Figure 1.---The Belgian children here are siblings Pierrot and Mimie Gallez in 1947. They were living in the Belian Congo. You can see their school in the background. Pierrot was a first grader and presumably about 6 years old. For some reason only Pierrot has a book satchel. The small sweater the boy is wearing is a gilet. Apparently it was a little cool in the morning. Probably they lived somewhere in the eastern highlands.

The Belgian children here are siblings Pierrot and Mimie Gallez in 1947. They were living in the Belian Congo. You can see their school in the background. Pierrot was a first grader and presumably about 6 years old. For some reason only Pierrot has a book satchel. The small sweater the boy is wearing is a gilet. Apparently it was a little cool in the morning. Probably they lived somewhere in the eastern highlands. A French reader tells us, "Pierrot and Mimie are nicknames nice nicknames used only within the families. Pierrot is a boy's name, diminutive for Pierre. Mimie is girl's name diminutive for Michéle. The full name of the little boy is Pierre Gallez. His older sister is Mich�le Gallez. Gallez is a typical French family name. These children are Belgians Walloon and they probably did not speak Dutch (Flemish). Belgium is divided into two antagonistic regions; Wallonia where French is spoken and Flanders in the north where Flemish is spoken. During 2,100 years of its history, the Belgium territory was often a French ptovince. Fashion comes mainly from France, with French magazines and catalogues of French department stores. In French and Belgian over-sea territories at this time, young boys worn short pants or could be dressed in rompers, even to go to school. As in France and Belgium. Barefoot children was seen with a bad eye, suggesting a neglectful mother. This boy is wearing a vichy (ginghan) romper suit. The cotton fabric is of of excelent quality, coming from a important textile manufacturing area of central France. Vichy was a spa towm and the war-time capital of occupied France. This photograph was taken only 2 yeats the War. The textile mill continued to function during the War asing as cotton could be found. Most of the product was exported to Germany because of the occupation regimw which allowed Germany to exploit France. The exchange rate was set at absurd levels. The cotton came from t he over-sea French colonies, but was eventually cut by the Allies. There was both a French anf much lrger Belgian Congo. The official and school languages were French. Educated people in bith coutrues today speak excellent French."

Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing Belgin pages:
[Return to the Main Belgian chtonological age page]
[Return to the Main Belgian romper age page]
[Return to the Main Belgian romper page]
[Belgian catalogs [Belgian choirs] [Belgian movies] [Belgian royals] [Belgian schools] [Belgian youth groups]

Created: 12:38 AM 9/22/2015
Last updated: 12:38 AM 9/22/2015