Figure 1.--There were major differences between fashionable Italian city children and rural village children during the 1930s. Here we see five boys in 1930. The photo was taken in Ulussai, a Sardinian Village. The three older boys wear long pants ("calzoni lunghi" or "pantaloni lunghi"), the sitting boy wears short pants ("calzoni corti") and the younger one wears knee pants ("calzoni corti al ginocchio"). Ulussai was a shepherds village, and these boys were from a poor family.

Italian boys commonly wore short pants during the 1930s. Older boys might wear knickers. Many children wore smocks to school making it somewhat difficult to tell what kind of pans they were wearing other than short or long pants. The fascist influence over schools extended of course to Italy during the 1930s. We notice a 1938 photo of an Italian class of primary school boys at Monferrato. Some of the boys wear the customary smocks over their shorts while others wear their Balilla uniforms. Notice how short the short pants of the boys are and how long the long stockings must be to cover their legs. A few of the boys wear knee socks (notice how they tend to fall down) but most of the boys wear full-length stockings, obviously with garters since the stockings stay up neatly. Of course there were major differences between fashionable city children and rural village children. Here we see five Italian boys in 1930. The photo was taken in Ulussai, a Sardinian Village. The three older boys wear long pants ("calzoni lunghi" or "pantaloni lunghi"), the sitting boy wears short pants ("calzoni corti") and the younger one wears knee pants ("calzoni corti al ginocchio"). Ulussai was a shepherds village, and these boys were from a poor family.