Figure 1.--
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Figure 1.-- |
A HBC reader tells us that he has some personal memmories. Some are very funny. Like when he had to wear a smock in 1986 in a private school. His father also told him that he used to make money by building kites and selling them the days before Kathara Deftera. He have also some interview from famous Greeks that used to be members of EON.
I grew up in a city with a population of roughly 100,00 citizens. My
both parents worked as civil servants like most Greeks in the 1980s. Greece in the 80s was certainly a developed country. And this development was reflected in boys clothes too. When I look back at old photgraphs I notice that I did what all middle class boys did since the 60s. I was dressed with a kilt at 25th March, as a cowboy at
Apokries (Carnival) etc.
At school most of the days, either it we had a physical education class or not, I would wear my sport outfit "formes". I remember I had two pairs of them so my mother would wash the one while I was wearing the other. I also wore the same outfit when I attended extra curricular activities like music or language schools and also at play with my friends. For footwear I used cheap made in Greece sneakers and socks of any type: white ankle socks, sport socks, tube socks, colored socks.
It didnt matter since they weren't visible. At semi formal occasions like visiting an uncle or going out with my parents I would wear a pair of jeans or ??? (cotlé) trousers with a shirt and a sweater.
At these occasions I would wear a pair of leather shoes instead of my sneakers. I dont remember wearing any blazers expept when I was a little (I think I had one with patched elbows). I used to wear a atletic jacket with my formes or with my casual attire.
During summertime I was wearing shorts like the rest of my friends. My shorts were the sport type, very short or knee length Bermudas. shorts and Bermudas were often matched with a t-shirt of the same color. It was also very popular for boys to wear shorts and t-shirts of the colors of their favorite football (soccer) team. The most popular were red for Olympiakos, green for Panathinaikos, yellow for
AEK, but also blue for Heracles, black for PAOK and purplish red for AEL. Early the summer I would wear my sneakers with socks (often tube socks) but as the weather became warmer, I would wear a pair of
leather or sometimes plastic sandals without socks. For semi formal occasions I would wear a more casual type of shorts with a
short sleeve shirt.
Special occasions were weddings, baptisms, patron saint days and
birthdays. I would wear my best clothes in these occasions. My best clothes would often be a pair of dress trousers, with a shirt and sometimes a bowtie. (I remember clearly that my relatives thought I looked "cute" with the bowtie but I thought I looked stupid).
I went to a private school as a first grader. The school was run by a strict religious old maid. We were supposed to feast every Wendesday and things like that. They didnt require a school uniform since they were abolished 4-years earlier, but they asked us to wear one for the class portrait photograph. In fact they told us to tell our parents that we were obliged to wear one in order to look "like students" in the picture. Since most shops had stopped selling them, most boys and girls would wear the one their bigger brothers, sisters or cousins used years ago. I didnt have any bigger brothers or cousins that used smocks in school. My parents didnt like the idea of spending money for a piece of clothing that would be weared only for one day, and
they dressed me in a blue sweater instead. They knew that the sweater was an alternative since the 40s. They told me that if any teacher asked me why I didnt wear a smock, I should tell them that I had the right not to wear one since they were abolished four years ago by a government law. Now I have a picture of me wearing the blue sweater while the rest of the class is wearing smocks. I dont think I liked the idea of being diferrent back then but now I dont care. I even enjoy it.
I had to parade as a 5th and 6th grader for Oaki Day on October 28. This was in honor of the World War II resistance to the NAZI and Fascist occupation. I remember my school's uniform consisted of short blue short pants, black or blue shoes, white dress ankle socks, a white sweater and the school's badge. I remember that it felt weird having to wear shorts during a chilly October morning. But I soon as I met my friends we were having fun together wearing shorts on a cold day. As we were waiting to march, I noticed that boys from other schools were dressed in diferrents uniforms. I didnt think of it back then but now I realise that the parade clothes were actually a uniform. I never saw it as a uniform until now. Maybe because it was only a one-time deal.
The same school who demanded from parents to dress us with a smock for the school portrait picture, also demanded a special uniform for the annual end of school gymnastics demonstration. We were supposed to make a gymnastic representation of the life of farmers. So we had to dress up like farmers with shorts, checked shirt, white ankle socks, a straw hat and no shoes (no shoes because he had to stomp our
feet and the teachers didnt like the noise on the auditorium parket). My parents though it was stupid. Have you heard of any farmer wearing shorts? [HBC note: Only in Australia and New Zealand] Besides they had a hard time to find a straw hat that would fit me. I did some gymnastics demonstration at kindergarden too. I remember wearing knee length light blue shorts, a white shirt, white/blue ankle socks and sandals.
Like most of the boys I was dressed up as a cowboy at Apokries (Carnival). I remember I was dressed as a cowboy every year from the age of 4 to 11. Some of my early outfits were sewn by my mother and the accessoires (six shooter, gun belt, hat) were bought from shops. Later I would buy the whole uniform from a shop. I liked the cowboy costume. It looked better to me than the alternatives. I mean the knight looked kinda sissy with the tights, and my six shooter was
far better that Zorro's sword.
I don't remember wearing a foustanela (kilt) but to my surprise I saw an old photograph of me wearing one. My mother explained me that an aunt of hers had a little kilt and she gave it to her to dress me for a walk at Independence Day. I was about 3 years old at the time.
The last time I wore shorts was the summer of 1991. I was 12 and I noticed that I was changing rapidly. I didnt feel comfortable wearing shorts. I felt I wasnt a little boy anymore. The next summer I told my mother that I didnt want to wear shorts. She was kind of surprised because the summer was very warm, but she didnt insist. From then, for every summer, I was dressed in jeans, t-shirt and a pair of light cloth sneakers.
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