French Boys Clothes: Jacques (1940s-50s)


Figure 1.--This is me in 1949 in my wool knit bathing suit mother mde for me. I hated it..

Here is my personal account of the clothing that I wore as a boy. I was born in 1944 at the end of World war II. I remember quite destinctly some of the garments I wore as a boy. My experiences thus extend from the late 1940s to the 50s. One of the worst garments I wore was wool knit bathing trunks. Then there was the seasonal ritual of changing long trousers for short pants. I also wore rompers through age 5 years. My aunt bought mu brother and I especially nice suits. His had long pants, byt mine had short pants. I finally got a long pants suit for my First Communion, but I still mostly wore short pants.

Voici mon expérience personnelle en matière vestimentaire pendant mon enfance. Je suis né en 1944 à la fin de la 2e guerre mondiale, en France. Mon expérience s’étend donc de la fin des années 40 aux années 50.

Nightmare of Knit Wool Bathing Trunks/Le cauchemar des calleçons de bain tricotés en laine

I was photographed in 1949 in my knit wool bathing suit (figure 1). I was 5 years old. My mother, like many women of her generation, had learned how to knit, embroider, cut, and sew. As a result she made much of the clothing I wore as a boy rather than purchase it readmade in the store. At the time we lived at the seaside. Mother knitted "very elegant" bathing costumes for my elder brother and me. These costumes included a small jacket to protect us from the hot sun as well as bathing trunks. The outfits were perfect for playing in the sand on the beach. The outfit was knitted in wool which had the unfortunate characteristic of absorbing a great quantity of water. When we actually went swimming, the pants would quickly absorbed water and gained weight. It had to be retained with both hands at the belt so it did not slip off. In spite of this under the weight of water, the bottom of the pants stretched and started to hang down to our knees. In short, these woolen bathing trunks caused us nightmares. As all liitle boys know, mothers sometimes have strange ideas. One of these definitely was to knit wool bathing suits. Looking back I know why they did it--they looked so nice when we put them on. But they did not have to go swimming in them.

La photo est de 1949, j’avais 5 ans (figure 1). Ma mère, comme beaucoup de femme de sa génération, avait appris à tricoter, broder, tailler et coudre un vêtement. A l’époque nous vivions au bord de la mer. Pour mon frère aîné et moi, elle avait tricoté des petits costumes de plage « très élégants ». Ces costumes comprenaient une petite veste pour protéger des ardeurs du soleil et un caleçon de bain. C’était parfait pour jouer sur le sable de la plage. Mais le tout était en laine et la laine a la particularité d’absorber une grande quantité d’eau. A l’heure du bain, le caleçon ayant absorbé beaucoup d’eau, il pesait un poids considérable. Il fallait le retenir avec les 2 mains, au niveau de la ceinture, pour qu’il ne glisse pas. Malgré ça, sous le poids de l’eau, le fond du caleçon s’étirait et se mettait à pendre à la hauteur des genoux. Ces caleçons de bain en laine nous donnaient des cauchemars à mon frère et moi. Les mères ont, parfois, l’étrange idée de tricoter des caleçons de bain en laine.

The Seasonal Ritual of Exchanging Long Trousers for Short Pants/Le Rite de l'Exchange du Pantalon par un Culotte Courte

At the beginning of spring every year, in the morning before I woke up, my mother came into my room to replace the long trousers I wore during the winter with short pants. Because in northern France it can get cool in the morning during April, She took care in selecting thick and warm woolen short pants. She was hoping that the thickness of material could replace the shorter length of the half sized garment which left my legs unprotected. When the weather warmed up a bit, the thick woolen short pants was replaced by flannelette short pants. When summer finally arrived, I began wearing shorts in thin cotton or synthetic fiber. With the arrival of fall, the process reversed itself. First, the thin cotton shorts were replaced by the flannelette short pants. Then as the season becoming cooler, the flannelette shorts were replaced by the thick woolen ones and worn with a sweater. Mother didn't return my long trousers until the arrival of the first frosts. I must specify, that before I was 5 years old, winter long pants (often in wool knitted) were replaced in spring, not by by a short pants, but by rompers. As I reached age 9 or 10 years, the exchange of my trousers for short pants upset me a bit, like an attack to my modesty, but this feeling disappeared after 4 or 5 days and I no longer thought about it . This ritual repeated itself until age of about 13 years, after the winter long pants were no longer replaced only by summer shorts. I must point out that my childhood had been privileged. Up until this time a lot of my small friends didn't know the ritual of the exchange of the trousers by short pants. They were condemned to wear short pants all year round, even during the coldest winter days.

