Figure 1.--This illustration appeared in a 1973 English text boof for French. The children in the class discussed whether boys or girls were pictured. HBC thought that they were boys until noting what looks to be a shirt the child at right is wearing. Some French boys in in the 1970s were beginning to wear longer shorts, but we have not noticed wide baggy shorts in the 1970s. The white collar also suggests a girl.

Our French text book had a lesson on French clothing. We used the book in 1972, although it is dated 1969. There was a few new vocabulary words of cloth materials and an explanation that newly invested materials often have the same name in both Enlish and French, like nylon. Most of the article was about adult clothing. I remember the book said that men and women dressed rather sumilarly in France and England, but did mention "le chic parisien". It stressed that not all French men went around wearing berets, but they were still common in central and southern France. There was only a brief paragraph on children's clothes. It read, "French children have always been dressed more like adults than has been the practice in England until recently. [HBC note: We are not sure that this is correct.] Little girls usually wear dark colors, often tartan designs with white collars. Boys have tended to be dressed according to the dictates of the weather, small boys wearing long trousers in winter and boys, quite old by English standards, still wearing very short shorts and ankle socks in summer. This, again, is more common towards the south where there are greater extremes of climate.

Text Book Lesson

Our French text book had a lesson on French clothing. This was of interest to several of us. It is curious how littkle we knew about France at the time considering how close France was. We used the book in 1972, although it is dated 1969. There was a few new vocabulary words of cloth materials and an explanation that newly invested materials often have the same name in both Enlish and French, like nylon. Most of the article was about adult clothing. I remember the book said that men and women dressed rather sumilarly in France and England, but did mention "le chic parisien". It stressed that not all French men went around wearing berets, but they were still common in central and southern France. There was only a brief paragraph on children's clothes. It read, "French children have always been dressed more like adults than has been the practice in England until recently. Little girls usually wear dark colors, often tartan designs with white collars. Boys have tended to be dressed according to the dictates of the weather, small boys wearing long trousers in winter and boys, quite old by English standards, still wearing very short shorts and ankle socks in summer. This, again, is more common towards the south where there are greater extremes of climate. [HBC note: We would say there are greater extrmes of climate in the north. The author here seems to be referring to the warmer weather in the south.]

HBC Assessment

We are not sure that this is correct. Many text books were written many years before the actual publishing date. In many instances the people writing them while experts on language were not experts on the toopics addressed.

French Assessment

A French reader also disputes the accuarcy of the book. He writes, "I don't agree with the description given in Bill's school book about French children's garments. Better sources are the photographs by Doisneau and Cartier Besson, familly portraits and snap shots, school class portraits, catalogues, and of course HBC's substantial French section. In the 1970s my son was dressed with a childish look and never in adult fashions. My daughter (born 1970) has always wore suitably childish, light-colored clothing as did her friends. There were no great regional differences, although the clothing worn in the moubtsains was somewhat different."

Bill's Response

The French reader's respnse is interesting. I seem to recall that our French teacher also disputing what was in the book saying the main difference was that school uniforms were not as common in France.

Text Book Illustration

Several of us were quite curious about how French boys dressed. I wonder if the HBC French reader could comment on the photograph seen here (figure 1). I remember being a point of dispute in our class discussions. It was from a different book that we used in conjunction with a tape-recorder and was new at the time (dated 1973). The teacher insisted that these were boys about to board the bus to school where we thought they were girls. The tape just said "children". He (it was with our normal teacher ) claimed long hair was allowed at some French schools. it certainly was not at our school. He also said that a girl would not carry such a heavy bag. I'm still not sure. What HBC says in the caption is something like we were saying, but the teacher claimed it was a coat and the clinching thing was the big satchell. I'm most interested in the hairstyles at that time. In England hair styles varied widely in the early 1970s depending on the school/parents rules.

French 1970s Fashions

HBC has begun to collect some information on French children's fashions during the 1970s, the period during which Bill was studyuing French. Unlike Britain, most French children did not wear school uniforms. Thus school portraits are a good relection of overall children's fashions. Information from clothing catalogs provides additional information on fashions during the 1970s.

Created: February 23, 2004
Last updated: February 23, 2004