Figure 1.--This French boy in the late-1930s was photographed in his new suit. Note how long the pants were. Not all shorts in the 30s were this long, but until the 40s, shorts were cut long--generally just above the knee. |
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French boys during the inter-war years commonly wore short pants suit. While not universal, it was unusual to see primary-age boys wearing long pants suits. It addition younger secondary school boys also common wore short pants suits. Boys did not begin wearing long pants suit until they were 13 or 14 years of age and many even older boys wore them. Not all boys wore short pants suits them, especially by the 1930s many older boys were wearing knickers. Short pants suits were made for boys in sizes uo to 16 years. Boys from 8 to 16 years of age might have a suit with both a pair of short pants and a pair of knickers. The length of the shorts varied. Some boys, especially older boys, but notexclusively older boys, might still wear quite long shorts in the 1930s. But this was becoming less common although longist lengths were still common. Knee socks were still commonly worn with shorts when dressing up in a suit. Formal short pants suits were mostly worn with knee socks, but ankle socks were often worn on more casual occasions and were most common during the summer. Knee socks were somewhat less common than in England. HBC has little information about colors, but lighter colors appear to have been popular. HBC does not note a lot of dark colored suits. HBC is not sure as to wgich boys were most likely to wear shorts. There were social class differences. Boys who finish school after primary school were more likely to behgin wearing long pnts suits.
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