A photograph of me was taken in April 1952, I am 8 years old (figure 2). I wore casual clothes, those that one wore for school or play. Knowing that she was going to take a photo that day, mother dressed me of a tie because she liked me to look smart and be proud of me, she wanted me to look beautiful for the photo. The tie is a false knot maintained by a rubber band. With my short pants, I don't remember wearing socks going up to my knees, it was only the "ankle socks" that arrived to the ankle or knee socks that reached the middle of the calf. The high kneesocks were reserved for the winter, under the trousers. But it is true that in France, in the spring or in fall, the climate is mild. The mothers have, sometimes, of these uses that antagonize their small boy.

Au début du printemps de chaque année, le matin avant mon réveil, ma mère pénétrait dans ma chambre pour me confisquer mon pantalon et l’échanger par une culotte courte. Comme en France au mois d’avril les matinée sont encore fraîche, elle prenait soin de choisir une culotte en lainage épais et chaud. Comme si l’épaisseur de l’étoffe pouvait remplacer la longueur du vêtement trop court pour protéger, de la fraîcheur, des jambes à moitié non protégées . Lorsque les conditions climatiques s’amélioraient la culotte courte en épais lainage était remplacée par une culotte courte en flanelle. A l’entrée de l’été, la culotte courte en flanelle était remplacée par un short de toile fine en coton ou fibre synthétique. A l’entrée de l’automne, le processus s’inversait : d’abord, le short de toile était remplacé par la culotte courte en flanelle, puis la saison devenant plus fraîche la culotte courte de flanelle était remplacée par celle en épais lainage. Je ne retrouvais mes pantalons qu’à l’arrivée des premières gelées. Je doit préciser, qu’avant mes 5 ans, les pantalons (souvent en laine tricotée) étaient remplacés, non par une culotte courte, mais par une barboteuse. Vers 9 ou 10 ans l’échange du pantalon par une culotte courte me faisait éprouver une sorte de gêne, comme une atteinte à ma pudeur, mais ce sentiment disparaissait après 4 ou 5 jours. Ce rite s’est répété jusqu’à l’âge d’environ 13 ans, après les pantalon n’ont été remplacés que par les short d’été. Je dois considéré que mon enfance a été privilégié car à cette époque beaucoup de mes petits camarades n’ont pas connu le rite de l’échange du pantalon par une culotte courte. Ils étaient condamnés à porter des culottes courtes toute l’année, même au plus fort de l’hiver.

La photo date d’avril 1952, j’ai 8 ans (figure 2). Je porte des vêtements informels, ceux que l’on portait pour aller à l’école ou pour jouer. Sachant qu’elle allait me prendre en photo ce jour là, ma mère m’a affublé d’une cravate, parce qu’elle m’aimait et était fière de moi, elle voulait que je sois beau sur la photo. La cravate est un faux noeud maintenu par un élastique. Avec mes culottes courtes, je ne me souviens pas d’avoir porté des chaussettes montant jusqu’au genoux, c’était seulement des « socquettes » qui arrivaient à la cheville ou des mi-bas qui arrivaient au milieu du mollet. Les hautes chaussettes étaient réservées pour l’hiver, sous le pantalon, mais il est vrai, qu’en France, au printemps ou en automne, le climat est doux. Les mères ont, parfois, de ces usages qui contrarient leur petit garçon.

The Beautiful Costumes/Les Beaux Costumes

An aunt in 1953, the year of the solemn communion of my eldest brother, offered to my brother and me a new suit to mark this important event. Our aunt order our suits from a respectef tailor. My brother's suit included long trousers, whereas mine as I was younger was made with short trousers. It frustrated me. But I was only 9 or 10 years old and at the time, boys of that age normally wore short pants. To this time the solemn communion was the moment for a boy to exchange his short pants, a sign of the childhood, for long trousers indicating a new stage of his growth and the age of the puberty. For a boy the age of the puberty is about 12 years that is to say the age of the solemn communion. The exchange of the short pants for trousers was, then, a sort of ritual of passage, that is to say nearly adult. He became, in the imaginary of his mother, nearly a man. The primitive societies have, also, of these rituals of passagee. These rituals are often harder.

