Figure 1.-- The photograph here shows four brothers and sisters walking their Scottie in Vienna during 1936. The children are quite dressed up as though they had just returned from church on a Sunday although of course we don't know the actual occasion for their relative formality. The two boys, probably about 11 and 13 years old, are dressed almost identically. They wear single-breasted short pants worsted suits with white shirts and ties, tan long stockings, and Oxford shoes.

Our information on Austrian boys clothes during the 20th century is still limited, but we have begun to compile some information. Basically the trends are very similar to clothing trends in Germany.

Early 20th Century (1900-20)

Sailor suits and hats were very popular for Austrian boys in the early 20th century. White shirts were commonly worn, some with detachable collars. Most boys wore kneepants. Yonger boys wore a variety of tunic outfits with bloomer knickers. Older boys commonly wore Norfolk style jackets. Long stockings were very common, especially duting the cold winter weather. Clothing styles were very similar to Germany except that some younger boys seem to have worn fancier outfits.

Inter-war and War Years (1920-45)

Sailor suits continued to be worn, although they gradually declined in popularity. Norfolk suits were popular in the 1920s, but by the late 20s modern looking single and double-breasted jackets were common. Boys began wearing more looking Kneepants were gnerally replaced with short pants after World War I (1914-18). Lederhosen were worn by many boys, especially in rural areas. Some boys had Alpine jackets which might be worn with lederhosen. Older boys might wear knickers, but shorts and long pants were also worn. Some boys wore smocks to school. We note very little difference between Austrian and German clothes. Germany annexed Austria to the Reich with the Anchluss (1938). Kneesocks became increasingly popular, but younger boys commonly wore long stockings in cold weather. The photograph here shows four brothers and sisters walking their Scottie in Vienna during 1936 (figure 1). The children are quite dressed up as though they had just returned from church on a Sunday although of course we don't know the actual occasion for their relative formality. The two boys, probably about 11 and 13 years old, are dressed almost identically. They wear single-breasted short pants worsted suits with white shirts and ties, tan long stockings, and Oxford shoes. They also wear dark overcoaats and what look like flat caps, although the image is a little unclear. The girls, the oldest of whom appears to be about 17 or 18, are similarly dressed as well, with dark overcoats and berets. The girls' overcoats seem to have brass buttons. A HBC reader asks, "I am looking for a description of how a boy about 12 years old would have dressed in Vienna, 1935. Upscale. Would you be able to provide a few words of description?" [Gerber] HBC notes that we are slowly expanding the country section in our HBC website, but Austria is a small country and our information is still fairly limited. I would say generally that Austrian and German fashions after World War I rather much merged. There were differences before the War, but very little differebnce after the War. The only major exception is rhat folk items like Lederhosen were very common in Austria (and Bavaria), but not in the rest of Germany. As to how a well to do Austria boy would have dressed in 1935 before the Anchluss. A sailor suit is a possibility. They were still popular in Austria. Perhaps more common would have been a short pants suit, probably a single breasted blazer, worn with kneesocks. It might have been worn with an open Schiller collar.

Post-war Period (1945-70)

Boys began to more commonly wear colored shirts after the War. Conditions were very difficult in the immediate post-War era. Many children went barefoot, especially in rural areas. After the War, fewer boys wore smocks "Schüler Kittel" to school. Many boys commonly wore Lederhosen and other types of short pant. Lederhosen were especially common in rural areas. It was quite common, however, for city boys to dress up on Sunday with the Alpine-type jacket and lederhosen The girls also wore the folk dresses called drindles. A reader writes, " In Vienna during the 1950s, Austrian boys did not commonly swear caps, except in the winter. During the colder months many boys wore wool stocking caps. For Sunday many boys wore a traditional Austria suit ( Volkstrach ) with an Alpine-style cap. Even today one sometimes sees a boy or even a man during a party or on Sunday wearing " eine Lederhose " with his Austrian jacket. Many girls in the 1950s wore " Dirndlkleid "." Most Austrian boys wore shorts until long pants and jeans began to replace them in the 1960s.

Sources

Gerber, David J. E-mail message, September 23, 2005.

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Created: February 22, 2004
Last updated: 10:05 PM 11/30/2007