Figure 1.--Before World War II, children had limited ctivities in which they could participate. the primary activity of course was school. There were also youth groups for middle-class children. the totalitariab states were an exception creating mass youth movements, the Hitler Youth being the primary exmaple. After the war withe the European economic morcles in progress, we begin to see more youth actibities appesring such as youth sports. (In Europe, schools tended to hve much more limited sprts programs than in America.) Here we see a youth center being opened in Brussels. The press caption read, "Al'occasion du 10e anniversaire du foyer de jeunes de la rue Montserrt a Buxelles, deux géánts oat été baptisés à la bière, aprés quai ils ont fait le tour du quatier das Marelles en fanfare, suivie pat tous les enfants." This means, "On the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the youth center on rue Montserrt in Brussels, two senior citizens were baptized with beer, near the quay they toured the Marelles district with a fanfare, followed by all the children."

We see many modern trends becoming estnlished in Belgium by the 1970s. We see the beginnng of the pan-European styles that would dominate children's clothing throughout Europe by the end of the century. As in other countries, boys were increasingly wearing casual clothing. We see fewer boys wearing suits. Swaters were very popular. Many boys evem younger boys were wearing long pants. The situation was rather mixed. We see both shorts and long pants with long pants gradually becoming more common. Jeans in particular became increasingly popular in the 1970s. Belgium generally was more traditional than other European countries. Some boys still wore short pants suits, increasingly younger boys, and knee socks in the 1970s because their parents insisted. This varied widely from family to family. In much of the rest of Europe, shorts were increasingly becoming summer ok=play and casul wear. We still see some Belgian boys dessing up in more formal dress shorts as well as wearing shots even in the Fall after the weather began turning cooler. A few private schools had short pants uniforms. Incereasingly boys, however, wanted to wear jeans and other long pants.

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Created: 6:33 PM 9/1/2022
Last updated: 6:33 PM 9/1/2022