Figure 1.--This is an image from a class at the the Swedish Cskolan School in 195?. Notice the boy second from the left in the top role. He wears the shirt style we are discussing here. Actually the boy in the lower right also looks to be wearing one, although it is difficult to tell because he is wearing a sweater. Click on the image for another example. |
We are not sure about the name of this shirt style. We note American clothing castalogs during the 1950s rererring to "Continental" style. We do not jnow how the Europeans, however, referred to it. Hopefully HBC readers will be able to add some insights here. There is no vertical opening at all. There made have been some different arrangements. We note one arrangement with two buttons below the collar make the horizontal opening at the neck large enough that the shirt can slip over his head. We have noted boys in Scandinavia wearing this style of shirt in the 1950s. A Swedish boy here wears one of these shirts, actually two boys seem to be wearing one (figure 1).. Growing up in America during the 1950s I don't recall seeing these shirts. A HBC reader, however, tells us that something similar was offered in the 1955 Montgomery Ward catalog. That Wards "Coninental-style" shirt isn't the same as the ones here, but it bears a resemblance. It also resembles what is now called a "Johnny Collar" top, except that those generally have a V opening. We have little additional information about these shirts. We note the style appearing in Swedish films. An example is "Den Bästa Sommaren". This appears to be a modern film set in the 1950s. We have noticed both younger and older boys wearing this style in different colors and patterns. Notice an younger boy wearing a plaid shirt (figure 1, click).
It was also worn in America. I think it was called a "Chinese collar".
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