Figure 1.--This advertisement appeared in a March 1936 La Samaritaine catalog. Pictured are two smocks 40-80 cm high and a girls kimono-style dress. The smock on the left (AT 392) is for a girl while the one in the middle (AT 384) could be worn by a girl or boy and in gact is a classic boys' style. There was a boys' romper (barboteuse) available (AT 393), styled like the smock on the left, but it was not illustrated. |
This advertisement appeared in a March 1936 La Samaritaine catalog. Pictured are two smocks 40-75 cm high and a girls kimono-style dress. The smock on the left is for a girl wjile the one in the middle could perhaps be worn by a girl or boy. Both are back back-buttoning school smocks. They were in sizes 0.40-0.80 meters. The smock for the younger girl appars to have had a matching romper suit for a boy.
La Samaritaine is either the earliest or at least one of the earliest department stores ever built. Situated in the historic center of Paris, between the Louvre and Châtelet and opposite the Ile de la Cité, the famous department store got its name from an old water pump near the Pont Neuf. The water pumps were very important to people in the 19th century. This pump for example fed the Louvre. It was something of a landmark because it was decorated with the woman of Sameria giving a drink of water to Jesus. The store now occupies four buildings. The café on the roof of store number two offers a 360 degree view of Paris. La Samaritaine has always been something of a poor relation in the department store stakes, but since it has been acquired by the LVMH group (owners of Le Bon Marché) this is probably due to change. You can find just about anything in the chaotic four-store complex, from fashion to household goods, a large linen department and a big toy department. Building two has a faded charm with wonderful art nouveau details, a superb Seine location and a great view from the rooftop terrace. The view is also excellent from the fifth-floor restaurant Le Toupary.
Two school smocks (tablier) are shown in this 1936 advertisment. A matching romper (barboteuse) is mentioned, but not shown. Both are back back-buttoning school smocks. They were in sizes 0.40-0.80 meters. The smock for the younger girl appars to have had a matching romper suit for a boy.
The front buttons here look ornamental. The ad copy reads, "Tablier zéphyr, carreaux roses ou bleus g teint (grand teint). 0m40 Fr 9.50. Et 1 Fr par 0m05 jusqu'a m65." This translates as, "Zéphyr smock, checked material in pink or blue, color-fast material. Lenght 0m40 ( 2 years old) 9 francs 50 centimes
Add 1 franc for each 0m05 unill 0m65 (about 8 years old)." Zéphyr is a type of material. "Grand teint" means color-fast. The height refers to the height of the garment, not the child, meaning a girl age 2-8 years. This style of smock was for a girl only.
The ad copy reads, "La barboteuse. Hauteur 0m40. Fr 9.50. Et 1 Fr par 0m05 jusqu'a m60." This translates as "The romper. Height 40 cm Fr 9.50. Add 1 Fr extra for every additional 5 cm up to 60cm.". There is no ilustration available for the romper, but the context suggests that it is styled like smock AT392 and available in the same colors, pink and blue. Note that the barboteuse was exclusively a boys' garment. The height refers to the height of the garment, not the height of the child, meaning a boy age 2-7 years. A French reader tells us that the principle characteristics of the French rompers were, " one-piece garments that buttoned at the croch and were pull-on garments. They also tended to be very short."
The AT 394 smock was for an older child. The ad copy reads, "Tablier Vichy écru, col bleu ou rouge orné biáis Haut 0m60 Fr5.25. Et 0.75 Fr par 0m05 jusq 0m80." This translates as. "Gingham smock plain finish (no brilliant material), collar blue or red. Height 60cm. Add 0.75 Fr extra for every additional 5 cm up to 80cm." The height refers to the height of the garment, not the child, meaning a child age 6 or 7 to 11 or 12 years. This smock is illustrated as being worn by a girl. I am not positive, but this style of smock may have been suitable for boys and girls. A French reader confirms "This smock style (but not the specific detailing) became the classical style for French boys boys. It was the style made in the largest quantities and most commonly worn by the boys untill about age 8 years. Probably in this time 1935 it was worn sometimes by girls. The childs' hair style in the ilustration here has no real sense of gender. One can see in other images boys with long hair." HBC has indeed noted this same smock style offered by other stores and pictured as being worn by a boy. A good example is Au Bon Marche in 1935.
This was a girl's "Kimono" dress made in plaid Zéphyr.
La Samaritaine was patrionized by a clientelle of more modest means than the other large Paris department store. HBC wonders if this may be part of the reason that both children wearing the smocks are girls and that the rompers (barboteuses) pictured in this page are not the puffed pants style. Perhaps that stylish school smocks and puffed pants rompers were more common with more affluent customers. A French reader, however, tells us, "This is not the exact raison. The puffed pants rompers were aloso being worn in the 1930s, but were not in fashion. At this time rompers were vety common, worn both during warm summer days, but even on cold days. Syyles changed significantly for little bots during 1936-37. At this time the puffed pants romper became much more fashionable and the older regular style pants became much less common. About the smocks: These models were used by all the french class, poor and rich."
French catalogs vary in how they do sizing. Some provide sizes in terms of the child's age. This was especially common for younger children. Others stores present sizes in centimeters (cm). Note that this can be confusing. Not only did stores have varying practicesm, but these practices changed over time. Another complication is that modern children are slightly taller than children in the early 20th century. Of course there is also te complication that there are substantial cariations among children in any given age group. While there are a number of variations here, French readers have provided us size/age equivalents to provide some rough indications as to the sizes of individial garments. The size equivalents used here are explained at this link.
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