Figure 1.-- Here we see an unidentified group of Belgian boys, we think in the 1960s. We think it it may be a school group, but there is no required uniform. Almost all of the boys are wearing short pants, but nothing all other garments seem varied. Note all the sweaters, suggsting the weather was cool. Put your cursor on the image to see the rest of the group.

Significant change in boys clothing began to develop in the 1960s. We see more American styled casual clothing like T-shirts and polo shirts. The boy here is a good example (figure 1). We begin to see jeans especially among teenagers. We still see Belgian boys commonly wearing short pants into the 1960s. Traditional styles tended to persist longer in Belgium than much of the rest of Europe. We are not entirely sure why. This was especiall notable in rural areas. Smocks and shorts were less common in the 1960s especially by the end of the decade , but still worn by many boys. Smocks were still commonly worn in many elementary schools. Many boys still commonly wore shorts, both for play and dress in the early 1960s. They were also commonly part of schoolwear. Probably about half of Belgian boys still wore shorts until they were 12 or 13 years old. Many of these boys by the 1960s, however, might have long pants for cold weather wear during the winter. Most of the boys wearing shorts wore ankel socks during the summer, some with sandals. Boys usually did not wear shorts much past the age of 14. Some traditional parents, however, had boys wear shorts up to 16 years, especially if their school required a short pants uniform. We also begin to see more Belgian boys wearing smeakers.

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Created: 7:02 PM 4/27/2017
Last updated: 7:02 PM 4/27/2017