Figure 1.-- Here we see an English postcard-back English photograph. All we know about the photograph was it was taken in July 1930. We are not sure about the group. Some schools were still in session in early July, but most schools were single gender. So we are not sure it was a school group. It certainly was not a class group, but we get a good look at popular styles for primary-age children. They look to be about 6-10 years old.

The basic difference between the 1920s and 30s is that the trends we observe in the 1920s continued in the 1930s and were even more noticeable. The only boys headwear we notice of any importance is the peaked school cap. Hats were virtually absent. We notice fewer boys with headwear outside of school, but when we do see headwear it is the peaked school cap. A factor here is that boys did not have large wardrobes. Thus for many boys, their schoolwear (caps, blazer, and short pants) doubled as their dress up clothes for church and special occassions. Eton collars largely disappered in the 30s. We see some in the early-30s, but very few at the end of the decade. We see somewhat more informality in the 30s, but we still see boys wearing suit jackets to beaches, parks, and ourdoor play, something that even in Enbgland would be see as unusual today. V-neck jumpers become standard wear in the 1930s. They were popular because they were made to be worn with ties and thus popular for school wear. Short pants were nearly universal for boys in the 1930s and even younger teens. They were comminly wirn with knee socks. we no longer see long stovkings except as some conservative girls schools. Closed-toe sandals were very common in primary schools as well as popular for summer wear. We no longer see high-top shoes at school. Boys along with sandals wore oxford shoes. While we do not see sneakers worn at chools, we do see some worn during the summer.

Created: 5:28 AM 8/13/2011
Last updated: 7:58 AM 11/30/2016