Figure 1.--This photo shows four children of French settlers in Algeria. The photo was taken near the rural village of Bouzeguene in 1960. The children wear French-styled clothing. Note the girl's pink pinafore. While it was not very common in France itself, children in Amgeria did commonly go barefoot including some of the French children. This was just before Algerian independence and the French left Algeria.

We see two types of garments worn by boys in French Algeria. French and Algerian boys dressed differently and wore different garments. French Algerian boys wore the same garments as worn in Metropolitan France. We see boys wearing all the same garments worn in France. HBC is unable to identify any major differences. There were some minor differences. The French in Algeria were not as prosperous as those in Metropolitan France. This was reflected in the clothing of the French-Algerian children who ofen do not seem to be as smartly dressed as the children in France itself. Another difference is that we see some of the French children in Algeria going barefoot. That was rarely seen in France itself, except around beach areas. Algerian boys in cities might wear French clothes, but traditional garments were standard in rural areas.

French Garments

French-Algerian elementary school boys commonly wore smocks as was the case in France itself. I have no details on this or fluctuations over time. This appears to have been a garment that also appealed to the Algerians as smocks were commnly worn at many Algerian schools after idependence. The Algerian boys and girls often wore their smocks with long pants.

Short pants

Short pants were commonly worn by most French pre-teen boys, probably less commonly by the algerian boys, certain less so than the villafe boys. Gradually as boys got older fewer wore shorts. School photographs, however, show that even with boys of 16 years, a few still wore shrt pants. This was much less common with the Algerian boys. I'm not sure if older French Algerian boys were more or less likely to wear shorts. A French reader tells us that children from poor family were more likely to wear long rather than short pants. Algerian boys from rural region in particular did not commonly wear shorts pant .

Knickers

OlderFrench boys in the 1020s and 30s might wear knickers rather than short pants. Knickers were passing out of style by the end of World War II. The knickers that were worn in the 1940s, were quite long and baggy. Most olde boys after the War wore long pants but they were still a few wearing knickers.

Hosiery

Kneesocks were worn by French boys. Kennsocks were, however, much more sasonal than in England where they were often worn year round. Often French boys wore ankle socks or sandals without socks in the summer. This may have been even more prevalent in Algeria. One notable Ftrench fashion trend was to roll ones kneesocks down to the ankle. The earliest I notice this is in post-War france, beginning about 1846.

Algerian Garments

Algerian boys in cities might wear French clothes, but traditional garments were standard in rural areas.

Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing national pages:
[Return to the Main countries page]
[Algeria] [Australia] [Belgium] [England] [France] [Germany] [Ireland] [Italy] [Japan] [Korea] [Mexico] [Scotland] [United States]

Created: 6:46 PM 9/27/2009
Last updated: 6:46 PM 9/27/2009