Figure 1.--The senior students at the Lycée de Bône were photographed, just after World War, about 1946. As the school did not require a uniform, they are wearing their ordinary dress clothes. I am not sure they always wore suits, some may have dresses up for the class photograph.

The French colonized Algeria in 1830. While there was Algerian military resistance until the 1870s, the French presence lasted over 100 years until 196?. French citizens settled in Algeria, primarily in the cities, and introduced the French educational system. I presume this was primarily for French citizens. I am unsure what provision was made for Algerians or on what basis French speaking Algerians could attend the French schools.

The School

The Lycée de Bône was a public or state school. It would be roughly equivalent to an American senior high school. The boys at the school would have probably been about 15 to 17 and a few boys of 18 if they needed more time to complete the program. I do not have specific details on the school. There were differences from school to school.

The Lycée de Bône would have been organized similarly to a Lycée in metropolitan France with the same academic program as well as French teachers. Instruction would have been entirely in the French language. I'm not even sure if they would have offered Arab as a foreign language. I suspect that few concessions were made to Algerian culture or history at a French lycée during this period, despite the fact that it was located in France.

Figure 2.--Most of the senior students wear long pants suits. Several of the boys look quite elegantly attired.

Chronology

The photograph is undated, but HBC believes that it was taken about 1946. This was immediately after World War II (1939-45). The French economy, as was most of Europe, devestated by the War. Actual fighting in Algeria, however, was fairly limited so the economic dislocation was less than in Europe. The American occupation in 1942-43 may have even stimulated the economy, although the economic consequences of the War restricted French spending in Algeria. The larger economic situation impacted fashion and family spending for clothes.

Schoolwear

The senior boys at the Lycée de Bône about 1946 shows most of the older boys wearing long pants suits. A few boys have short pants or knicker suits. Most boys wear suit jackets and ties, but a few are not wearing their ties and there is a varieety of jackets. French state schools did not and still do not require uniforms, although young elementary-age boys commonly wore smocks. The clothes wore by the boys in this photograph or their ordinary clothes, although more may have come to school in suits than was usual for the class photograph. Note the complete absence of Algerian dress. This photograph could have just as well been taken in France itself.

Garments

French Algerian boys wore the same garments as worn in Metropolitan France. HBC is unable to identify any significant differences at this time.

Suits

Most of the boys at the Lycée de Bône are wearing suits, or at least sport jackets and slacks (trousers). Some of the boys are quite elegantly dressed. Most boys wear single breastedcjackets, but there are doubke breasted jackets as well. One French contributor believes this would have been less likely in metropolitan France at the time after the econimic dislocations of the war.

Figure 3.--One of the two boys wearing short pants is pictured here. Unlike the boy in figure 4, he is not wearing a proper suit, but rather an informal jacket. Note how he has rolled down his kneesocks. This style was often seen with French boy scouts in the 1950s.

Short pants

Short pants were commonly worn by most French pre-teen boys, probably less commonly by the Algerian boys, certain less so than than Algerian village boys. Gradually as boys got older fewer wore shorts. School photographs, however, show that even with boys of 16-17 years, a few still wore shrt pants. This was much less common with the Algerian boys.

I'm not sure how it compares to metropolitan France at the time. It was not unknown for boys of this age to wear shorts in France, although most would have worn long pants to school. Different explantions are possible.
Economic dislocation: The economic dislocation and resulting unemployment meant that many French families were having trouble affording the bare necesities. This was true in many other European countries, especially Germany. It was perhaps less trur in Algeria, but I doubt if conditions were normal, even in Algeria. Thus some families were unable to buy new clothes, especially an expensive suit for their teenage sons. Some boys who might have normally received a new long pants suit, may instead have worn their old short pants suit a year or two longer than they might have in normal conditions. It is not clear if this was the case with the two boys in this photograph.
Conservative parents: In some cases, boys with very conservative parents sometimes wore short pants longer than other boys. This could havebeen the case here. Some French and other European parents thought boys, even teenagers, should wear short pants.
Warm weather: Boys may have been more likely to wear short pants in warm weather. However, until well after the war, short pants were normal wear for boys even in the winter. At any rate, given the fact that one boy has a scarve and many are wearing sweaters--it does not appear to have been a warm day.

Knickers

Older French boys in the 1920s and 30s might wear knickers rather than short pants. Knickers were passing out of style by the end of World War II. The knickers that were worn in the 1940s, were quite long and baggy. Most older boys after the War wore long pants but they were still a few wearing knickers. As mentioned above, the economic situation was probably a factor which may have resulted in boys wearing knickers even though they were no longer stylish. Note how long the knickers are, nearly as long as long pants.

Figure 4.--Boys can be seen here wearing a knicker and a short pants suit. Note the one boy wearing a scarve and the other boys wearing sweaters, suggesting that it was a rather chilly day.

Socks

Kneesocks were worn by French boys. Kneesocks were, however, becoming more seasonal than in England where they were often worn year round. French boys were beginning to wear ankle socks or sandals without socks in the summer, but mostly younger boys than pictured here. This may have been even more prevalent in warm Algerian climate. Note that one of the boys in shorts has rolled down his kneesocks, while the boy in the short pants suit has whis white kneesocks pulled up. One notable French fashion trend was to roll ones kneesocks down to the ankle. The earliest I notice this is in post-War france, beginning about this time. It was a very popular style for French boy scouts in the 1950s.

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Created: November 25, 1999
Last updated: November 25, 1999