State Daycare: l'Ecole Maternelle in Lyon, 1899

Figure 1.--This photograph shows the boys in a coed class at an ecole maternelle. The boys were sitting on the left side of the class. They seem to be wearing the same kind of light-colored, back buttoning smocks as the girls.

HBC is attempting to assess French schoolwear trends. We have assembled a good deal of information on different types of garments, but an accurate assessment of trends over time and conventions remains elusive. Thus HBC is assembling images of invidual schools. One a number of schools have been assesmbled it will enable us to better understand trends over time and accepted conventions. Unfortunately often little information is available on the schools pictured in many available images. HBC will do its best to assess these images. Hopefully our French consultants will be able to add additional details.

Figure 2.--All of the boys are wearing back buttoning smocks, just like the girls on the other side of the class. Many of the smocks appear to have smocking.

Type

The school pictured here state daycare center or l'Ecole Maternelle. The school is located in Lyon, 1899. The schools for younger children, from 2 to 6, were one of the educatioinal reforms of the Thirs Republic. Interestingly America does not have state provided free day care even in the 2000s.

The ecole maternelle were coed schools. HBC notes that most French schools until after World War II (1939-45) were single gender schools, but there may have been some coed primary schools. ASpparently it was considered acceptable to teach the younger children together.

Chronology

The photograph was takem in 1899. Earlier images of children taken inside classroom are quite rare.

Class

The children in this class appear to be quite young, anging from 2 to about 6 years of age. This could well be the new entrants class. Notice how the boys and girls are seated separately, boys on the left and girls on the right. Also notice the step arrangement of the seating, rather like a theater. It does not apopear to be an ideal class for little ones. Seated in benches, that can't move around easily. Clearly they are meant to sit in their places and pay attention to the teacher at the front of the room. The teacher is shoen here moving up the isle, but perhaps that is so she can be in the photograph. At any rate, the only children she can reach to assist with their lessons are the chiildren at the front of the class or along the isles.

Figure 3.--This image shows how long the smocks are that the boys wore. Presumbably mothers hoped that they could be worn by several years. Almost all of the boys like this boy would have worn short or knee pants. Note the one boy in a checked smock and how most of the smocks have a plain yoke around the neck with smocking imediately below. Also note the three-quatrter length socks and heavy boots.

Teacher

Men primary teachers were much more common before World War I than is the case today. This class has a lady teacher, looking almost the perfect stereotype of an ols-fashioned lady school teacher, complete with classes. Presumably ladies were more common for the younger children.

Clothing

With the children seated like they are, it is difficult to view their clothing in detail, but still some observations are possible. Most of the possible observations deal with smocks, but some other observations are possinble on other garments as well.

Pinafores

One girl wears a pinafore. It is not clear wheter she is wearing it with a smock or dress. She looks to be the only child wearing a pinafore.

Figure 4.--This image shows a close-up view of the boys wearing the single dark and checked smock. Also note short cropped hair cuts on the boys.

Smocks

All of the children appear to be wearing smocks. They vary in color, but they seem to be all very similar back buttoning smocks. Smocks were quite common in French schools at the time. The uniformity shown here almost surely means that there was a school regulation requiring smocks.
Buttoning: All of the smocks the children are wearing are back buttoning smocks. I am not sure that they front buttoning smocks were even available before World War I.
Color: Most pictures of French school boys wearing smocks show the boys wearing dark-colored smocks , either dark blue or black. These boys (except for one), and all the girls, however, wear light colored stocks. Presumably because they are younger boys that they wear ther light colored stocks, rather than the dark smocks more commonly worn by the older boys. The question is what the older boys at this school wore. Dis they also wear the light-colored smocks. The long length of the smocks these boys wear suggest that perhaps mother brought a large size that could be worn more than 1 year.
Pattern: Most of the smocks appear to be solid-colored smocks. One boy wears a checked smock. I have never seen impages of older boys wearing checked smocks.
Belts: Many but not all boys wore their smocks with belts outside the smock. Girls did not generally wear such belts, only the boys. The belts outside a smock had no practical purpose, only stylistic. The boys in these images as they are all sitting down behind benches, thus it is not clear if they are wearing belts are not. Belts were generally less common for the younger boys.
Length: The smocks the children are wearing seem quite long, down to the calfs. This seem longer than the smocks worn by older boys that henerally are work at knee length.

Short pants

It is not possible to tell what kind of pants the boys are wearing, beause of the smocks and seating arrangements.

Socks

No firm conclusions can be made about socks, because only onne boy's socks are vissible. He is wearing dark three-quarte length socks.

Shoes

The one boy whose shoes you can see wears heavy boots, Such boots rather than shoes and sandals were very commonly worn by school boys.

Hair Styles

Notably all the boys at this school, even though quite young, have short cropped hair. Almost surely such uniformity mean that it was a school rule.

Created: February 17, 2000
Last updated: February 17