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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.
We have very little information on Albania at this time, but we have begun to collect some basic information about Albania. We have developed some limited information on the country. HBC has a history page. Although a European country with a long Christian traditiin, Albania was cut off from the West after the Ottoman conquest. Albania did not emerge from Ottoman control until just before World War I (1913). Thus Ottoman ingfluence and fashion were particularly pronounced, more so than any other Balkan country. Another factor was the fact that many Albanians converted to Islam. There is a page on the monarchy and Albanian Boy Scouts. Under the Ever Hoxa and the Communists, Albania was one of the most closed socities in the world. It was even cloesed off from other Communist countries. Only after a democratic government was established (1989) has the country opene up to the outside world. Clothing styles today are largely Western, similar to other Europeans.
I believe Austrian boys clothes are today similar to German boys clothes, but I have no significant information yet on Austrian fashions. Until after World war I, we believe there were more diferences. We believe there was more of a French and Italian influence in Austria. Lederhosen were commonly worn by boys until jeans began to replace them in the 1960s. Here the pattern was similar to Bavaria. I believe that after World War I and especially the NAZI Anschluss that Austrian and German styles essentially merged. oday there is little difference between German and Austrian boys' clothing wuith the exception of the greater popularity of folk styles in Austria.
Belgium boys wear clothes similar to French styles, including school smocks, sailor suits, and short pants. While the fashions were primarily French styles, German and Dutch styles were also worn. Belgians appear to have clung to traditional styles a little longer than was common in these neighboring countries.
Bulgaria is a small Balkan country which untill the late 19th century was a part of the Ottomam Empire. As a result, there were has some destinctive folk fashions, similar in many ways to neighboring Greece. The eliete in the 19th century basically followed European, especially French fashions. Bulgaria acquired a German monarchy in the 19th century which was another European fashion inflence. Modern Bulgarian boys dress in the current pan-European fashion.
Croatia was one of the member republics of Yugoslavia that has since become independent. German clothing styles appear to have been very important in Croatia, although few details are available to HBC at this time. We have developed some informaion on Croatian royalty.
We do not yet have a page on Cyprus. Hopefully readers will eventually provide us some information. A British reader as a little boy remembers spending a few years on the island in the early 1970s.
The Czechs were ruled for centuries by the Austrian Hapsburgs, most recently as part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The Empire desintegrated at the end of World War I with the creation of Czechoslovakia in 1919. The country was dominated by the Czechs, but had a important Slovak and German minorities. The German minority was concentrated in the Sudetenland. We do have some information on the Sudetenland which is now part of the Czech Republic. The country was dismembered by Hitler and the NAZIs in 1938-39 even before World War II. It was reconstituted after the War and after a Communist coup became a Soviet-style People's Republic. With the fall of Communism the country as a result of the Velvet Revolution dividedd into the Czech Republic and Slovakia, two countries on which HBC has yet to obtain information.
We have little information on destinctive Danish boys clothes. Small countries like Denmark in our modern age are less able to set fashion trends. This was not always the case. Before the advent of modern mass media, small communities often had destinctive dress. This is reflected in the folk costumes worn for special occasions throughout Europe. Generally speaking, however, boys' folk costumes, after breeching, were simply scaled down versions of their fathers' costumes. Danish boys in our modern era have generally followed trends sent in Germany and other Scandinavian countries. Denmark may have also have some impact on boys' clothing in other countries in tht the Princess Alexandra (1844-1925) married the English Prince of Wales and yheway their two sons were dressed had some imact on English fashions which in turn were very influential in other countries, especially America. Photographs of the royal family at the turn of the century show the young prince wearing dresses. In one photograph he wears a sailor dress--a demonstration of the popularity of sailor suits in Denmark. Social and economic factors influenced a boys clothing. Boys from families of modest income would begin wearing adult clothing sooner than boys from families with more modest incomes. This was in part because they had to enter the work plave sooner. One Danish reader reports that a relative in the 1910s at age 14 was wearing adult clothing.
