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HBC has little early historical information about Greek school smocks. Smocks were introduced in French and Italian schools in the late 19th century. We are less sure as to when Greek children began wearing smocks to school and how common it was during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Smocks for boys have been primarily an elementary school garment, although girls at times have been required to wear them in secondary schools as well. Many elementary school children, both boys and girls, by the 1950s appear to have wore smocks to school. The school uniform for the Demotiko in the 1950s and 60s consisted of blue smock with white collar for girls and boys. I'm unsure if the Government actually specified the specific style as there are some differences in the smocks worn by the children. The few images avaialble at this time suffests that the boys and girls wore smocks of similar style and color. The term used for the school uniform in Greece is "Scholiki podia" or simply "Podia" which means "Apron". This was the standard uniform but in many cases it was acceptable for boys to wear a blue sweater with blue or grey short or long trousers instead. In poor and/or isolated regions teachers and school authorities tolerated non-uniformed students. As a result almost none of the children in those areas wore a uniform in school. The democratic Karamanlis government of 1974 changed the shool uniform requirements. Now, boys and girls in Demotiko had to wear the blue smock with a large white collar and there were theoretically no exceptions to the rule. School photographs during this period, however, show considerable divrsity in what the children wore. This varied greatly from school to school and over time. There were no regulations as to what children wore with their smocks. More and more boys began wearing long pants to school during this period--especilly in the cooler winter months. In 1982 the social democrat government of Andreas Papandreou abolished the school uniform once and forever. Smocks continued to be worn at some private schools for a few years. Greek children, especially the boys, never wear smocks to school any more. They much prefer the popular "formes".
HBC has little early historical information about Greek school smocks. Smocks were introduced in French and Italian schools in the late 19th century. We are less sure as to when Greek children began wearing smocks to school and how common it was during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Many elementary school children, both boys and girls, by the 1950s appear to have wore smocks to school. The school uniform for the Demotiko in the 1950s and 60s consisted of blue smock with white collar for girls and boys. The democratic Karamanlis government of 1974 changed the shool uniform requirements. Now, boys and girls in Demotiko had to wear the blue smock with a large white collar and there were theoretically no exceptions to the rule. School photographs during this period, however, show considerable divrsity in what the children wore. This varied greatly from school to school and over time. In 1982 the social democrat government of Andreas Papandreou abolished the school uniform once and forever. Smocks continued to be worn at some private schools for a few years. Greek children, especially the boys, never wear smocks to school any more. They much prefer the popular "formes".
Smocks for boys have been primarily an elementary school garment, although girls at times have been required to wear them in secondary schools as well. They were also extensively worn by children in kindergarden. Thdey were less common at secondary schools, although girls ar times had to wear them. The cover all school smock was not very popular with fashion conscious Greek girls, especially as boys at secondary schools did not have to wear a uniform. wWe do not know of boys wearing smocks at the secondary school level.
We have noted the Greek children wearing a varierty of smock styles. Even when the Government required Greek children to wear school smocks in 1974, there were some differences. I'm unsure if the Government actually specified the specific style as there are some differences in the smocks worn by the children. Most appear to be back buttoning styles, but we have npoted some from buttoning styles as well. Most had pockets. We note back buttoning smocks in 1939 that had collars in the same material as the smock. The smocks required by the Government in 1974 appear to have been mostly collarless smocks that were worn with pinned on wide white collars. I'm not sure if the collar style was specified, but they had to be white so that the children were wearing the Greek national colors. We are not sure just what the regulations were and to what extent the government specified the style. A HBC reader writes, "I dont think the goverment had specific style regulations. The government wasnt fashion wise. The government just wanted all students to look alike in order to reduce the clothing diferences due to income diferences. But the parents were fashion wise! My mother told me that in the 1960s Greek fashion designer (!) smocks appeared and kids from wealthier families would
show off in school with their designer sewed smocks."
We do not yet have much information or many images on school smocks in Greece. Thus as ith other topic, we do not yet have a good understanding of school smocks in Greece. The few images avaialble at this time suggests that the boys and girls wore smocks of similar style and color. A Greek reader reports, "Yes, I believe that they were the same. I am almost sure." We are not yet sure just how common smocks were in Greek schools. Apparently at some schools only the girls wore the smocks. We also do not know how common this was as our Greek archive is limited.
We doubt if the reverse was also the case. We have never seen a school where only the boys wore smocks, unless of course it was a single gender school. We also do not have any information bout the color of Greek school smocks and if they varied by gender..
The term used for the school uniform in Greece is "Scholiki podia" or simply "Podia" which means "Apron".
Greek authorities for many years required school choldren to wear smocks. Enforcement varied, however, from school to school. The smock was the standard uniform but in many cases it was acceptable for boys to wear a blue sweater with blue or grey short or long trousers instead. In poor and/or isolated regions teachers and school authorities tolerated non-uniformed students. As a result almost none of the children in those areas wore a uniform in school.
There were no regulations as to what children wore with their smocks. More and more boys began wearing long pants to school during this period--especilly in the cooler winter months.
Smocks were also worn at private schools. A HBC reader tells us, "Private schools, unlike state schools, were very strict about uniforms."
HBC at this time has no information as to the popularity of the school smock in Greece. One Greek reader tells HBC, "I have no idea what the children though about their smocks. I don't think they were very popular. Do you know any kid that likes his school uniform? One think I am sure of is that the parents didnt like them." Actually, some kids do like school uniform, although they do not like to admit it to their friends. It makes dressing in the morning a snap. Admittedly they are a minority, especially in secondary school. HBC was surprised that Greek parents did not like them. In France, for example, mothers liked them very much to protect the children's school clothes.
The Greek and Turish school smocks were very similar. A HBC reader reports, "Last summer I had a very interesting conversation about education in Greece and Turkey with a Turk academician friend of mine. The school smock subject was brought up and he told me that in Turkey they were very strict about that. He also told me that the smock was black. I didn't know that the Turkish school smock was (also) blue until I saw the HBC pages. I
though that the blue thing was a Greek invention to match the national colors." HBC was somewhat surprissedthat given the differences with Turkey that the school uniform was so similar. A reader comments, "Dont be surprised about the similarities between the two countries. Turkish presence in Greece and Greek presence in Turkey lasted centuries and left
its traces in our everyday life, in customs, language, and even school uniforms."
Related Chronolgy Pages in the Boys' Historical Web Site
[The 1880s]
[The 1930s]
[The 1940s]
[The 1930s]
[The 1940s]
[The 1950s]
[The 1960s]
[The 1970s]
[The 1980s]
Related Style Pages in the Boys' Historical Web Site
[Long pants suits]
[Short pants suits]
[Socks]
[Eton suits]
[Jacket and trousers]
[Blazer]
[School sandals]
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