating that had become common by the 1930s on boy's smocks and the gathering effect on girls' smocks. The skirt of a boys' smock might be pleated--usually quite large pleats. Girls' smocks on the other hand were done with a kind of gathering of the cloth (in French: "plissé"). Some of the stlistic elelements that have gender connotations are easily observable. Others are more difficult. The pleats we easy to see if the smock had been freshly ironed. We doubt that French mothers, however, would freshly iron their son's school smock every day. This was not always the case and in the time before stnthetic fibers, clothes did not hold creases and pleats as they do today. The gathering on girl's smocks were even more difficult to see.
One technique used for smocks were "empiècement plissé", a gathering technique. We are not sure when this technique was first employed. We only have informatioin dated from the 1950s, but believed this gathering technique was employed earlier. We do not know how common this was for girls' smocks. The "empiècement plissé" was only used for girls' smocks, never for boys' smocks. It also was used for garments worn by boys like shirts and rompers, but never for boys' smocks.
Early French school smocks were collarless. Some boys wore them with large with collars, but his was a minority of the boys. We are mot yet sure if boys tended to wear their shirt collars inside or outside thaeir smocks. It should be remembered that many shirts in the late 19th century were called waists and were worn with detachable collars. We are less sure about early girls' smocks. Many boys' smocks were collarless even by the 1930s. Some boys' smocks, however, did come with collars. Boys' smocks that did have collars generally had pointed collars while girls more commonly had rounded Peter-Pan collars. HBC still has realtively limited information on collars and it is a topic that reaquires further investigation.
The styling elements with gender connotations were associate wih both the front and back of the smocks. There were many types of smocks, especially girls' smocks. Thus the gender connottions varied somewhat from smock to smock. Not all smocks had every element with clear gender connotations. In addition, some smocks were made so that they could be orn by either gender.
The front of a girls' smock commonly had mpre detasiling than a boys' smock. From a distance it woyld be hard to tell the differnce between boys' and girls' smocks because the colors were so similar--except for pink. Actually the child's headwear might be the only way to destinguish French children in smocks at a distance. Boys might wear berets but the girls never did. Many of the most obvious differences such as back tieing bows were in the back of the smock. This the differences from the front were not as obvious. One of the most obvious front differences were the pleats on boys' smocks which were destinguishable if freshly ironed. The gathering or "plissé" on girl's smocks often showed at the front, but this was only possible upon a close imspection of the garment. The smocks that had collars were also destinguished by the collar. Girls generally had rounded collars and boys pointed collars.
Many of the differences between boys' and girls smocks were most obvious in the back of the smock. The most obvious was the much longer waistband on the girls' smocks which was used to tie a bow in the back. Boys' smocks on the other hand had a shorter waustband with a button. Boys smocks generally had only two buttons in the back. One at the neck and one half way down the top of the smock. The pleating on the boys' smock might also be seen at the back. The collars might also be different in the back. Thos was because the collr was often divided at the back where the buttoning was.
