Figure 1.--This CDV portrait is undated, but we believe it was taken in the 1870s. We do know that the portrait was taken at a Berlin studio. The boys all wear identical velvet suits with cut-away jackets. Note the embroidery and trim on the jacket and knickers. Also note that the older boy has a rounded collar while the younger boys have pointed collars. Click on the image for a fuller discussion of the boys' outfit. Image courtesy of the MD collection.

The Germans by the end of the century were dressing children in a similar manner to other European countries. The sailor suit was one of the most popular styles trough Europe and it was particularly popular in Germany. The marriage of one of the Queen Victoria's daugters to the German royal family influenced German fashion, although she was always considered a foreigner and Bismark limited her influence over the upbringing of the future Kaiser. I'm unsure as to how other popular English fashions such as the kilt and Fautleroy suit were in Germany. I do not believe that the kilt was commonly worn, but Fauntleroy suits were worn, although not as much as in France and Italy. Some of the available images of German clothes in the 1870s look quite similar to styles we have seen in England and France, velvet suits, cut away jackets, and bloomer knickers. We also notice boys wearing tunic suits. One boy in the 1870s wears a ruffled collar with his tunic suit, but we are not certain how common that was. We note images of German Fauntleroy suits from the 1890s. Boys' clothing in general, however, does appear have been similar to the rest of western Europe, but I hope to eventually obtain much more information on German dress trends in the future. I do not know of any destinctive German styles worn by boys, except for folk costumes. We note an interest in folk costuming beginning in the late 19th century, with many German partents dressing children in folk costumes for special occassions. Prince Wilhelm wore sailor suits in the 1860s. We are not prescisely sure when German boys commonly began wearing them. We do see German boys wearing sailor suits in the the 1880s. They seem much moire common in the 1890s as an especially popular style for boys as Kaiser Wilhelm began building a highseas fleet.

Historical Trends

The major event in Germany and European history during the late 19th cenbtuy was German unification, made possible by the Franco-Prussian War (1870-71). Germany dominated Europe during this period. Kaiser Wilhelm II decided to build a German high-seas fleet with enormous political consequences. German boys, however, began wearing sailor suits well before the Kaisser made this decession. This is a decission that Chancellor Bismarck would have counciled the Kaiser against, but one of the steps the Kaiser took only a few years after raising to the throne was to dismiss Bismarck.

Styles

The Germans by the end of the century were dressing children in a similar manner to other European countries. The sailor suit was one of the most popular styles trough Europe and it was particularly popular in Germany. The marriage of one of the Queen Victoria's daugters to the German royal family influenced German fashion, although she was always considered a foreigner and Bismark limited her influence over the upbringing of the future Kaiser. I'm unsure as to how other popular English fashions such as the kilt and Fautleroy suit were in Germany. I do not believe that the kilt was commonly worn, but Fauntleroy suits were worn, although not as much as in France and Italy. Some of the available images of German clothes in the 1870s look quite similar to styles we have seen in England and France, velvet suits, cut away jackets, and bloomer knickers. We also notice boys wearing tunic suits. One boy in the 1870s wears a ruffled collar with his tunic suit, but we are not certain how common that was. We note images of German Fauntleroy suits from the 1890s. Boys' clothing in general, however, does appear have been similar to the rest of western Europe, but I hope to eventually obtain much more information on German dress trends in the future. I do not know of any destinctive German styles worn by boys, except for folk costumes. We note an interest in folk costuming beginning in the late 19th century, with many German partents dressing children in folk costumes for special occassions.

Decades

Our archive of 19th century German image is still quite limited. Thus we have only limited information at this time about trends in the late 19th century. We have some limited information on the 1870s. Little Lord Fauntleroy suits were not as popular in Germany as in many other countries during the 1880s and 90. We do note boys wearing floppy bows in the 1880s. And knee pants begin to becone popular, at least for younger boys. We also notice bloomer knickers. We note three boys wearing identical velvet ssuits. Prince Wilhelm wore sailor suits in the 1860s. We are not prescisely sure when German boys commonly began wearing them. We do see German boys wearing sailor suits in the the 1880s. They seem much more common in the 1890s. A good example is an unidentified boy. Sailor suits became an especially popular style for boys as Kaiser Wilhelm began building a highseas fleet. The new highseas fleet created enormous interest in Germany for the navy, this must have expanded interest in an already popular boys'style. Children commonly wore long stockings in Germany during the late 19th century. Younger children might wear socks, especially in the summer.

Conventions

One convention we have noted in Germany during the 19th century and first half of the 20th century is that often parents dressed their children in identical or coordinated outfits, at least at age approprite years. We note it much less common after the 1950s, but in the late 19th century it was very common. This convention appars to have been especially popular in Germany, perhapsmore so than in many other European countries. A good example is the brothers seen here (figur 1).

Uniforms

We notice a few German boys wearing uniforms in the late 19th century. We had noted some earilier images, but this was lier images, but these appaer to have been mostly younger boys dressing up in costumes for play or to have their portrait taken. The boys we note in the late 19th century seem to have been the members of organizations. We do not think that they were youth organizations. We do not know of any German uniformed youth organizations in the late 19th century. Rather we believe that they were village or neighborhodd organizations. We believe that in many cases that these were band groups which participated in civic celebrations. A good example here is a Berlin boy we noted about 1880. We have, however, very limited information lon the groups involved. Hopefully our German readers will provide us some insights. By the 1890s we note that informal groups were beginning to form that was to lead to the founding of Wandervogel. The Wangervogel movement did not, however, give great attention to a standardized, militatry-styled uniforms like the Boys' Brigade and the Scouts. We also notice a few boys wearing cadet uniforms from military schools.

Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing Web Site:
[Introduction] [Activities] [Biographies] [Chronology] [Clothing styles] [Countries] [Topics]
[Bibliographies] [Contributions] [FAQs] [Glossaries] [Images] [Links] [Registration] [Tools]
[Boys' Clothing Home]

Created: April 30, 2003
Last updated: 11:50 PM 12/21/2008