School Uniform:  French School Smock Regulations


Figure 1.--This glims of a French classroom about 1950 shows boys wearing both front and back buttoning smocks. Some schools in the erly 1950s required smocks, but did not require any specific style or color. At other schools smocks were optional. Note the book bags hanging from the desks. 

France has one of Western Europe's most centralized educational system. Although I have few details, the French Government appears to have instituted school smocks in the 1870s. I don't know if French boys had already begun wearing smocks and the Government simply acceted an already existing trend or if the Government's decision introduced a new style. French boys in the late 19th Century do seeed to have worn smocks much more than American and British boys as well as other Europen boys. The smock seems to have been more of a Mediterrean style as Italian boys also wore smocks. The decision to require French boys to wear smocks was taken by the Third Republic, the Government replacing Napoleon III after the disatrous Franco-Prussian War. The Government required children in state elementary schools to wear them. The Government's decision seems to have been based on a philosophy of social eqality. Goverment leaders felt that as the smock covered a boys' clothes that would be fewer differences between wealthy and less affluent children. I'm not sure if the Government spelled out precise styles. (Hopefully a French visitor to this web site will enlighten us and provide fewer details.) While I have no information on the actual Government regulations, it is clear from available images that some schools were enforcing regulations requiring that all boys wear similar smocks. Smocks were in the 1870s were mandated by the Government. It's unclear to me if they provided any specific stylistic requirements. Some schools in the early 20th Century which required smocks appear to have required specific styles as images exist with the boys all similarly outfitted. At other school boys wore many differnt styles with different colors and patterns--although blue was the dominant color. Many schools eventually left it up to the parents as to whether their children wore smocks. As a result many different styles emerged. By the late 1950s, smocks were becoming much less common at French schools, few of which had rgulations requiring smocks.

French Schools

France has one of Western Europe's most centralized educational system. The central government regulates instruction in great detail. This includes not only the academic program, but many other aspects of school like. Unlike the United States and Britain, local government have realtively little in put in local schools. The Government regulations have in the pasr included school clothing, but this no longer the case today.

Government Regulations

Although I have few details, the French Government appears to have instituted school smocks in the 1870s. I don't know if French boys had already begun wearing smocks and the Government simply acceted an already existing trend or if the Government's decision introduced a new style. French boys in the late 19th Century do seeed to have worn smocks much more than American and British boys as well as other Europen boys. The smock seems to have been more of a Mediterrean style as Italian boys also wore smocks. The decision to require French boys to wear smocks was taken by the Third Republic, the Government replacing Napoleon III after the disatrous Franco-Prussian War. The Government required children in state elementary schools to wear them. The Government's decision seems to have been based on a philosophy of social eqality. Goverment leaders felt that as the smock covered a boys' clothes that would be fewer differences between wealthy and less affluent children. I'm not sure if the Government spelled out precise styles. (Hopefully a French visitor to this web site will enlighten us and provide fewer details.) While I have no information on the actual Government regulations, it is clear from available images that some schools were enforcing regulations requiring that all boys wear similar smocks. Smocks were in the 1870s were mandated by the Government. It's unclear to me if they provided any specific stylistic requirements. We are not sure when the Government dropped regulations requiring smocks.

School Regulations

Some schools in the early 20th Century which required smocks appear to have required specific styles as images exist with the boys all similarly outfitted. At other school boys wore many different styles with different colors and patterns--although blue was the dominant color. Many schools eventually left it up to the parents as to wether their children wore smocks. At soimw schools most of the children wore smocks. At others none or only a few wore smocks. A good example is an unidentified school in the 1920s. Only one of the boys even in a yonger class wore a smock. As the choice of the smock and the style was left up to the parents (meaning the mother), many different styles emerged. By the late 1950s, smocks were becoming much less common at French schools, few of which had regulations requiring smocks. Some photographs of French schools in the 1950s show most of the boys wearing smocks. This suggested to HBC that pergaps there was a school regulation requiring smocks. At least in the state schools, however, this does not appear to have been the case. A French reader tells us, "France is a free country and mothers in the 1950s dressed their children for school as they desired. Only the obviously inappropriate clothes are forbiden. A typical school does not allow children to wear certain garments. For instance , a little girl can't come to school with make-up or with nightclub-shoes or with the black tight women wear. It's the same thing concerning boys. They are not allowed to, for instance, wear t-shirts with a shocking image writing. The children required to have a 'normal' look and to be clean. Some private Catholic schools had uniforms requiring smocks, but not the state schools. Many mothers, however, following the accepted standard fashion of the day from the 1930s to the early 60s normaly would outfit their sons in smocks for school." We

Reader Comment

A French reader reports, "The photo above from the early 1950s shows a very typical French class. Boys commonly wore smocks with a variety of styles (back buttoning, front side buttoning or increasingly front middle buttoning). There were no school regulations requiring certain styles at most schools. Some boys may have not worn their smocks on any given day. Almost all of these boys probably wire short pants with their smocks, although that was also not required by the schools."

Another French reader writes, "Your question about what the French regulations concerning smocks is interesting. I am not sure, but I think that a very few French schools had regulations about clothing. In fact, smocks were a good garment to prevent the clothes from stains at that time, when the washing machines and modern fabrics didn't exist, and when pupils wrote with pen and ink as I did when I was a schoolboy. So smocks were very common, especially in poor and middle class. I think that smocks were less common withn upper-class children. I think that in some schools, for example orphanages, the school had to provide clothes to the children : that could explain that all the pupils had the same "uniform". At the end, I also think that perhaps, in some schools situated in low class quarters, smocks were provided, like pen, ink, papers, books, everything at that time. That could explain that all the pupils had the same "uniform". But we have to verify."






HBC-SU





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Created: March 10, 2002
Last updated: 6:50 AM 11/28/2008