Swedish Boys' Clothes Chronology: 20th Century



Figure 1.-- Here we see a Swedish boy and girl in what looks like a rural village during 1945. They are playing with their dog during the Summer. The boy wears long short pants with supenders. We suspect the children in the cities would have dressed more fashionably. A reader suggests, "I am not at all sure these are rural children. The outfit worn by the girl was certainly not traditional rural clothing. I think that these were children of a prosperous family that stayed at their country home in the summer or visit with the grandparents."

Most Swedish boys at the turn of the 20th century wore kneepants. Sailor suits were a popular style. Long stockings were commonly worn, in part because of the climate. British and German styles appear to have been influential. Sweden is located in northern Europe and this of course afected fashion and this impact has not changed over time. We notice knickers persisting in Sweden longer than in many other European countries, although by the 1950s but they were often worn almost to the ankles. Boys after World War I began wearing short pants during the briref Summer season. Many children had snowsuits for the Winter. A French reader writes, "I remember a visit to Sweden when I was about 14 years old in June 1958. We stayed at a nice hotel in Stockhom. I remember noticing that the children were dressed rather the same as adults. The boys mostly wore long pants which was still not the case in France at the time."

The 1900s

Most Swedish boys at the turn of the 20th century wore kneepants. Sailor suits were a popular style. Long stockings were commonly worn, in part because of the climate. British and German styles appear to have been influential. Sweden is located in northern Europe and this of course afected fashion and this impact has not changed over time.

The 1910s


The 1920s

We notice boys wearing student caps similar to those in Germany. Younger boys wore sailor caps. Shirts and knee pants or long short pants seem popular. Collared shirts seem to all be long sleeves. They were commonly held up with suspenders. We also notice blouses. Sailor suits were popular. We notice both regular sailor suits and tunic-style suits at the beginning of the decade. Rural children often went barefoot in the summer, but long stockings were very common, especially dark long stockings. This was probably because short pants were so commomn in Sweden, even during the winter. Younger boys might wear white long stockings. High-top shoes were still common at the beginning of the decsde. We see more low-cut oxfords by the end of the decade. We note a Swedish boy photographed with his cousin in 1928. He looks to be dressed for school because he wears his peaked school cap.

The 1930s


The 1940s

Here we see a Swedish boy and girl in what looks like a rural village during 1945 (figure 1). They are playing with their dog during the Summer. The boy wears long short pants with supenders. We suspect the children in the cities would have dressed more fashionably. A reader suggests, "I suspect that those *are* city children. The outfit worn by the girl was certainly not traditional rural clothing. I think that these were children of a prosperous family that stayed at their country home in the summer or visting grandparents.

The 1950s

We note younger boys in the early-50s wearing blouses with Peter Pan collars. We see noth suspender anf H-bar pants. bth Hbarand strap pants. Younger boys wore short pants. We also see knitwear. We still see some sailor suits. Girls wore prim dresses. We notice knickers persisting in Sweden longer than in many other European countries, although by the 1950s but they were often worn almost to the ankles. Boys might wear short pants during the briref summer season, but this had declined uring the winter, by the end of the decade. The same is true of long stockings. Many children had snowsuits for the winter which can be very cold in Sweden. A French reader writes, "I remember a visit to Sweden when I was about 14 years old in June 1958. We stayed at a nice hotel in Stockhom. I remember noticing that the children were dressed rather the same as adults. The boys mostly wore long pants which was still not the case in France at the time."

The1960s









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Created: 11:19 PM 2/27/2005
Last updated: 12:53 PM 7/17/2016