England was very influential in setting boys' fashions in the 19th Century. American parents in particular looked to England for their fashion trends. Boys fashion styles such as sailor suits, kilts, kickers, Norfolk suits, Eton suits, blazers, and others
first appeared in England. School uniform had a profound impact on
English boys clothes. English boys in the 1920s-40s mostly wore short pants suits with kneesocks. The shorts were generally knee length and often baggy. Almost all schools required uniforms with short pants, sometimes even for the younger boys at secondary schools. Boys often wore suit jackets or blazers for everyday wear. This began to change in the 1960s as jeans began to be worn by teenagers. Even English Boy Scouts switched to long pants in 1969. Younger boys continued to wear shorts, especially for school. The
shorts began to follow the shorter more trim European styles. Modern British boys have adopted pan-European styles of sweat shirts and jeans, often topped with a baseball cap.
Estonia has for years been associated with Russia. Until 1818 it was part 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 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. It's location close to Finland meant that it was the only part of the Societ Union exposed to Western television. Estonia was the first part of the Soviet Union to gain independence (1991). As a result of its historical experience, Estonian fashions have been stronly influemced by Russian and German fashions.
Finland is a Scandinavian country located between Sweden and Russia. We have little information about the country at this time. The country is today an independent country, but since the 12th cebntury conquest by Sweden was ruled by either Sweden or Russia until achieving independence after World War I (1918). Thus fashion trends have been influenced by those two countries. Germany has also influenced fashions. We know of no destinctive Finnish boys' fashions.
Fauntleroy suits and sailor suits were popular in France in the late 19th Century. Sailor suits were more popular in France than in England, despite the country's limited naval tradition. Boys commonly
wore socks around the home and to school. French boys wore short
pants during the 1920s-40s. Short pants in the 1930s began to differ
from those worn in England and became shorter. Most schools did not have uniforms, but boys
commonly wore black smocks. Some private Catholic colleges (high schools) did require
uniforms, mostly blue sweaters and shorts with white knee socks. Clothing styles changed significantly, especially after the Paris Student Riots of 1969. Boys less commonly wore short pants. French children today most wear jeans and other long pants, adopting a kind of pan-European style.
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German boys also mostly wore
short pants with the knee socks during the 1920s-50s. Younger boys wore over the knee stockings during the winter and some older boys had long pants in the colder weather. Sailor suits continued popular, even for relatively older boys through the 1940s. Few schools had uniforms. Boys in Bavaria and other places might wear leather shorts lederhosen) during the summer. As in France, styles changed substantially in the 1960s and most boys now wear jeans and other long pants. Styles are now much more casual. Many boys do not even have suits as there are so few occasions for wearing them.
HBC has not yet been able to collect much information on the clothing worn by Greek boys. One reader tells us that boys in Greece used to dress up for formal occasions, but this is now less common. The Greeks do have very distinctive kilt folk costumes.
HBC at this time has very limited infornation on Hugarian boys' clothing. Hopefully Hungarian readers will assisst us us in describing Hungarian styles and fashion trends.
Iceland is an island nation in the North Atlantic. We do not yet have a page for Iceland. We believe that clothing sxtyles are similar to Scandinavia, especially Denmark. Hopefully Icelandic readers will send us some information about theor country. We do have a World War II page.
HBC has still on limited information on Irish boys clothes. We believe that Irish styles basically follow English fashions. This is certainly true today. One would in fact have difficulty differentiating between the clothes of English and Irish boys. There have been differences, especially in rural areas where poor Irish families simply did not have the money to buy fashionable clothes--especially for children. Rural dress is important because until recently that was where most Irish lived. Boys often wore dresses in rural areas. The kilt was also worn in Ireland, but not as commonly as in Scotland. In the towns and cities, boys normally dressed like English boys even in the 19th century.
Italian boys like boys in other Western European countries mostly wore shorts during the 1920s-50s. The length by the 1930s tended to be shorter than in
England. Boys generally wore smocks to school. Boys today mostly jeans and other long pants, but shorts are common for casual wear during the summer because of the warm weather. Smocks are still worn at some schools. I have so far been able to obtain very little information on Italian boys clothing. I hoping that an Italian visitor to HBC will be able to provide more information.
