Figure 1.-- French post cards show boys wearing a range of fancy outfits. We are insure just how common these outfits were. We see few actual snapshots of boys actually wearing these fancy blouses and usually short pants. We do see many images of boys wearing short pants, but not with the dressy outfits shown in the post cards.

French boys commonly wore kneepants during the early 20th century. Some boys wore bloomer knickers, but straight leg kneepants were more common. Many boys wore smocks so in many school portaits it is difficult to make out details of the pants that they are wearing. Short pants became more common after World War I (1914-18). French post cards show boys wearing a range of fancy outfits. We are insure just how common these outfits were. We see few actual snapshots of boys actually wearing these fancy blouses and usually short pants. We do see many images of boys wearing short pants, but not with the dressy outfits shown in the post cards. We notice romper suits and button-on outfits in the 1920s. Shorter cut short pants began to appear in the 1930s. Sailor suits could be bought with either short or long pants. Older boys might wear knickers before switching to long pants. Some suits were made with both shorts and knickers. We first see long pants being commonly worn durung the colder months in the 1940s. This becomes much more common in the 1950s. The short-cut shorts worn in France became known as continental-styled shorts in Britain during the 1950s. Some younger boys were allowed to wear knickers during the winter. Long pants became more common in the second half of the century. Jeans appeared in the 1950s. French boys still commonly wore short pants in the primary years during the 1960s and the 70s, increasingly during the summer. By the 1980s, shorts cut to knee level became fashionable. Boys by the 1970s were adopting the pan-European fashions developing throughout Europe.

The 1900s

The 1910s

The 1920s

A French reader tells us, "Many children were dressed like the boys in the portraits here with the same garments (figure 1). These children would be from affluent families. Styles like short pants and rompers often worn witjh Peter Pan collars and puffed short sleeves were characteristic of the Petit garçon modèle and were popular dufring the 1920s, 30s, and 50s.

The 1930s

French boys in the 1930s commonly wore short pants. Some school portraits commonly show all the boys in a class wearing shorts. Shorts were commonly worn even in cold weather. Some boys in formal portaits might still have kneepants suits, but the great majority of boys wore short pants. The length of the shorts were still quite long in the early 30s, as we can see in the 1931 class photograph here (figure 1). Boys in the 30s tended to wear short pants all year round. We begin to see shorter cut shorts by the late 30s. Suits depending on the age commonly came with short pants. Sailor suits were commonly made with boy short or long pants. We note postrcards showing boys wearing fancy outfits, but we see few actual photograpohs of boys wearing them. School photographs like the one here are almost suyrely a better indivator as to how most French boys actually dressed. Romper suits were popular for younger boys. Some older teenagers might wear knickers before switching to long pants. Boys commonly wore short pants wsith kneesocks, especially in cold weather. Long stockings were also worn, but not very commonly.

The 1940s

The 1950s

French boys still commonly wore short pants in the 50s, especially during the summer. Kneesocks were less common. More boys were wearing long pants which became increasingly common during the winter.

The 1960s

The pants worn by French boys was higly variasble in the 1960s. Few French schools had uniforms. France like most western European countries did not have school uniforms, except in the private Catholic schools and even here by the end of the decsade, schools were dropping mandatory uniforms. Thus school portraits were a very good indication of populasr styles. We see boys in the earky 1960s stil commonly wearing short pants. The pattern, however, was highly varied from school to school. Shorts especially as the decasde progressed became highly seasonal. A secondary school in Paris school during the 1960s shows a variety of both short and long trousers. An example is the clothes worn at one state school. Another class at a state school (1961-62) dresses exclusively in very trim, short shorts with ankle socks. Notice that one boy wears suspender shorts. Again the shirts are informal. We still see some boys wearing suits to school, but this vecame rare by the end of the deace. European boys, if they wore suits, tended to stick to short pants, at least until their later years (see Fig 2). Interestingly, these probably French boys wear white ankle socks even with their dressy clothes. One of the boys seems to be wearing a beret. Notice how brief the shorts are, a mark of the new 1960s style. We alo see smocks by the end of the decade being worn much less commonly. Note how short boys’ short short pants had become in France. There appear to be no short pants suits, but mostly shorts being worn as informl ncreasingly summer garments witg open-necked shirts. Some of the ankle socks seem rather colorful as well. A major development at the end of the decade was the Paris School Riots in 1968. This had a major impact on French education as well as boys' fashions.

The 1970s

The 1980s

The 1990s