Figure 1.--This photo postcard shows a bow wearung a beret with his great Jack Russel terrier. Note how alert he is. The photograph is undated, but was probably taken about 1930. Note how he has just pulled his beret down on his head. many french boys wore it differently.

We notice French boys wearing several different types of head wear. The head-wear most associated with French boys is of course the berets In most Western countries, boys primarily wear caps and hats. But in France, berets were important in the late-19th and early to mid-20th century. We also see beret-like Tam O'Shanters or tams. Tams were however while being worn by girls of all ages, but only younger boys. The Scottish tam was originally a regional type of beret. Traditionally, a beret would be worn tilted to one side, while a tam would perch straight on the head, but there is more of a difference, a tam was a larger roomier type of beret, probably to accommodate girls hair styles. Actually French boys did not wear berets as commonly thought, but we do note quite a number of boys wearing them. The beret has to be the most versatile head gear in history. What other head gear has been wore by little boys and girls, elite soldiers, scruffy Cuban revolutionaries, boy and girl scouts, shepherds, a president's nemesis, and many others. It is essentially a visor-less cap--but the simple design can be worn for a multiplicity of different looks. While men, boys, women, and girls have worn berets in many different countries, no country is more associated with the beret than France. And in no other country did more boys wear berets than France. Berets were widely worn through World War II, but by the 1950s had largely disappeared and were no longer commonly worn. We are unsure why such a sudden fashion change occurred. French boys as other European boys also common wore various styles of hats and caps. Wide-brimmed sailor hats and sailor caps were very popular. Sailor styles were especially popular in France. Boys wore sailor caps and hats both with sailor suits and a variety of other clothes. Sailor head wear was worn through the 1930s. Older boys might wear flat caps. We also see some boys wearing British-styled school caps. It was, however not a school style in France and not at all common. In fact, the various forms of flat caps were not very common in France, even the flat cap. At least for boys. As for hats. We do see younger French boys wearing wide-brimmed sailor hats, but not very many other hat styles.

Figure 2.--This photo pstcard shows a bow wearung a beret with his great Jack Russel terrier. Note how alert he is. The photograph is undated, but was proibanly taken about 1930. Note how he has just pulled his beret down on his head. many french boys wore it differently.

Berets and Tams

We notice French boys wearing several different types of head wear. The head wear most associated with French boys is of course the berets In most Western countries, boys primarily wear caps and hats. But in France, berets were important in the late-19th and early to mid-20th century. We also see beret-like Tam O'Shanters or tams. Tams were however while being worn by girls of all ages, but only younger boys. The Scottish tam was originally a regional type of beret. Traditionally, a beret would be worn tilted to one side, while a tam would perch straight on the head, but there is more of a difference, a tam was a larger roomier type of beret, probably to accommodate girls hair styles. Actually French boys did not wear berets as commonly thought, but we do note quite a number of boys wearing them. The beret has to be the most versatile head gear in history. What other head gear has been wore by little boys and girls, elite soldiers, scruffy Cuban revolutionaries, boy and girl scouts, shepherds, a president's nemesis, and many others. It is essentially a visor less cap--but the simple design can be worn for a multiplicity of different looks. While men, boys, women, and girls have worn berets in many different countries, no country is more associated with the beret than France. And in no other country did more boys wear berets than France. Berets were widely worn through World War II, but by the 1950s had largely disappeared and were no longer commonly worn. We are unsure why such a sudden fashion change occurred.

Caps

French boys as other European boys also common wore various styles of caps. Sailor styles were especially popular in France. French boys wore sailor suits more commonly than perhaps any other country. And commonly with sailor-styled caps. There weree different sailor stypes which the french klike to add a pom, often a red pom. Sailor caps were also worn without sailor suits. Sailor suits and head wear was worn through the 1930s, but generally disapperared after World War II (1939-45). Older boys might wear flat caps, but this was more commion as an adult style. We also see a few boys wearing British-styled school caps. It was, however not a school style in France and not nearly as common. We see some military-styled caps, but mostly for school wear as some secondary schools adopted military styled uniforms. In fact, the various forms of peaked caps were not very common in even the flat cap, at least for boys. In the late-20th century, America-styled baseball caps made their appearance. We see some stocking caps for cold-weather wear. Some are fancier than hose worn in America and other countries. The appearance of some are rather like the Phrygian caps which was originally used by several Iranian peoples, including the Scythians, the Medes, and the Persians. Phrygian caps became associated with liberty because they were worn by emancipated Roman slaves. That sence was lost after the fall of Rome, but was revived again with the American Revolution where they became known as 'liberty caps'. Roman precedents were important to the Revolution. And the American Constitution thanks to Madison has a very pronounced Roman imprint. Liberty caps became even more importat with the the French Revolution. And after the Revolution they became associated with Jacobinism becoming known as Jacobian caps. This is complicated because they were also part of traditionsl regional styles. It is difficult to underrstand the intention of parents if any.

Figure 3.--This is another photograph taken by Paul Lancrenon. Here we see two girls and three boys wearing wide-brimmed sailor hats. Notice how the brims are turned up, a style characteristic to the 1910s. The photograph was taken in Lyon (May 1912).

Hats

Hats were much less common for boys than caps. For a time. the wide-brimmed sailor hat was very popular for boys, mostly younger boys. The family image here is a good example (figure 3). These wide-brimmed hats were not just worn with sailor suits, but many other boys' outfits like Fauntleroy suits. We see some boys wearing boaters, but mostly for older teens and adults. We even see on boy wearing a top hat for his First Communuion in the 1860s. That was before vonentions for First Communion became stabdardized. We do not see many other hat styles.

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Created: 9:51 PM 5/28/2011
Last updated: 1:57 PM 4/18/2024