Latvia has for years been associated with Russia. Until 1818 it was part of the Russian Empire. It was briefly independent 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 until gaining independence in 1991. As a result, Latvian fashions have been stronly influemced by Russian fashions.
Lithuania has experienced the same political shifts as the other Baltic countries in the 20th century. It is somewhat different than the other two Baltic republics in that Lithuania is largely Roman Catholic and is the Baltic state most closely associated with Poland. Lithuania is now an independent country.
I'm not sure about Dutch boys' fashions, but rather suspect that they were strongly influenced by German fashions and perhaps to a lesser extent English and French fashions. HBC has been unable to collect much information on Dutch fashions, buts sailor suits appear to have been particularly popular. Since the 1960s, the primary influence has been America with jeans becoming a virtual uniform for Dutch boys.
The short pants that became
widely worn in Europe during the 1920s were never as common in Norway as in other European
countries, in part because of the climate. Some little boys wore shorts and over-the-knee stockings. Shorts were not generally worn by older boys to school or for dress wear. Shorts could be used for leisure in summer though, but mostly very short compared to the English shorts, not much longer than swimming trunks, but looser. Scouts had longer shorts. Boys through the 1950s wore either knickers
with half stockings or long pants at school. After the mid-1950s knickers disappeared and boys usually wore longs, although knicker-style skiing pants continued to be worn. Boys wore shirts in the warmer months and in colder weather, sweaters or jackets or both.
Jackets were mostly of sports' fashion, but were gradually replaced by blazer-style jackets. Boys were unlikely to wear suits before confirmation at 14 or 15.
Poland's modern existence dates from the end of World War I. Boys' clothing styles before that were primarily set by the prevailing styles in the countries that controlled Poland. After the War, German styles became very influential. Boys commonly wore short pants, often with long stocking during the winter. After the war, boys mostly wore shorts and knickers quickly disappeared. Such styles continued until the 1960s when blue jeans began to pierce the Iron Curtain. Polish boys now wear the pan-European styles blue jeans and other informal clothes.
HBC has been unable to acquire much information on Portugal. One HBC reader reports visiting Portugal in the 1960s and was surprised how the country contrasted with Spain. He felt that the children were not as well looked after or as well dressed as in Spain. The boys wore long shorts or long trousers. One reader reports tht it was very common for Portuguese boys to go barefoot. This presumably reflected the fact that for much of the 20th century, Portugal was a very poor country.
Hopefully our Portuguese readers will provide us some information so we can expand our coverage. We do, however, have a Portuguese-language glossary.
Little information is available yet on Romanian boys' clothing. Some information is available on traditional clothing. Romania appears to have been more infkuenced by the French thab other Balkan countries.
Russian boys' fashions, at least in affluent families, were influenced by French fashions in the 19th Century because mothers generally selected the clothes of younger children. Some domestic styles were popular, such as collarless tunics and blouses which became popular in America and Europe and were called Russian blouses. There were also some German influence. At the turn of the century sailor suits were popular. Fashion was officially discouraged after the Communist seized power in 1917. Long stockings continued to be worn in Russia after European boys were mostly wearing kneesocks. Modern Russian boys have adopted pan-European fashions.
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Scottish boys clothes are of course associated with the kilt. I am not sure, however, how extensively boys wore kilts in Scotland before Queen Victoria and to what extent ordinary boys wore them during the Victorian period. The Royal children are extensively photographed in them, but I know little about ordinary Scottish boys. I greatly appreciate any insights that visitors to this web site can provide. Actually Scottish boys dressed very similarly to English boys.
Serbia is a relatively new nation, but has an amcient heritage. The medieval Christan kingdom of Serbia was absorbed into the Ottoman Empire, bur reemrged as an independent country in the 19th century. After World War I it became the largest constiuent part of Yugoslavia--a country which unraveled in the 1990s. We have acquired little information on Serbia. Ottoman, Russian, and Austrian fashions have been important influences.
