Figure 1.--This Italian school group was photographed on a trip in the early 1950s. Note the boy wearing sandals. He looks to be about 13 or 14 years old. He wears a pair of what look to be classis English school sandals.
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Figure 1.--This Italian school group was photographed on a trip in the early 1950s. Note the boy wearing sandals. He looks to be about 13 or 14 years old. He wears a pair of what look to be classis English school sandals. |
Sandals for mich of the 20th century have been popular in Italy. While sneakers in the 1970s provided a popular alternative, snadals still continue to be worn, especially in the summer. The Italian term for sandals is "sandali". Italian movies during the 1940's to the 60's seem to show any child not yet a teenager wearing sandals. Even some older boys wore them. During the summer boys often wore sandals without socks. Sandals now seem to be much less commonly worn in Italy. An Italian reader confirms that indeed sandals have been commonly worn in Italy and still are in the 2000s, although not as much as in the past.
The Italian term for sandals is "sandali" (plural) / "sandalo" (singular). There are not specific terms for closed-toe and open-toe, but you can say respectively "sandali chiusi" and "sandali aperti". A closed-toe school sandal would be "sandali chiusi della scuola".
One HBC contributor agrees that sandals were commonly worn in Italy. He reports that it seems sandals were very much more common in Italy than America. Italian movies during the 1940's to the 60's seem to show any child not yet a teenager wearing sandals. Even some older boys wore them.
I don’t know exactly when Italian boy began wearing sandals. The photos of 19th century and early 20th show boys and girls barefooted or wearing shoes. We believe that boys began wearing sandals in the 1920s, but have few details. We note many boys and girls wearing sandals in the 1930s. Since that time sandals have been very popular, with some differences in the time. Before World War II (1939-45), boys and girls wore often sandals (closed and open toe, with and without socks), however in that time a lot of younger boys and girls went barefoot or wore wooden shoes, especially in rural areas. After World War II, until 1960s' boys and girls wore often sandals in summer. Since the 1970s, sneakers have become increasingly common, but sandals never disappeared.
Italian boys have worn both closed and open-toed sandals. losed-toe sandals are usually worn only by younger children; strap shoes now only by very youngest girls. Open-toe sandals are worn also by
older boy and girls.
An Italian reader reports that there are destinct regional differences in Italy concerning sandals. In some depressed areas children still went barefoot, even to school.
Now is the sneaker era, but since some years more boys and especially girls wear sandals in summer (with or without socks) even as formal footwear (for example at Sunday Mass).
As summer informal footwear were and still now are common sandals and also slipper without backstrap, generally without socks. (This is common for girls and younger boys in rural areas and also in villages, less in towns). More mother in the 2000s than some years ago put sandals on their children in summer.
I think that sandals are enough popular with boy. Till I was 12 or 13 (1960s early 1970s) I spent all summer in slipper or sandals without
socks, wearing shoes only in some occasions. Actually, in 1980s' -
1990s' older boys liked better sneaker, but recently more boy wear
open-toe sandals in summer. Sandals were always more popular with girls.
Younger boys and girls wear socks or no according to mothers decision (the weather is enough warm, it is too cold), but I think that the children like better without socks. Most of older boys and girls wear sandals without socks. However there are some boys and especially girls that wear sandals also in spring and autumn: in that case they wear often socks. The regional differences concern especially how many boys and girls wear sandals and haw long in the year. Generally in southern warmer regions sandals are worn more.
In public primary schools there is not rules about footwear, so in warm
weather some boys and more girls wear open-toe sandals (with or without
socks).
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