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.

Australia

Australian clothing styles were largely influenced by English styles. Australian boys wore short pants and knee socks, some times even to 15 or 16, sometimes older if their school required a short pants uniform. Gradually Australians have developed their own styles. Clothes are much more casual in New Zealand. School uniforms are still required at many schools, but more casual styles than in England. Since the 1970s jeans have become very popular with young people.

Fiji

Indonesia

Indonesia has had a turbulent history. The people were first influenced by Indian culture and the then Islamic traders. Finally the Portugese and Dutch reached the islands and colonized them. Thus clothing and fashion have been influenced by many different cultural traditions. The Dutch East Indies were the Netherland's most important colony. The oil of the islands was the major objective of the Japanese military attack on Pearl Harbor. Indonesia after World War II achieved its independence after a short war of independence. Inonesia like Malaysia is a largely Islamic country , in fact the most populace Islamic country. There are also important religious and ethnic minorities. Differences in dress among these groups, however, seems much less pronounced than in Malaysia.

Figure 1.--New Zealand boys until the 1960s mostly wore English boys' fashions. In recent years American fashions have become increasingly common. Some still require school uniforms based on English styles.

New Zealand

New Zealand was settled by the Maori people. Europeans began arriving in the mid-19th century and after a series of war with the Maoris seized control. Most of the original settlers were British and the islands was eventually annexed by the British. The Maori today are a substantial minority along with Pacific islanders. New Zealand boys essentially dressed in British styles with some concessions to the local climate until after World War II. The major difference until after the War was that New Zealand boys commonly went barefoot in the milder New Zealand climate. Gradually more casual fashions became more accepted both at school and at home. Since the 1970s, American fashions have become increasingly important.

Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guina is the eastern half of the island of New Guinea. This is the second largest island in the world. The central core od the island has a rugged mountenous spine, the Own Stanley Mountains. The population includes Melanesian, Papuan, Negrito, Micronesian, and Polynesian peoples. Britain and New Guina in the final era of colonial expansion divided eastern New Guina between Germany which received the the northern sector and Britain which received the southern sector (1885). Britain transferred responsibility for its sector to Australia in (1902). Substantial areas of the island well into the 20th century remained largely unexplored. Australian forces occupied the German sector during World War I (1914-18) and in the peace settlement the Germans lost all of their Pacific colonial posssions, some of which were transferred to Japan. Australia retained resonsibility for the former German northern sector which was united with the southern sector. New Guinea was the scene of bitter fighting during the Pacific War (1941-45). Japan seized the norther sector (1942), but after a series of stunning victories, a Japanese naval taskforce heading to seize Port Moresby in the south was turned back by the U.S. Navy at the Coral Sea (May 1942). Heavy fighting continued on the island throughout 1942 and 43. Australia continued to administer Papua New Guinea after the War until independence (1975). A number of islands to the east are part of New Guinea. Bougainville, another World War II battlefield, is one of those islands. A secessionist revolt (1988-97) resulted in the loss of 20,000 lives.

Philippines

A Filipina (this is the Tagalog spelling and there's no English one) reader tells us that clothing styles have been affected by the Spanish which ruled the islands for three centuries. Traditional clothing for boys was baro and for girls saya. America which seized the Philippines from Spain (1898) also influenced fashion. The Japanese which occupied the country (1942-45) during World war II had less influence. The Philippines became independent after the War (1948). Our Filipina reader writes, "Currently we wear what Americans wear. But I have to admit I believe that we are more modest than the Americans because we are more concious about how much skin we show, due to our religion. Also the climate is very warm and sometimes very rainy, we wear what suits the climate. While we do not yet have a Philippines page, we do have a page on First Communion. We also have pages on Filipino school uniforms and Filipino Scouts.

Pitcairn Island

Pitcairn Island may be among the most isolated places on earth. Pitcairn is the Pacific island where in 1790 the Bounty's mutineers landed. Fletcher Christian led the mutineers to this remote island, was a son of the Coroner of Cumberland and of Manx descent on his father's side. He is still remembered as the founder and first leader of the settlement. By 1800 John Adams was the only male survivor of the party that had landed just 10 years before. The community was made up of ten Polynesian women and twenty-three children. In 1808 the little colony was discovered by Captain Mayhew Folger, an American sealing captain, but his visit was brief. The HMS Briton and Tagus rediscovered the settlement 6 years later on September 17, 1814. All the Pitcairn inhabitants joined Seventh Day Adventist Church (1887).

Togo

Created: June 30, 1988
Spell checked: July 30, 1999
Last updated: 9:18 PM 6/10/2007