English Boys' Clothes: Mike during the 1930s-40s


Figure 1.--

An English reader recalls some information about the clothes he wore as a boy. This ccount is especially interesting because his memories include early childhood as well as during part of the 1930s--a period for which HBC has few personal experience.

Todlers

During the 30s it wasn’t unusual for boys to wear dresses until they started to walk. I recall what I think were knitted woollen romper suits, bib and brace style, when I was very young (late 30s, early 40s). These would be supplemented with leather leggings when you went out in cold weather. These leggings covered the legs from the tops of the shoes to somewhere up the thigh, and were fastened with a row of tiny spherical buttons from top to bottom. They were fastened using a buttonhook, quite a job it was. The whole lot was topped off with some kind of overcoat, and the inevitable balaclava "helmet" (ski mask), often knitted in some design of Fair Isle pattern. Summer wear was a cotton bib and brace, what I believe used to be called a "pilch", with elasticated legs at the top of the thigh. These garments were quite bulky, and were useful if the boy still wore nappies (diappers).

Nursery Scool

I went to school, initially nursery school, when I was about 4 years old. My parents had a shop, a newsagents shop, mainly looked after by my mother, as my father was, by this time, involved in essential war work. Not being fit enough for active service, he was employed in a local steelworks. I cannot remember much of this brief period, the clothing was probably much as described above.

Primary School

I graduated to ‘proper’ short trousers when I started primary school, at about age 5. World War II (1939-45) was well under way at that time, and rationing was in force, for clothing as much as for anything else. Long trousers were not worn by small boys, possibly by law, and I have recently seen the coupons that were needed for boys’ clothing. For some reason, corduroy cost fewer coupons than other cloth, hence it’s popularity. Most of the children attending my primary school were from poor backgrounds, most of the clothing had seen much better days. Apart from corduroy, tweeds in all sorts of colours and mixtures, and flannel were much in evidence. Boys wore jerseys, knitted pullover-style garments with roll collars. Gym slips were popular for girls (these were almost like dungarees with a pleated skirt rather than trouser legs). Again for the boys, battledress-style tops were popular, presumably emulating army uniforms. I recall corduroy shorts occasionally being available off ration. My father would grab them for me when he could. They came in odd and often garish colours. I recall some in bright yellow that I refused to wear until they had been dyed navy blue!

Grammar School

Grammar school in the late 1940s kept me in shorts, the uniform rule for first and second year boys (11-12 years old). The school blazer was a brown colour; socks were also brown with gold bands around the turnover. Although grey flannel shorts were standard wear (terylene and worsted were not yet common, clothing was still rationed, and fashion for schoolboys (and girls, presumably) had not yet reared it’s head), they did not look great against this particular shade of brown. Ginger-coloured cords became common, the colour was about right. Eventually, the blazer colour changed to black, with grey stockings with red and black banding, and these looked great against the smoother grey worsted shorts and trousers that eventually became available. Corduroy was by no means dead, yet, grey shorts remained popular for the younger boys, and older boys (or their parents) often favoured corduroy trousers. They were hard-wearing, and felt good.

I went into long trousers in my third year at school, as did most boys, but a few of the die-hards wore them for a further year or two. I do recall one boy who wore shorts until he was 15 or 16. He was the exception, but I do not recall him being a figure of fun. Many boys were scouts, and shorts were still part of that uniform. Khaki drill shorts were popular with older boys during hot summer weather, and corduroy shorts had a brief popularity again sometime during the 50s when continental exchanges between schools became common, and boys took to the continental cut look.

My Children

My own children, who were born during the 1960s and grew up through the 60s and 70s wore shorts only in their pre-teen years. They were often dressed from that wonderful shop, Colts of Hampstead.





Christopher Wagner






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Created: February 3, 2002
Last updated: February 3, 2002