Figure 1.--Here we see a portrait of a Russian boy and girl in 1910. The girl wears a kind of dressy smock. The boy wears a readitionally styled sailor suit.

HBC has begun to develop some chronolgical information about Russian boys' clothes, although our information is still quite limited. Our Russian readers have provided us some interesting information to begin building a basic chronology. Russia in the early 19th century was the most backward country in Europe. It's huge reserves of manpower and the force of the Russian winter helped to defeat Napoleon and reverse the course of European history. The great bulk of the Russian people were mired in the feudal system. They were serfs on huge landed estates with no contact with western thought and culture. Their labor supported a wealthy airistocracy which prefered to speak Russian and in fact looked with distain on the culture and people of their own country. The middle class which proved the back bone of Western European nations was very small and less important in Russia. Boys clothing reflected these dichotomies. French fashions in the late 19th Century were popular with aristocratic and affluent middle class families. This was an interesting development as France under Napoleon invaded Russian and occupied with considerable brutality much of European Russia. one=the-less French culture in the late 19th century was dominate among the elite. Many spoke French at home rather than Russian. Dress styles were similar to those of France. Like French boys, little Russian boys also wore dresses. Peasant boys wore a tunic outfit that buttoned tightly around the neck. This style was also worn by boys from wealthy families and was the inspiration for the Russian blouse in Europe amd America. Little boys continued to wear dresses after the turn of the Century, but this fashion was passing and for the most part relatively young boys wore dresses. Sailor suits were popular for boys. The Czarevitch Alexis almost always wore sailor suits, until World War I began (1914). Then he mostly wore army uniforms. Many other arristocratic and wealthy boys, as well as middle class boys, also wore sailor suits, but this was a realtively small part of the population. The sailor suit was probably a reflection of the German influence. Even before the Russian Revolution, Russia except for the elite was a basically closed society. Fashionable clothes were not generally available to Soviet citizens and restrictions on foreign publications and travel restricted the spread of European fashion trends. After kneepants had passed out of style in the 1910s, Soviet boys mostly wore long pants. Knickers were never popular in the Soviet Union. Boys did wear shorts, but mostly during the summer. Russian boys like boys in Scandinavia, Poland, and Germany continued to wear long stockings after kneesocks had become more common in Europe. Since the end of the Soviet Union in 1991, Russian boys have begun increasingly to dress like boys in the rest of Western Europe.

Early 19th Century

Russia in the early 19th century was the most backward country in Europe. It's huge reserves of manpower and the force of the Russian winter helped to defeat Napoleon and reverse the course of European history. The great bulk of the Russian people were mired in the feudal system. They were serfs on huge landed estates with no contact with western thought and culture. Their labor supported a wealthy airistocracy which prefered to speak Russian and in fact looked with distain on the culture and people of their own country. The middle class which proved the back bone of Western European nations was very small and less important in Russia. Boys clothing reflected these dichotomies. Peasant boys wore loose fitting blouses and baggy trousers and went barefoot. Boys from wealthy famikies were dressed in the latest Parisian fashions. British and German styles were also influential.

Mid-19th Century

No information available on the mid 19th century yet.

Late 19th Century

French fashions in the late 19th Century were popular with aristocratic and affluent middle class families. This was an interesting development as France under Napoleon invaded Russian and occupied with considerable brutality much of European Russia. one=the-less French culture in the late 19th century was dominate among the elite. Many spoke French at home rather than Russian. Dress styles were similar to those of France. Like French boys, little Russian boys also wore dresses. Peasant boys wore a tunic outfit that buttoned tightly around the neck. This style was also worn by boys from wealthy families and was the inspiration for the Russian blouse in Europe amd America. Military styles, especially sailor suits were especially popular. School age boys common had their heads shaved, although HBC is unsure just when this style was adopted.

Early 20th Century

Little boys continued to wear dresses after the turn of the Century, but this fashion was passing and for the most part relatively young boys wore dresses. Sailor suits were popular for boys. The Czarevitch Alexis almost always wore sailor suits, until World War I began (1914). Then he mostly wore army uniforms. Many other arristocratic and wealthy boys, as well as middle class boys, also wore sailor suits, but this was a realtively small part of the population. The sailor suit was probably a reflection of the German influence. More common for most Russian boys were loose fitting Russian blouses with closed collars. This style also became popular in Germany and other European countries, but there the open square collared Russian blouse was more common. School age boys sometimes had their hair shaved as in Germany. Many boys went barefoot.

Soviet Era (1918-91)

Even before the Russian Revolution, Russia except for the elite was a basically closed society. Fashionable clothes were not generally available to Soviet citizens and restrictions on foreign publications and travel restricted the spread of European fashion trends. After kneepants had passed out of style in the 1910s, Soviet boys mostly wore long pants. Knickers were never popular in the Soviet Union. Boys did wear shorts, but mostly during the summer. Russian boys like boys in Scandinavia, Poland, and Germany continued to wear long stockings after kneesocks had become more common in Europe. Boys wearing short pants might wear them with long stockings. After tights becamev availabe in the 1950s, younger boys wore them with short pants during the winter. Sailor suits did not disappear after the Revolutionm. Andrea Sakarov, the noted physicist and disident, for example wore a sailor suit as a boy. I am not sure, however, how common that was.

Modern Russia (1992- )

Russian boys, since the end of the Soviet Union in 1991, have begun increasingly to dress like boys in the rest of Western Europe. We do not know much about boys' styles in modern Russia. From the limited information we have, Russian boys seem to dress similarly to Wesern boys, but we note some differences. Tights seem to be commonly worn by younger boys. Also we seem to note that Russian boys are more likely to dress up and wear suits for special occassions. Casual clothing seems very vsilimar to Wesrern styles. we do not note, however, the long below the knee shorts that became popular in the West after the late 1990s. Our information, however is to limited for any valid assessments at this time.

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Created: 5:47 PM 8/11/2005
Last updated: 10:22 PM 3/23/2006