Figure 1.--The children at this Portuguese private school all wear royal blue smocks. There are different styles for the boys and girls. This boy wears long pants with his smock during the winter.�

Portuguese children at private schools, both boys and girls, in 2000 still commonly wear school smocks. HBC believes that children in public school formerly also wore smocks, but in 2000 they are only commonly worn at private schools. Boys commonly wear them to about 10 years of age, but some schools use them for boys up to about 12 years. Colors vary with each school having destinctive colors.

Chronology

We have very little information is avaialble at this time on the chronology and historical trends with Portuguese school smocks. We have no information on the 19th century. More information is available on the 20th century. We see boys in the early 20th century wearing dark smocks. At some schools they were so common that they seemed to have been required. After World War II we begin to see light-colored smocks. They still seem common, but they may have not been required, at least at state schools. Quite a number of private schools did require them.

School Types

Portuguese children at private schools, both boys and girls, in 2000 still commonly wear school smocks. HBC believes that children in public school formerly also wore smocks, but in 2000 they are only commonly worn at private schools.

Ages

Boys at private schools still commonly wear smocks to about 10 years of age, but some schools use them for boys up to about 12 years. An HBC contributor reports, "My son's school is for children thru age 10 and they all wear smocks. I have seen some older boys (maybe as old as 12) with smocks on the Metro in Lisbon. Boys this age often wear short pants with their smocks, except in the coldest months."

Colors

Colors currently vary with each school having destinctive colors. I'm not sure what colors were formerly worn when they were common at public schools. Quite a wide variety of colors are worn at the different schools. Many private schools still require smocks and as a result quite a wide range of different colors are worn as school smocks. One HBC contributor reports, "Each school has it's own uniform. At my son's school, both boys and girls wear royal blue smocks."

Figure 2.--The photograph shows the button arrangement on the boys' smocks at this school are set off to one side and are at an angle. Note the collar button.�

Logos

Many of the private schools which have smock uniforms have school logos, usually where the ight breast pocket would be on a shirt. Older private scgool children often wear shirts with these logos.

Styles

HBC has no historical information on Portuguese smock styles.

The smocks currently worn at private schools vary from school to school. One HBC contributor reports, "My son's smock has buttons on the side vertically on a line about at the chest, all the way up onto the base of the neck. At his school at least, girls' button in back and have collar flaps, rather than the button straight up the neck sort that boys have." The boys while playing will often unbutton the the button on therir collar and some of the top buttons. Apparently that is more comfortable for them. Presunably in class they button their smocks up to the collar.

Other schools reportedly have back buttoning smocks for boys as well as girls. These are, however, generally schools for younger boys.

The smocks worn at one school appear to haver a single breast pocket where the school logo is printed.

Collars and Bows

Children in Portugal wear their school smocks with a wide variety of collar styles. Each school adopts a specific collar style. The children in 2000 were not wearing bows with their smocks. I'm not sure if they did so earlier.

Lengths

Boys apear to wear their school smocks at different lengths. Some are well above the knee, while some are worn longer at the knee or even below the knee--rather like a lab coat.

Popularity

HBC has little information on the popularity of school smocks in Portugal. One HBC contributor reports that, "My son, age 6, loves his school and loves his smock because it shows he is part of the club." HBC is unsure how popular they are with older boys at the school.

Figure 3.--The different length smocks can be seen here. The logo and pocket on the smocks can more clearly be seen.. Notice how some of the boys have unbuttoned their collar buttons.