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The topic of hosiery and sandals in Italy is a complicated one. Sandals are to a degree seasonal wear in many European countries, although in Italy the weather is usually comfortable to wear sandals through most of the year. Younger boys and girls may wear socks at their their mother's discression. It was most commonly a mater of weather. Mothers chose socks when it was chilly and the children went without socks when it as warm. Formality was another factor. The children themselves seem to prfer not to wear socks, although there were individual differences. Most older boys and girls tend to wear sandals without socks. However there are some boys and especially girls that wear sandals in cool spring and autumn days. And in this case they often wore 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. The connection between open-toe and close-toe sandals in Italy and the use of socks with sandals have many variations. It is not easy to give a general rule. School portraits help to show the complexities of the subject. One class portrait was taken in Carini, near Palermo (Sicily). Here the boys, going to school, wear with socks both open-toe and close-toe sandals (figure 1). On the contrary in Castellammare di Stabia, near Naples, the schoolboys wear both types of sandals without socks. Many HBC pages show children wearing different kinds of sandals, with and without socks. A good example is Agnola village children during 1973. One consistency is the children from any specific family were likely to follow the same convention. in children taken in Agnola,
The topic of hosiery and sandals in Italy is a complicated one. Sandals are to a degree seasonal wear in many European countries, although in Italy the weather is usually comfortable to wear sandals through most of the year. Younger boys and girls may wear socks at their their mother's discression. It was most commonly a mater of weather. Mothers chose socks when it was chilly and the children commonly went without socks when it as warm. Wearing socks with sandals seems to defeat thepurpose of wearing sandals.
Formality was another factor. It was generally seen as more formal to wears socks with sandals.
The children themselves seem to prefer not to wear socks, although there were individual diffrrences.
Most older boys and girls tend to wear sandals without socks. However there are some boys and especially girls that wear sandals in cool spring and autumn days. And in this case they often wore socks.
The regional differences affect to some extent concern especially how many boys and girls wear sandals and how long in the year. Generally in southern warmer regions sandals are worn more.
The connection between open-toe and close-toe sandals in Italy and the use of socks with sandals have many variations. It is not easy to give a general rule. The hosiery conventions do not seem much affected as to the type of sandal. They seem to be very similar for closed toe and open oe sandls. Thos seems to be the cases for some other Europen companies as well. It was different, however, for America.
School portraits help to show the complexities of the subject. One class portrait was taken in Carini, near Palermo (Sicily). Here the boys, going to school, wear with socks both open-toe and close-toe sandals (figure 1). On the contrary in Castellammare di Stabia, near Naples, the schoolboys wear both types of sandals without socks. Many HBC pages show children wearing different kinds of sandals, with and without socks. A good example is Agnola village children during 1973.
Mostly we see Italian children wearing ankle socks with sandals. ou can see this in the Palermo school group here (figure 1). Knee socks were much less common and long stockings were not nearly as common in Italy as in northern Europe.
The usage of hosiery with sandals in Italy has varied over time. Sandls are a type of footwear appearing in the early-20th century, although the related strap shoe appeared earlier. We see many Italian children in the early-20th century wearing sandals without socks, especially in southern Italy. We also see children wearing sandals with socks in cool weather or for formality. Wearing socks was also common for school wear. These conventions varies substantially from family to family. Over time wearing sandals without socks became more and more common. An Italian reader tells us, "Sandals with socks were seen as more formal than with bare feet as late as the 1960s. Today in Italy most children follow the convention that sandals are worn without socks, even for formal occassions. Of course for the most part it is children and women that wear sandals for forml occassions. It is not seen as proper for men."
Mny mothers had definite ideas about whether or not to wear sandals. One consistency is the children from any specific family were likely to follow the same convention. in children taken in Agnola,
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