Figure 1.--We see boys mostly wearing suit jackets to school, although this may have varied seasonally. At one school, the Missaglia School, in 1922 we see most boys wearing suit jackets, the old type which buttoned at the collar. We see only a few boys with the newer style that had lapels. Most boys wore long pants, but we see some boys wearing short pants as well. |
Many schools we note in the 1920s seem to be single gender, or at least organized in single gender classes. This is somewhat surprising as we noted mixed classes in the 1910s, at least at some schools. We see boys mostly wearing suit jackets to school, although this may have varied seasonally. At the beginning of the decade the jackets which buttoned at the collar were still common. Some girls wore smocks, but we do not notice many boys wearing them.
At one primary school, the Missaglia School, near Milan in 1922 the classes are divided by gender (figure 1). Here we see most boys wearing suit jackets, the old type which buttoned at the collar. We see only a few boys with the newer style that had lapels. A few boys wear sweaters. Note their hats on the window seel. Most boys wore long pants, but we see some boys wearing short pants as well. Here we believe social class factors were significant. We see boys wearing boy kneesocks and long stockings. Benito Musollini and his Fascists began their take over with the March on Rome (1922). Notice how many of the boys have close cropped hair. Also notice that there are women teachers. The woman at left is presumably the teacher. I'm not sure about the woman on the right. I thought she might be a classroom assistant, but an Italian reader says she is more likely to be the school caretaker.
An Italian reader has provided this image of a school in Parenzo. This town is now located in Croatia, but in 1924 was part of Italy. I believe that this was an area awarded Italy after the World War I peace settlement. Germany and Italy occupied Yugoslavian Croatia during World War II. The boys here are dressed differently than some of the other images we have from Italy during the 1920s. We believe that this is primarily a swasonal matter. The image here looks to be taken in warm Summer weather. The boys wear casual shirts "T"-shirt type shirts. Several are done with square sailor collars and short pants. Several of the boys wore singlets. This was a style not worn in many other countries. As with other images from the 1920s, it was an all boy class.
Here we see the younger boys at the Ozzano Monferrato School, near Turin. This is presumably the first year class. Almost all of the boys wear suit jackets that button at the collar with kneepants and long stockings. The boys are dressed similarly to other Italian schools we have noted in the early 1920s. Curiously there look to be two girls in the middle of the front row, at least they have long hair. One wears a smock. We are unsure why they would be two girls in an otherwise all-boy class. Perhaps our Italian readers can provide some insight here.
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