German Boys' Wedding Outfits: Chronology--The 1920s

Figure 1.--Here we see a Berlin high-society wedding. The photograph is undates, but we would guess it was taken in the late 1920s, perhaps the early 30s. A German reader tells us it is clearly the 1920s because of the ladies dresses. Note the little boy in a ring bearer costume. The three somewhat older boys all wear traditional sailor suits, but with a mixture of hosiery and footwear. We note white socks, black long stockings and strap shoes.

The economy during the 1920s was quite varried as were weddings. Germany struggled to recover from the after affects of World War I. The middle-class lost much of their money in the hyper-inflation of the 1920s. The economy than began to recober until the Wall Street crash launched the Depression (1929). All of this of course affected decesions to get married as well as weddings and the disgressional income available for wedding ceremonies and events. We note very basic crremonies for working-class families. For these events the participants commonly put on their best clothes, but the ceremonies were often not formal. We also see elaborate ceremonies for the upper class. For these weddings we note younger boys wearing fancy ring-bearer outfits. Many boys wore sailors, usually traditionally styled suits. Many boys wore white knee socks for these occassins. We also see black long stockings.

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Created: 5:02 AM 10/23/2008
Last updated: 5:02 AM 10/23/2008