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We note numerous images of French boys wearing smocks to school in the 1920s and 30s. We note at some scgools almost all the boys wore smocks, commonly dark smocks. There are usually a few boys who do not wear them, suggesting that it may not have been a school rule, at least not a very strictly enforced rule. We notice other schools, especially by the 1940s where smocks were not very common. We do not have much information on what happened during the World War II German occupation (1940-44). It appears as if fewer boys during this period wore smocks to school, but our information is still very limited. Sailor suits were still popular in the 1920s, but were less less worn in the 1930s. We also notice some images where quite a number of boys wore berets and others where virtually none of the boys wore them. Other caps styles appear to have been more popular at amny schools. One very common pattern during this period is that most boys in primary school wore short pants.
The inter-war period was a time of considerable change in schoolwear. Fashion evolved from the formal pre-World War I styles to the more casual styles of the 1930s and 40s.
The boys in the image seen here taken in 1920s still dress quite similarly to the pre-World War I styles. One boy wears a sailor suit and another boy what looks like a Norfolk suit. Dark snocks predominate, including some side buttoning smocks, but a few boys wear light-colored smocks. Only the girls wear patterened smocks. One boy wears his smock with a wide white collar (figure 1). Kneepants were still worn in the eraly 20s, but short pants anf kneesocks dominated by the mid-20s.
Some images suggest that smock usage declined somewhat in the 1930s, but some show that it smocks continued to be very common at some schools. Our information is still too limited to make any firm judgements on overall patterns. The basic back buttoning smock continued to be the most common type for boys. Increasing numbers of boys came to school in shirts and sweters, although suits were also quite common. Most boys wore short pants and kneesocks, often even in the winter.
France during most of World War II was occupied by the Germans. We are not yet sure to what extent school clothing changed during this period. Available images suggest that smock usage declined, but we can not yet confirm this.
We also notice some images where quite a number of boys wore berets and others where virtually none of the boys wore them. Other caps styles appear to have been more popular at amny schools. Note the two brothers at the front with their matching broad-brimmed hats.
We note numerous images of French boys wearing smocks to school in the 1920s and 30s. We note at some scgools almost all the boys wore smocks, commonly dark smocks. There are usually a few boys who do not wear them, suggesting that it may not have been a school rule, at least not a very strictly enforced rule. We notice other schools, especially by the 1940s where smocks were not very common. We do not have much information on what happened during the World War II German occupation (1940-44). It appears as if fewer boys during this period wore smocks to school, but our information is still very limited.
Sailor suits were still popular in the 1920s, but were less less worn in the 1930s.
One very common pattern during this period is that most boys in primary school wore short pants.
We notice both long stockings and three-quarter scks in the 1920 image shown here.
We are not sure how French school clothing varied democraphically. We note that in the small French village located in the mountains of southern France that most boys wore smocks in the 1920s, but fewer boys in the 1930s. Some inages in French cities during the 1930s show most boys wearing smocks even in the 1930s. An image in the book bag page demonstrates this. Also note that the city boys shown on the book bag page are weraing berets. As we still have relatively few French images from this period, we are not yet sure, however, how common this was and if there were differences among French cities.
Hair styles were genrerally short, but varied. In the 1920 image shown here, a few boys still have the close cropped styles common in the 1910s, but most boys have cuts long engough to comb (figure 1).
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