En 1953, l’année de la communion solennelle de mon frère aîné, une tante a offert à mon frère et à moi un costume de cérémonie marquant cette importante circonstance. Ces costumes coûteux ont été réalisés « sur mesure » par un tailleur de bonne renommée. Le costume de mon frère comportait un pantalon, alors que le mien ne comportait qu’une culotte courte. Cela m’a frustré. Mais je n’avais que 9 ou 10 ans et à l’époque, à cet âge, on devait porter des culottes courtes. A cette époque la communion solennelle était le moment d’échanger ses culottes courtes, signe de l’enfance, contre des pantalons indiquant une nouvelle étape de sa croissance pour l’enfant, l’âge de la puberté. Pour un garçon l’âge de la puberté est vers 12 ans c’est à dire l’âge de la communion solennelle. L’échange de la culotte courte pour un pantalon était, alors, une sorte de rite de passage, c’est à dire presque adulte. Il devenait, dans l’imaginaire de sa mère, presque un homme. Les sociétés primitives ont, aussi, de ces rites de passage. Ces rites sont souvent plus dures.

My Solemn Communion/Ma Communion Solennelle

In 1956, for my solemn communion, I inherited the suit of my elder brother. I had, finally, a costume with long trousers. But I didn't have the opportunity to wear this suit very often. At the time of my communion, the Roman Catholic church had decided that the communicants should be dressed with alb, in order that the civil-clothing made no difference between the poor of the rich children and to save for the poorest this expenses judged unnecessary. I believe that my brother and I didn't werar our beautiful ceremonial suits more than 5 or 6 times. After a ceremony, to save our beautiful suits, our mother insisted that we change our clothes. We then put on our casual clothes. I believe that our beautiful costumes ended up being eaten by moths!

En 1956, pour ma communion solennelle, j’ai hérité du costume de mon frère aîné. J’avais, enfin, un costume avec pantalon. Mais je n’ai pas beaucoup eu l’occasion de m’exhiber avec ce costume. Lors de ma communion, l’Eglise catholique romaine avait décidé que les communions se feraient en aubes, afin de dissimuler le costume civil qui différencie le pauvre du riche et d’épargner ainsi, au plus pauvre, des dépenses jugées inutiles. Je crois que mon frère et moi n’avons pas porté plus de 5 ou 6 fois nos beaux costumes de cérémonie. Après une cérémonie, pour épargner nos beaux costumes, notre mère nous obligeait à changer de vêtements. Nous reprenions, alors, nos vêtements informels. Je crois que ce sont les mites qui ont finient d’user nos beaux costumes.

Reader Comments

A French reader tells us, "A very interesting account, typical of the french boy 1940-50 I have read it only in French. This man has the same age as me. This wool bathing suit style shown in figure 1 was realy the style then, the little jacket with a very short pants for summer play. The puffed sleeves were in fashion for younger boys at the time. This was trur for all classes of our society, all the children wore the same style. The mothers took these models from the fashion and sewing magazines. The schools taught sewing and clothes making to the girls. The stores also sold these styles. Many boys wore short pants throughout, perhaps morecommonly in affluent families. Like me, Jacques wore a long pants suit for his Communion and just the ceremony we were both wearing his short pants again. I was never really bothered myself about wearing short pants suits, I supose because the other boys I knew were dressed in this style. I remember many adults smiled and complimentsed me on how nice I loked which made me feel good about my self."

Another French reader writes, "This account is well written. Tthis little boy has exactly the typical french look. One commonly found this style in Paris, in the south of the France, and also at the seaside at the time. The garment shown was probably nor for swiming, but a fashionablr day outfit."

Another French comment, "A very interesting account describing boys' clothing in my coiuntry. The author describes how he only ankle socking. This is how I remember it as well. We only wore kneesock during the winter. I also remember that rolled socks were considered very smart."







Christopher Wagner





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Created: December 8, 2002
Last updated: January 16, 2002