Figure 1.--This looks to be a Frebch post card. Notice to boy's tam with a pom. The card was probably made about 1910.

We have noted French boys wearing tams, but have few details at this time. They look rather like a beret, but we are not positive the origin of the tam is French. It may be Scottish, perhaps inspired by French styles. We do not know when they first appeared in France or even what the French term is for tams. A HBC reader tells us that it is called a "béret écossais" or Scottish beret. This of course also suggest a Scottish origin. Tams were popular for younger boys at the turn of the 20th century. Some boys wore them with smocks instead of berets. Other boys wore tams with juvenile suits. The French smocks always had a pom on them. They were worn by younger boys, bit we have few details on this. We believe that initially they were a boys' style, but again our information is very limited. They appaer to have been a knitted wool garmet.