Figure 1.--Here we have a French class portrait without any identifying information. It looks like a junior class at a French secondary school. The boys look to be about 13 years old. It could be a private school, but private schools were not very common in France. There may have been a uniform requiremnt as so many boys are wearing short pants, but this was not as common as in Britain and there is some diversity as to how the boys are dressed.

Trends in the early-1950s were very similar to the 1940s. Major changes began to take place by the mid 1950s. The recovery from World War II and the prosperity of the 1950s meant that more money could be spent on clothes. By the early-50s, living standards had surpassed pre-War levels. France was not neatly as badly damaged as Germany, bur there was considerable damage in some areas, especially Normandy. Combined with rising family income we have smaller families. French boys in the 1950s had much more extensive wardrobes than before the War. For some reasom we no longer see boys wearing bereys, except for Scouting. Smocks were still common in the early-50s, but steadily declined as the decade progressed. By the later part of the decade were declining in popualarity, especially among older primary-age boys. This seems to have been up to the school, but boys seem less willing to wear them and parents less supportive. It seems to have been largely dependent on the individual schools. We see some schools where most of the boys wore them (figure 1) and other schools where we see very few smocks. We still see many boys wearing short pants, but steadily during the decade we begin to see more boys wearing long pants especially during the winter. Knee socks which were still common in the 1940s became less common in the 1950s especially by the end of the decade. Many younger boys, however, still wore smocks. Sandals were still common boys' wear, but were becoming increasingly seasonal. A few boys wear sneakers, but sandals were still more common.

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Created: 10:25 AM 11/29/2017
Last updated: 10:25 AM 11/29/2017