Slovakia is a small cental European country south of Poland. The Slovaks were for centuries ruled by the Hapsburgs. It was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire when it was created (1867). The Austro-Hungarian Empire disentegrated following Wrld War I (1918). The Slovaks joined the related Czechs to form Czechoslovakia, although there were tensions between the two ethnic groups. As Hitler prepared to seize Czechoslovakia, the Slovaks seceeded from the union and set up a pupet government subservient to the NAZIs. After World War II, Czexhoslovakis was reserected. The Soviets engineered a Communist coup (1948). Czechoslovakia became one of the Eastern European Soviet satellites. Soviet control collapsed (1989). Czechoslovakia emerged as a free democratic country. Tensions developed between the Slovaks and Checjs and two groups decided separate peacefully (January 1, 1993), creating Slovakia and the Czech Republic. We know relatively little about clothing styles in Slovakia. As faras we can tell, clothing trends and styles are similasr to Austria and Germany.
We do not yet have details on Slovenia clothing and fashions. We have begun to work on Slovenia history.
Spanish boys commonly wore kneepants in the 19th century. Sailor suits were a popular style. By the 1930s boys commonly wore short pants and many boys wore smocks to school. After the 1960s short pants became much less common as most boys wanted to wear jeans. By the 1980s most Spanish children were wearing the pan-European styles of jeans, runnig pants, sweatshirts, and sneakers.
Boys' fashions in Sweden during the 19th Century were similar
to other European countries. This began to change somewhat in the 1920s, it was
just to cold to wear short pants during the winter like the British and French.
Some boys wore shorts with long over the knee stockings. Older boy wore knickers and long pants were more common than in more southerly countries. Since the 1970s there has been little difference between the clothes worn in Sweden and other countries.
Swiss boys are best known in the popular min with wearing lederhosen. While lederhosen were worn, Swiss boys more commonly dressed like boys in other European counties. Because of the large German and French speaking populations, clothing styles in those countries have been particularly popular.
The Ukraine is a Slavic state in southeastern Asia. The history of the Ukraine has been closely tied to in recent years. The first important Slavic state was Kiev. The Mongols destroyed the Kiev state (13th century). What is now Russian came under Mongol/Tartar domination. The Ukraine came under Lithuanian/Polish domination. With the rise of the Russian Empire, the Tsars expanded their influence into the eastern Ukraine (17th century). With the Polish partitions the Tsars seized most of the Western Ukraine (18th century. We have little information at this time on boys' clothing in the Ukraine. Given the country's historical experience, we assume that clothing styles were similar to those worn in Russia and Poland.
Ulster is a very recent constituent part of the United Kingdom. For most of its history it was just one part of Ireland, the northern counties. Beginning with the Easter Rebellion, the Irish began fighting for their independence (1916). The Catholic Church was an important part of the Irish struggle for independence. The Irish Free State left the United Kingdom in 1922, but the six northern counties with Protesant majorities voted to remain with Britain. The religious difference was the result of the Plantation of Ulster. This was the colonisation effort in northern Ireland launched during the reign of James I (early 17th century). English and Scottish Protestants were settled on land confiscated from Catholic Irish landowners. We have little information on boys clothing in Ulster. There may have been significant differences in the clothing worn by Catholic and Protesant boys in the 19th century, princiaplly because of the poverty of the rural Catholics.
Wales is one of the constiuent countries of the United Kingdom. HBC has not, however, created separated pahes on Whales as we have done for Ireland and Scotland. This was because Whales was conquuered by the English in the 12th and 13th centuries and Welsh independence largely extinguished. The conquest of Ireland and Scotland was much more recent and never as thorough as the subgegation of Wales. As a result, we ave not noted the kinds of destinctive garments and cultural destinctiveness as is the case for Ireland and Scotland.
Yugoslavia was created after the end of World War I (1914-18). We do not yet have a page for Yugoslavia, but there are pages for Croatia and Serbia. Yugoslavia disentigrated in the 1990s resulting in a bitter series of internal wars.
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