Figure 1.--This Belgian boy, probably with his sister, wears a conseravative black short pants suit with black kneesocks. He wears it with an open collar shirt, a rather casual style. The portrait is undated, but the oen collar suggests that the portrait may have been taken in the 1930s. The girls dress looks like the late 1920s or eraly 30s. |
Belgian boys tended to wear very conservative dark suits for First Communion in the early 20th century. Black suits were very common. They were normally worn with matching black long
stockings or black kneesocks. We notice, however, very few white suits. This began to change in the 1930s when we still see boys wearing conservative suits, but also quite a few boys wearing suits with patterns, sometimes quite loud patterns. After World War II these suits with bold patterns become less common for First Communion, perhaps because they were going out of style. The level of formality of a suit could be varied by the choice of neckwear or indeed wearing an open collar.
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