Boys' Clothing 1890s Styles: German Trends


Figure 1.--This Berlin brother and sister were photographed together in 1894. He wears a velvet sailor knnepants suit with an all-white sailor collar. She wears a print dress. Image courtesy of the Albumn.1900 collection.

We know less about German boys clothes clothes in the 1890s. Fauntleroy suits were worn, but they were not as common as in Britain and France. We do know that sailor suits had become very popular. Kaiser Wilhelm in the 1890s began a naval arms race with the British. Battle ships at the time were the symbol of a great country. Germany had never had a substantial navy before and the new Imperial Navy seized the imagination of the public. The sailor suit became a major style for German boys and German boys wore a wide range of different styles. Sailor suits might be worn for school, play, and dressing up. Some boys had velvet sailor suits that were worn for special occassions. The rise of the sailor suit as a standard style for boys in the 1890s occurred as the naval arms race between Germany and Britain began. It is a little known fact that the boys' sailor suit had a role in preparing the ground work for the calamity of World War I. Kneepants in the 1890s became the established style for boys. They were commonly worn with dark long stockings, especially during the colder winter months. The German royal family is believed to have been a major influence in children's fashions.







Christopher Wagner






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Created updated: November 21, 2002
Last updated: November 21, 2002