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We are preparing a series of pages on national clothing styles. We now have over 70 countries listed in our country section. Most have a linked page with at least some basic information on clothing in that country. We have developed detailed information for several mostly European counties and the United States. Many of the country pages, however, are just being sketched out at this time. So don't expect too much yet. We have a lot of other pages to do, so it will be a while before we can focus on all the countries on our list. Of corse here we need your assisatnce. HBC does not have the capability to visit or even reserach all of these countries. Do let us know if you have any text or images to contribute about your country. We are interested in adding information about every different countries around the world. The current Euro-centric focus of HBC is because European readers have been the most willing to contribute information. We have tried to create a page for each country, even if only limited information is available. This provides a location for collecting information. We hope that our readers will contribute insights into fashion trends in their own countries. HBC has collected information on more than individual countries. The information on most of these countries still sketchy. We have, however, succeeded in collecting quite detailed infornation on America and several European countries. Our information on Latin American and the Caribbean, however, is relatively limited. Hopefully our Latin American readers will provide us some information to expand this section of HBC.
Moderm Argentina is essentially a transported European country. The Native Americans peoples were essentially extermibated. Clothing styles thus reflected basically European styles--at first Spanish styles. There were some Native American influences, the most important being the Andean poncho. The most destinctive Argentine style is that of the poncho. But unlike the American ciwboy, there was no lsting influence on modern Agentine clothing styles. Both Italy and England infkuenced Argentine clothing styles. Large nymbers of Italians in the late 19th- and early-20th ceturies immigrated to Argentina. More recently America appears to have influenced Argentine boys fashions.
The Maya founded major city/templle complexes in what is now modern Belize, imcluding Caracol, Xunantunich and Lamanai. The major complex of Tikal is just to the west in neigboring Guatemala.
The first European settlers were English Puritans who setting up trading posts along the coast of Belize. In sharp contrast, bands of ship-wrecked sailors, buccaneers, and pirates created permanent bases along the coast. This was the beginning of creating a multi-ethnic society. The British Government formally declared the colony of British Honduras (1840s). British Colombia was the only British colony in Central America. European settlers began to marry freed slaves resulting in the Creole majority that today dominates the country's population. Gispanics from Mexico began founding small farms in the north aling the Mexican border. In Southern Belize, the Kekchi and Mopan Maya lived isolated lives in the Maya Mountains. After the Amrican Civil War, a small group of Confederates founded a settlement at Punta Gorda. Further ethnic diversity came from the Garifuna people of the Honduran Bay Islands who settled along the coast. Consideration of independence began in the 1930s. Voting rights were granted (1950s), but formal independence was also achieved in 1981.
Independence was delayed by Guaatemla which exerted an earlier Spanish colonial claims. The British presence prevented a Gutemalan take over. American fashions beginning in the 1950s generally replaced English fashions for Belizian boys. A Belezian source reports on fashion trends in the 1980s.
HBC at this time has very little information on Bolivian boys' clothes. A HBC reader reports, "I lived over 10 years in Bolivia where boys as young
as 10 wore long trousers but usually short ones, also in varying lengths. Some were as short as the Japanese, normally though longer shorts, but well above the knee were most common up to the age of about 13. They also wore dark blue or black suits with short jackets so they wouldn't overlap the shorts. I worked for a while in a textile store where customers could buy remnants at discounted prices. I remember a couple buying one piece for the jacket and another for the short when the father said, `The jacket will be longer than the pants.' And sometimes so they were." Bolivian school children wear white smocks.
Brazil is by far the largest country in Latin America. About half of Latin America in area and population is Brazil. We have just begun to acquire information and images on Brazil. We are more familiar with some of the Spanish speaking countries, but hope to everntually persur Brazil in some detail. Brail is of course significantly influenced bt Portugal, the European country which colonized Brazil. The Catholic Church hazs also been an important influence. Brazil became independent somewhat later than neighboring countries and had one of the few Latin Americann monarchies. The Portuguese did not encounter an advanced Native American civilization. Unable to enslave the Indiahns, they imported large numbedrs of African slsves. Hopefully our Brazilian readers will contribute some insights into fashions trends in their country.
Latin American boys like Chile basically followed European fashion trends, especially wealthy and middle-class boys. Spain may have been important, but other countries, including England, France, and Germany were the major influences. After World War II (1939-45), American fashions became increasingly important.
We do not yet have a page on Colombia. We do have a page on Colombian economic development.
We have developed a basic history of Cuba. We do not have much informstion on boys' clpthing until the 20th century. We note many Cuban boys in the late 19th century wearing the kind of white shirt and pants common throughout the Spanish speaking Caribbean and Mexico. More afflient boys in the cities wore Spanish styled clothing. After independence, the United states was more of a fashion influence, we even see boys wearing knickers. Under Spain, Cuba was an economic and social backwater. After independence, Cuba made a great deal of economic progress, fueled in part through American investment and trade. Cuba developed one of the most prosperous middle classes in Latin America. Percapita income was very high by Latin American standards--something Cuban authorities do not like to mention. While high, income was unevely distributed. Rural agricultural labors, often of African duscent, did not participate in Cuba's prosperity. As a result of the prosperity, we note images of quite well dressed Cuban childrem especially in the cities. This changed after Castro seized power (1959). The Revolution reduced the disparities in Cuban society, essentially by majing everyone poor. Percapita incomes today are among the lowest in Latin America. The poverty in Cuba since the Revolution has significantly affected fashion and clothing as a result of the very limited buying power of the average Cuban. Clothing is rationed. Cuba is the only contry in Latin America which rations clothing and food. Few Cuban parents can afford to dress themselves or their children well. The Government intoduced uniforms for Cuban schoolwear.
