Figure 1.--Here is a boy wearing the soft sailor caps that were popular in the early 20th century. I at first thought the boy was German, but am unsure how to interpret the photographer's mark at the bottom of the portrait. Click on the image for a fuller discussion.

German boys wore a range of cap styles, but they seemed to have closely followed the styles of the German Kriegsmarine. There were different styles. The two principal styles were a stiff and soft cap. There were also blue and white caps. Some were rather stiff construction with a saucer top. There were also a stiff cap, but without the saucer top. This appeared after World War I. I'm not sure what the proper term was for these different cap styles. We have also seen soft caps. The soft caps seem to have been very popular. This varied, however, over time. We see boys wearing sailor caps in the 1920s when sailor hats were no longer commonly worn. All the caps had tallies with the names of ships or regions. They also had rear black streamers, often twein streamers, of varying length. Unlike French sailor caps, German caps never had poms. Boys did not always wear sailor style caps with sailor suits. We see many boys wearing military-style school caps. These were caps woth leather bills. These caps were very common in Germany. They were not worn by all primary-school children, but were generally worn at the secondary level. There were slight variations in these capsa, but they style was remarably ximilar. We note them in the 19th century through the 1930s, but see few examples in the 1940s, especially after the end oif the war.

Sailor Syles

German boys wore a range of cap styles, but they seemed to have closely followed the styles of the German Kriegsmarine. There were different styles. The two principal styles were a stiff and soft cap. There were also blue and white caps. Some were rather stiff construction with a saucer top. There were also a stiff cap, but without the saucer top. This appeared after World War I. I'm not sure what the proper term was for these different cap styles. We have also seen soft caps. The soft caps seem to have been very popular. This varied, however, over time. We see boys wearing sailor caps in the 1920s when sailor hats were no longer commonly worn. All the caps had tallies with the names of ships or regions. They also had rear black streamers, often twein streamers, of varying length. Unlike French sailor caps, German caps never had poms. Sailor caps except as part of the Hitler Youth Marine Division virually disappeared in Germany after the NAZIs came to power (1933). I think they were declining in popularity earlier, but the trend is particularly notable after the NAZI take over. The NAZIs generally disapproved of sailor suit, except for very little pre-school boys. This is interesting in thst the NAZIs initiated a substantial naval building campaign and service on the the big battleships and laster the U-boasts was extremely prestigious.

Non-Sailor Styles

Boys did not always wear sailor style caps with sailor suits. We see many boys wearing military-style school caps. These were caps woth leather bills (brims). These caps were very common in Germany. They were not worn by all primary-school children, but were generally worn at the secondary level. There were slight variations in these capsa, but they style was remarably similar. We note them in the 19th century through the 1930s, but see few examples in the 1940s, especially after the end of the war. If it was an actual school cap it had different colored bands. The caps were worn to school, but we also see them being worn in non-school situations. They were of course worn with other outfits and were not a style sopecifically designed for a sailor suit.

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Created: 2:33 PM 1/10/2006
Last updated: 1:37 AM 1/28/2010