Figure 1.--Here we see Hans, the oldest of our German family. He is 12-years old and wears a sailor suit about 1925. Sailor suits were still very popular in Germany during the 1920s. Click on the image for a back view. Drawing by Birte Koch.

There were major fashion changes following World War I in the 1920s. The most significant change after the War was a move toward more casual clothing, a trend that has continued throughout the 20th century. This change of course took place over time. We see a mix of old and new styles in the 1920s and that is reflected in the clothing worn by our family. Here we are still developing information. We are not sure what kind of underwear German children wore in the 1920s. In working on the United States section we had s substntial resource of the HBC catalog to use to understnd underwear. German children still commonly wore long stockings in the 1920s, especially during the Winter. Thus support garments like Leibchen were worn although ad hoc devices like pins and rubber bands were used. Of course we know much more about the children's outer clothing because of our expanding archive of photographic images. Here we see a mix of old and new styles that are family wore. We have chosen a range of Summer styles for the children. Readers can view the various pages by garments are by Berger family member.

Garments

Readers can look at the getting dressed project by garment tyoe. There were major fashion changes following World War I in the 1920s. The most significant change after the War was a move toward more casual clothing, a trend that has continued throughout the 20th century. This change of course took place over time. We see a mix of old and new styles in the 1920s and that is reflected in the clothing worn by our family. Here we will look at the childrens underwear, support garments, and hosiery so we can follow the process of getting dressed.Here we are still developing information. We are not sure what kind of underwear German children wore in the 1920s. In working on the United States section we had s substntial resource of the HBC catalog to use to understnd underwear. German children still commonly wore long stockings in the 1920s, especially during the Winter. Thus support garments like Leibchen were worn although ad hoc devices like pins and rubber bands were used. Of course we know much more about the children's outer clothing because of our expanding archive of photographic images. Here we see a mix of old and new styles that are family wore. We have chosen a range of Summer styles for the children.

The Children

Readers can also follow the getting dressed project by each child. Families at the time tended to be larger than modern families. Modern German families often only have only one child. Families with more than two children are a destinct minority. Such families were quite common in the 1920s, but the German birth rate was falling. The Berger children are Klara (almost 1 year old), Friedrich (4 years), Margarete (5 years), Charlotte (10 years), and Hans (12 years). Baby Klara and Friedrich are still at home. ?? has begun primary school and is in the ?? grade. ?? is in ??. Hans is in ??. We have chosen a middle-class family living in a ?? city under comfortable circumstances.

Created: 5:07 AM 9/3/2005
Last updated: 1:33 AM 9/4/2005