Figure 1.--These children's clothes were created by Latvian designers. The image is from the annual Soviet magazine "The Children Clothes Fashions" published in 1977. |
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Latvia has for years been associated with Russia. Until 1818 it wa spart of the Russian Empire. As a Baltic country, Estonia was exposed to Western influences
more than most areas of Russia. It was briefly independent until sized by Stalin in 1940 and then occupid by the NAZIs in 1941. After World war II it was administered as a Republic of the Soviet Union until gaining indepndence in 1991. As a result, Latvian fashions have been stronly influemced by Russian fashions. Hopefully our Latvian readers will provide further information.
Latvia is bordered by the Gulf of Riga and Estonia to the north, Russia and Bylarus on the east and Lithuania on the south. To the west is the Baltic Sea. The capita is the Baltic port of Riga. Other important cities Liepaja, Daugavpils, and Ventspils. Much of Latvia is a low-lying coastal plain broken bu lakes, rivers, marshes, and peat bogs. The country is heavily forrested.
Latvians are commonly referred to as Letts and the language known as Lettish--one of the Indo-European languages.
Latvia like the other Baltic republics achieved independence as a result of the turmoil associated with World War I and the Russian Revolution. At the time the population was primarily ethnic Latvians. The primary exception was the Riga and the major cities. Large numbers of ethnic Germans lived in the cities. This is especially important because fashion is primarily set in cities. As a result, Germans played a substantial role in in influencing Lavian styles. Many Baltic Germans had lived in Latvia and the other Baltic republics for generations, but they still spoke German. They might subscribe to German magazines and see German films. Thus they were influenced by German fashions. The NAZI-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact (1939) permitted Stalin to carry out a series of aggressions, including the occupation of Latvia (1940). Stalin ordered the KGB to arrest and deport many Latvians. Many never returned. Stalin also encouraged the emmigration of ethnic Russians to alter the ethnic ballance. Many Russians came to Latvia because living conditions were generally above that common in Russia. As a result, after World War II the poulation of Russians increased substantially and affected the ethnic ballance in the country.
Latvian boys' clothing, as in the case in many countries at high northern lattitudes, is strongly influenced by the climate. The climate in generally damp. The Spring is usually dry and cold.
Latvia has for years been associated with Russia. Until 1918 it was part of the Russian Empire. As a Baltic country, Latvia was exposed to Western influences more than most areas of Russia. It was briefly independent after World War I until seized by Stalin in 1940 and then occupied by the NAZIs in 1941. After World War II it was administered as a Republic of the Soviet Union. As a result of its historical experience and geographic location, Latvian fashions have thus been stronly influemced by Russian and German fashions.
Our archive of Latvian images is still quite limited. Thus we are unable at this time to develop a cgronology of Latvian boys' clothes. We have no 19th century images. We believe that German fashions were important during the medievel era, in part because of the importance of the Hanseatic League. Russian control of the Baltics must have brought with it an element of fashion, but of course the Russian elite was stringly indluenced by European fashion. Latvia became indepebndent after World War I. Even so, we note a 1920s photograph showing young people wearing clothes showing a strong Russian influence. Fashion was demphasized during the Soviet era (1940-91), but the Baltics in general seem more influenced with Western fashion than the rest ofthe Sovient Union. Since regaining independence, Latvian children seem to adopted the trans-European fashions that has developed accross the continent.
Lettish tribes first appeared along the Blatic during the 10th century AD. The Letts came under foreign rule in the mid-12th century. From that time the Letts were dominated by Germans, Poles, and Russians as well as a brief period of Swedish control. The German Teutonic Knights controlled the Letts (1158-1562). The Germans Christinaized the KLetts and introduced Feudalism, making the Letts serfs in German estates. Latvia at the time was divided into two states (Livonia and Courland). The Ples and Lithuanians defeated the Teutinic Knights (1562) beginning an era of Polish control (1562-1795) interupted only by a short period of Sedish control. As a result of the Polish Partitions, Russian obtained control of at first Livinia (1795) and subsequently Courland as well which lasted until the Russian Revolution (1917). Latvia obtained itsindependence in the turmoil resulting form World War I and the Russian Revolution (1918). After two decades of independence, Lativia was invaded forst by the Soviet Union (1940) and subsequently NAZI Germany (1941). The Red Army droved out the NAZIs (1945) and Latvia was for over four decades administered as a Soviet Republic. With the disolution of the Soviet Union (1991), Latvia again achieved its independence.
Our information on Latvian garments is still very limited because of the small number of images in our archive and our inability to obtain much information from Latvia. We have noted Latvian boys wearing the same basic garments and styles as those worn in Germany, Russia, and other neigboring countries. Unlike some larger countries, it is not possible to identify Latvian images when the provinance is not known. Latvian boys during the Soviet era seem to have been dressed a little more stylishly than boys in other areas of the Soviet Union, again probably primary because of the country's geographic location. But we know of no specifically Latvian garments or styles of garments. After World War I many boys wore short pants, often with long stockings. Suspender and H-bar shorts were common for younger boys. We noted that vests were seen as very stylish in the 1970s. We are unsure if tis is a German or Soviet style.
We notice a lot of boys with close-cropped hair in the early and mid-20th century. This seems common in both Germany and Russia at the time. This was especially common among working-class families. We believe that one of the reasons for the popularity of this style was the prevalent sanitary conditions. Also it was inexpensive because mother could clip the boy's hair and he did not have to be sent to the barber. Boys in more affluent families were more likely to have at least enough hair to comb. We do not notice long hair for boys very commonly, even quite young boys. Younger boys might wear bangs. After World War II, bangs seem to have become a popular style for boys.
We have little information on Latvian families at this time.
We see Latvian boys involved in a range of diffrent activities. There have been some Latvian boys' choirs.
We see Latvian children with many of the toys popular in Germany. We also note a range of differentgames.
Latvin national holidays include: January 1--New Year's Day; Good Friday; Easter Sunday; May 1--Labor Day; June 24--Midsummer; November 18--Independence Day; December 24-26 (Christmas). As in the rest of Europe, football (soccer) was the the preminent national sport. Scouting was the principal boys' youth groups. Latvia had until the Soviet invasion an active Scouting movement. The Soviets banned Scouting and Latvian boys hd to participate in the Young Pioneers movement. There are many areas such as music and dance that we still know nothing about.
The educational system was heavily influenced by the Soviet system. We note boys without school uniforms right after World War II, but presumably as the country began to recover from the War, the standard Soviet school uniform became more common. Since independence, Latvian school children no longer wear uniforms. I'm unsure just what other changes have taken place in education since independence. One change is there are now schools that operate in the Latvian as well as the Russian language.
The importance of religion in Latvian life was substantially reduced during the Soviet era. Those Estonians identifying themselves as religious are mostly Lutheran. Russians are mostly Orthodox.
We have noted Latvian boys and girls wearing folk costunes, but do not know much about it at this time. The ones we have seen seem similar to some Scandinavian and German folk costumes we have see.
Related Baltic Pages in the Boys' Historical Web Site
[Estonia]
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[Lithuania]
[Prussia]
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[The 1920s]
[The 1930s]
[The 1940s]
[The 1930s]
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[The 1960s]
[The 1970s]
[The 1980s]
Related Style Pages in the Boys' Historical Web Site
[Long pants suits]
[Knicker suits]
[Short pants suits]
[Socks]
[Eton suits]
[Jacket and trousers]
[Blazer]
[School sandals]
[School smocks]
[Sailor suits]
[Pinafores]
[Long stockings]
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