We do not yet have a page on Dominican children's clothing. We do have, however, a page on Dominican schoolwear.
Ecuador is the smallest of the four Pacific-coast Andean republics. The country is notable for the great diversity of climates and terraine. The country has a tropical Pacigoc coast, the Andean highland (sierra), and Amazonian lowlands. Native Americans make up a substantial share of the population and there are tribes in all three regions, many of which maintain their communal organizations. The country was the northern extent of the Inca Empire. After the colonial era, Ecudor has experienced a tumultous political life and fought wars with neighnoring Peru, primatily over the poorly defined Amazonian region. The Indian community have destinctive clothing. Staw hats are an important industry and the source of the hats often described as Panama hats. One of the most destinctibe clothing item is the poncho--an item evolving from Native American clothing and populr throughout the Andes. Children's clothing are largely American-European styles. Indian children may wear traditional clothing, but this is becoming less common.
We have not yet developed much information on Haitian boys clothing, but we do have some historical background. There is also a page on Haitian education.
Mexican boys' clothing was once sharply affected by social class and ethnicity. Wealthy boys from European families wore European fashions while poor Indian and mestizo children wore simple white shirts and pants. In more recent years Mexican boys fashions have been largely influenced by the United States and both wealthy and poorer children now wear the same styles.
We have little information on Nicaragua, but we have begun a school uniform page.
Panama is one of the smaller countries in the world, but because of the Panama Canal, is a very well known country. The country is located in Central America and was initially part of Colombia. There has since the building of the Panama Canal been an important relationship with the United States. For years the Panama Canal Zone was operated as jurisdiction of the United States. As a result, American fashions affected by the warm tropical climate were major fashion influences.
Paraguay is one of the two land-locked countries in Latin Americ. We have virtually no information on Paraguay. It is a very poor country with a large Native American population. While we have debeloped very little information on the country, we do have a page on Parguayan soccer. This of course is a testimony to the global rech of the sport.
We have very limited information on Peru ar this time. Hopefully Peruvian readers will help recrify this in the near future. We do have a Peruvian artist that has painted a scene of a boy in traditional clothing. We also have a 1917 portrait of a boy with an Eton collar.
Puerto Rico was one of the first Spanish colonies in the New World. Puerto Rico and Cuba were the last two Spanosh colonies. The United States linerated both islands in the Spanish American War (1898). Puerto Rico became an American Commonwealth. As a result Puerto Rican has been influenced by both Spain And the United States which combined with the Caribbean climate are the principal fashion influences. We have at this time very limited information on Puerto Rico.
We do not yet have a St. Lucia page. We do have a St. Lucia history page.
El Salvador is a Pacific-coast Central Anerican country. We have very limited information about El Salvador at this time. The one photograoh we do have shows a brother and sister, we think in the 1880s. If the did not know that it was taken in El Salvador, probably San Slvador, we would have guessed that it was American. This suggests that children in the orivlidged classes dressed nuch like American children. Despite the warm tropical climate, the children are even wearing long stockings.
We do not yet have much information on Trinidad. Unfortunaterly Trnindad readers have not yet provided us information about boys' clothing in their country. An English reader provides us some information during the 1960s. He writes, "... my little brother had a friend from Trinadad at his school. He was born there and had a brother. I normally only saw the Trinadian brothers in school uniform or playclothes like ours but in the Summer holidays they'd
be playing cricket in the park with their Dad and then they's be wearing! really brightly coloured shirts with exotic patterns on them (the Dad too!) which were probably from Trinadad as you rarely saw such bright and exotic shirts for sale in England back then. We visited Trinidad in 2000 and saw the children mostly wearing school uniforms. After school, however, we did not see a lot of exotic pattern shirts. As far as we could tell, Trnidadian children had for the most part adopted standard American casual wear.
We have very limited information on Uruguay at this time. As far as we can determine there are few destinctive Uruguayan styles fir boys' clothing. The primary fashinon influences appear to be Spanish and Italian. Uruguay was a colony of Spain , but beginning in the late 19th century there was considerable Italian emmigration, as in Argentina. The British have also hadsome influence, primarily because of trade ties. After World War II, American fashion influences became increasingly important. Venezuelan boys' clothes once varied substantially by class. The small Europeanm elite wore clothes influenced by European countries. Poor boys in the country wore more localy developed styles--sinple garments more suited to the tropical climate. Since the 1950s American casual styles have become increasingly important. While boys from wealthy have much more extensive wardrobes, there is now less difference in the styles that they wear.
Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing Web Site:
Honduras
Jamaica
Mexico
Nicaragua
Panama
Paraguay
Peru
Puerto Rico
St. Lucia
(El) Salvador
Trinidad
Uruguay
Venezuela
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Created: June 30, 1988
Spell checked: July 30, 1999
Last updated: 3:23 AM 6/10/2008
