** Portugal boys clothes garments








Portuguese Boys' Clothes: Garments



Figure 1.--This post card was mailed in Portugal during 1914. We know that sailor suits were popular in Portugal, but we are not positive that the card was made in Portugal. The card style looks rather English to us. It is a commercial card and there is a mark in the lower right hand corner, but we are unable to interpret it. Click on the image to see the message on the back. I believe a uncle has sent it to a nephew to wish him well.

We do not yet have much information on the specific garments worn by Portuguese boys. We believe that it was similar to those worn by boys in the rest of southern Europe. Sailor suits seem to have been a popular style. Climate was a factor. We do not note Portuguese boys wearing heavy suits as common in northern Europe. Sailor suits seem to have been popular, often worn with bloomer knickers or knee pants. Smocks were worn as a school garment, but seem less common for everyday wear. We do not notice long stockings as commonly as in many other European countries. Because of the poverty in the early 20th century, many children went barefoot. The Lisbon town council in 1928 forbade going barefoot in the city. In the photo here we can see a free dispensation of canvas shoes, in order to encourage the use. However a lot of Lisbon inhabitants ignored the town council decree for many years, especially the women and the children. Out of the capital, especially in villages and in the country, the children (and sometimes also the women) went usually barefoot until the economy began to improve after World War II. some decades ago. An Italian reader tells us, "I visited the north of Portugal in September 1979. Except in the towns (Porto and Braga) all the children were barefoot." Since Portugal has joined the European Community, there has been tremendous economic growth. We suspect that clothing styles are now very similar to those in the rest of Europe. Hopefully our Portuguese readers will provide us some information so we can expand our coverage.

Headwear

We do not have much information on the headwear worn by Portuguese boys. We see many of the same styles worn in the rest of Europe. Styles are very similsr to those worn in Spsin. We do note some boys wearing berets. We are not sure how common this was or the chronological trends. As in Spain, the Portuguese term is boina. We also see Borla being used. It does not seem to be a child's garment as we see men, but not women wearing them. The ones we have noted are black. This seems to be a Basque fashion influence. We do not know if Portuguesr berets were thus worn regionally, more in the north near the Basque country. Some Portuguese military units wore berets as part of their uniforms.

Skirted Garments

We notice Portuguese boys boys in the 19th century and at the turn of the 20th century wearing dress and skirts. This was fairly common in he 19th century. There were social class conventions. Portugal is a small country and as a resullt, thus there were only a fraction of the number of ohotographs available from larger countries. And Portugal was and continus to be a relatively poor country. This further reduced the number of images. Many Portuguese people could not afford poetraits. This means that we do not have much in the way of a photographic record to work with. At the turn of the 20th century we see boys wearing tunics, a fashionable style in Europe and America. We also see Poruguee boys wearing smocks. Smocks were connonly worn worn as a school garment. They wee less commonly worn as a regular garmnent, but we see some examples.

Blouses and Shirts

We do not yet have much information on Portuguese shirts and blouses. Our Portuguese archive is still very limited andf can not yet assess the importance of blouses. We notice that long sleeve shirts seem very common. We are not yet sure how this compares with other European countries. One phenomenon that we do notice is how common that plaid shirts were, especially in fishing communities. We are not sure why this was, but is very noticeable in the photographic record. We notice boys wearing plaid shirts in many fishing villages. We do not see plaid shirts to any extent in non-fishing Portunguese communities or for that matter elsewhere in Europe. We even see plaid pants in some cases, but this was less common than the plaid shirts. This seens exclusively a boys' shirt style. We are not sure about the 19th century, but plaid was very prominent in the first half of the 20th century. We have no idea why this was.

Younger Boys Suits

Sailor suits seem to have been a popular style. Climate was a factor. We do not note Portuguese boys wearing heavy suits as common in northern Europe. Sailor suits seem to have been popular, often worn with bloomer knickers or knee pants.

Suits


Pants

We mostly see Portuguese boys wearing long pants, often patched long pants. This reflected the fct that Portugal was one of the poorest countries in Europe. We have very little informzrion on the 19th century. There is a relatively small photograpic record, also a reflection of the country's poor economy. We do have some imges from the 20th century. And unlike much of Europe, most boys at the turn-of-the 20th century are wearing long pants. There was a social-class factor involved here. We notice middle class-boys dressing like other European boys with knee pants and bloomer knickers. But the prosperous middle-class was a relatively small part of the population. After World War II in the post-War era, we see more nd more Portuhguese children dressing more like other European children. We see more boys wearing short pants as was common in Europe until the late-20th century. Portugal joined the European Union (1986). This had a huge impact in the economy and the way children are dressed.

Hosiery

We do not notice long stockings as commonly as in many other European countries.

Footwear

Because of the endemic poverty most Portuguese children went still wentg barefott well into the 2-th centutu. t was very common throughout Portugal, includinhg the major cities. And because of the country's benign climate, this was possible through much of the year. Lether hoes were the most ewxpensive clotyhing items. This became somewhast of an embarassement as it wa becoming invreasingly less common in Wesdtern Europe. The Lisbon town council in 1928 forbade going barefoot in the city. In the photo here we can see a free dispensation of canvas shoes, in order to encourage the use. However a lot of Lisbon inhabitants ignored the town council decree for many years, especially the women and the children. Out of the capital, especially in villages and in the country, the children (and sometimes also the women) went usually barefoot until the economy began to improve after World War II. some decades ago. An Italian reader tells us, "I visited the north of Portugal in September 1979. Except in the towns (Porto and Braga) all the children were barefoot."






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Created: 9:04 PM 3/31/2007
Last updated: 7:23 PM 3/31/2022