Figure 1.--Uruguayan school children wear white smocks with big blue bows. This photograpg was taken about 1995. We are not sure about the smocks, but the boys do not like the bows. |
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Uruguayan children, both boys and girls, commonly wear white smocks to school. The idea is as in other countries that all children despite the situation at home come to school as equals. This is a national standard set by the Government for all state primary schools. Large numbers of Italians have immigrated to Uruguay and the smocks seem at least in part a reflection of the Italian influence on Uruguayan education. We also see white school smocks in neighboring Argentima. The most obvious difference is the blue bows the Uruguayan children wear with their smocks. The style of the smocks vary as several companies supply smocks. We see both front and back-buttoning smocks and different collar styles. They are, however, uniformily white. Uruguayan children wear their smocks with large blue bows. The bows are not very popular, especially with the older primary boys who can often be seen removing them as soon as possible after school. After primary school we no longer see boys wearing smocks, but we do see some girls wearing them. The Uruguayan term for smock is 'guardapolvo'. Other words include 'bata' or 'blusón de escolar', but this is more common in Argentina. We are not yet sure about the chronology. We have limited chronological informtion. We are not sure when the white school smocks were introduced, but believe it was during the early-20th century, although we do not yet have photographs from this early period. They may not at forst been mandatory. The earliest example we have found so far comes from the 1950s, long after the convention was established. We noticed children wearing these smocks in Montivedeo during the 1990s (figure 1). And we continue to see children wearing these smocks in the 2010s.
Uruguayan children, both boys and girls, commonly wear white smocks to school. They wear their own clothes underndeath. This is the case in all public primary chools. We are not sure about private schools.
The idea is as in other countries that all children despite the situation at home come to school as equals. This basically the same reason for uniforms. And of course the smock is aind of school uniform.
This is a national standard set by the Government for all state primary schools. Large numbers of Italians have immigrated to Uruguay and the smocks seem at least in part a reflection of the Italian influence on Uruguayan education.
We also see white school smocks in neighboring Argentima.
Uruguayan children wear their smocks with large blue bows. We onlt see blue bows. Thisppears to be a reflectio of the national colors, blue and white. The most desctinctive feature of the Uruguayan school smocks is the blue bows the Urugayan children wear with their smocks. It is a useful way of diferentialing Argentine and Uruguayan photographs because the white smocks are indistunguishable. Iruguyan schools seem to have been rather strict about insisting on the smocks which were mndated by law. They seem less strict about the bows. They were commonly worn, but we see many schools where not all the children had the bows. We arenot sure, but apparently unlike the smocks were not mandated by law. These do not appear to be bows that moms toed every morning, at least the modern examples that we have seen. They seem to be pre-tied bows that were pinned to the smocks near the collar. Both boys and girls wear the bows. The bows are not very popular, especially with the older primary boys who can often be seen removing them as soon as possible after school. Some boys removed the bows. Othr boys unbuttoned their collasrs leaving the bows dangling. We do not seem as off put by the bows. We do not see the girls doing this. As far as we can tell, the boys do not seem to mind the smocks, but the bows werecrather unpopular.
The style of the smocks vary as several companies supply smocks. And the Governmen while requiring white smocks does not require the specific style. We see both front and back-buttoning smocks and different collar styles. They are, however, uniformily white. There were gender preferences which seem to have developed over time. Boys preferred front-buttobing styles and pointed collars. Gurls often wore back-buttoning stles and rounded collars.
School smocks are mandatory for state primary schools for all students, bith boys and girls. After primary school we no longer see the boys wearing smocks, but we do see some girls wearing them. This varied from school to school.
The Uruguayan term for smock is 'guardapolvo'. Other words include 'bata' or 'blusón de escolar', but this is more common in Argentina.
We are not yet sure about the chronology. We have limited chronological informtion. We are not sure when the white school smocks were introduced, but believe it was during the early-20th century, although we do not yet have photographs from this early period. They may not at forst been mandatory. The earliest example we have found so far comes from the 1950s, long after the convention was established. We noticed children wearing these smocks in Montivedeo during the 1990s (figure 1). We notice new school laws were passed which include provisions reafirming that white smocks were mandatory (2004). And we continue to see children wearing these smocks in the 2010s. We have found some recent images, but very few historical images at this time. The major trend we have noted over time is that the lab coat dtyle seems to becoming more important.
Urugauyan soureces write about the white school smocks. "En los bancos de la escuela pública, se sientan de guardapolvo y moña, los niños provenientes de los más diversos hogares y ahí, mientras aprenden a leer y contar, aprenden más que eso, practican la tolerancia y llegan a estimarse porque comprueban en los hechos que son iguales, por más diferente que sea su origen, su raza o su suerte económica. El guardapolvo: es ideal tener más de uno porque se ensucian rápido, y es necesario llevar al chico para medirle el talle porque la talla varía para cada fabricante. La mezcla ideal de la tela es 60% de algodón y el resto de poliester, cuyo precio llegan a 14 pesos.
Los hay más baratos por 3 pesos. En estos guardapolvos de oferta, es importante fijarse en la caída de los hombros, las solapas del cuello, y la equidistancia de las tablas. Conviene que los bolsillos queden a la altura de los
brazos. Tener en cuenta que las confecciones de oferta no suelen ser muy prolijas." That means something like, "In the public schools, the children come from diverse homes, and while they learn to read and count, they learn more than that, they practice tolerance and they come to appreciate themselves whatever the differences in theor origins, race, or economomic circumstances. As for the smock: It is ideal to have more than one because they get dirty fast, and it is necessary to take the boy to measure the size because the size varies for each, The ideal blend of fabric is 60% cotton and the rest of polyester, whose price reaches 14 pesos. There are cheaper for 3 pesos. In these smocks, it is important to look at the drop of the shoulders, the lapels of the neck, and the equidistance of the tables. The pockets should fit the arms. Keep in mind that the offerings are not very varied. .
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