Figure 1.--This fashion catalog was published by a tailor in Belgium for the Winter 1900-1901 season. The tailor was Dôme des Hailes, Charleroi. The catalog included clothes for women, men and children's clothes. There were 20 pages. The page on boys' clothes emphasized sailor suits.

HBC still has very little information on Belgian boys' clothing during this period. I'd be interested in any details visitors to this page may have. Available information suggests that smocks were commonly worn by boys. As in France, sailor suits were very popular which is interesting because the country had virtually no navy. Boys at the turn of the century mostly wore kneepants. The blouced knicker style seemed to have been popular. Gradully short pants became increasingly popular, especially after the 1900s. As in England, theBoy Scout movement had an important influence. Smocks were still commonly worn to school, but were less common whe the boys came home from school. Older boys might wear knickers. One particularly valuable source of information on early 20th century boys' fashions are postcards as children were popular subjects of cards during this period.

Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing Belgin pages:
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Created: February 17, 2003
Last updated: February 17, 2003