Figure 1.--The American children have just taken their First Communion and are being photographed with their priest outside their church in Natrona, Pennsylvania in 1962 or 63. |
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The predominately knicker pants styles for First Communion suits began to change in the 1940s. Long pants suits became the predominant style, but short pants suits were worn by some boys through the 1960s. Boys that did wear suits might wear a special white suit, but darkmsuits were also common. The trend toward casual fashions also affected First Communion attire. In the 1960s suits were still common, but by the end of the decade some boys were just wearing white shirts and ties with slacks. Girls continue, however, to wear quite elaborate white First Communion dresses.
The predominately knicker pants styles for First Communion suits began to change in the 1920s. We begin to see boys wearing sort pants as well. Only in the post-War era do long pants suits become very common. Knickers were no longer stylish after the War. We see many boys wearing short oants suits , aloth by the 60s many boys are wearing long pants suits as well. We also see mamy boys wearing more infirmal outfirs, but suits were very common through the 1960s. Ethnic and social class factors may have been involved here. Boys that did wear suits might wear a special white suit, but dark suits were also common. The trend toward casual fashions also affected First Communion attire. In the 1960s suits were still common, but by the end of the decade some boys were just wearing white shirts and ties with slacks. Boys wearing short pants less commonly wore knee socks in the
post-War era. We see a number of boys wearing saddle shoes for First Communion. Many girls continue, however, to wear the traditional long white dress for their First Communion dresses.
Boys from ethnic families were most likely to wear fancy First Communion suits. This was particularly true when their parents, especially the mother, weas a recent immigrant. In this regards, Italian mothers were especially fond of fancy First Communion suits.
It appears that white First Communion suits as well as short pants suits were more common in the more wealthy communities. This was in part because these families could afford a suit a boy could wear only a few times--perhaps only once. Less affluent families preferred dark suits that the boy could wear on other occassions. Short pants suits were also more common for boys from affluent families.
Boys in the 1940s and early 50s might commonly tale First Communion in short pants suits. By the 1960s, long pants suits were becoming more common. In the 1970s more casual styles such as white shirts and slacks became prevalent. HBC does not yet have enough information to draw firm conclusions about the color trend in First Communion suits. The white dresses worn by the firls remained fairly standard throughout the post-war era.
There were substantial changes in First Communion outfits after World War II. This varied chronologically and among different schools and churches. Some were more moral than others. Here a factor was the community. We note very formal First Communion events among well-to-do church communities. And in the post-War era, the Catholic immigrant communities that were the foundation of the various churches were entering the American mainstream and experiencing substantial economic affluence. Some schools/churches were very strict about how the children dressed. Others were less insistent tht they all be dressed exactly alike. The more strict schools/churches generally wanted the boys to wear white shoet pnts suits with white knee socks. The clothing worn by the boys at some schools/churches could be quite varied, but the girl's first communion dress was much more standard-white junior wedding dresses. But even here there many possible variations in the dresses. .
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