Figure 1.--While some styles were destinctive natiinal fashions, the sailior suit in its many guies easily crossed mational borders andcwas widely worn by boys in virtually every country. This American boy about 1910 wears a white summer kneepants asilor suit.

It was once possible to determine where a boy was from by the style of clothes he was wearing. There were some trans-national styles, but boys often wore styles there gave definite clues as to where he was from. HBC is often able to ascertain the nationality of an unidenified image based on the clothes the child is wearing. Often these styles eventually became sterotypes, but each of them were based on very important national styles. The major fashion centeres were, for the most part, understandably the larger countries, more powerful countries. The most important were: America, England, France, Germany, and Italy. The one exception here is Scotland, but the popularity of Scottish dress is almost ceratinly the result of its promotion by the very English Queen Victoria.

America

Fashion has long been a European preserve. Men and women around the world have for generations emulated Europeans. Yet strangely enough, America has played a unique role in boys' fashions. European fashions in the 19th and early 20th centuries set the standards. This was true for both adult and children's fashions. Americans basically followed European fashions. It was in boys' clothes that America first made a fashion statement. For the first time, America in the late 19th century created a fashion that would be widely adopted in Europe. It is unclear to HBC why the first recognizeable American style emerged in boys clothing. Interestingly, that fashion was as far removed from the American spirit as one can imagine. That first fashion was the the classic Fautleroy suit which made its appearance in the mid 1880s. That style was followed by the turn of century by the Buster Brown suit. After World War I, American and European fashions diverged. Short pants were never as popular in America as in Europe. American boys more commonly wore knickers. It was after World War II, however, that American styles began to dominate childhood fashiions around the world. The smart, wealthy set in America still looked for Europe to set fashions. But American boys knew what they wanted and it wasn't Italian strap sandals and English short pants suits. It was "T" shirts and blue jeans. By the 1950s this was a virtual uniform of American boyhood. In the next decade these styles spread to Europe and eventually around the world. Even the Iron Curtain and the KGB was powerless against the relentless onslaught of American fashion. Today virtually any where you go you see baseball caps, "T" shirts, and jeans.

England

English clothing styles have had a major impact in setting boys' fashions. France is generally regarded as a major fashion center, but this is primarily women's fashions. Until the 1960s when America fashions began to dominate worldwide, it was British fashions that were the most influential. Many of the major styles worn by boys in the 19th and early 20th century originated in Britain: sailor suits, Eton suits, Norfolk suits, and blazers and short pants suit originated in Britain. The Fauntleroy suit also has partial English origins as the author of the book was born and raised in England. France had a major impact on fashions, especially during the Regency period, but it has been British styles that dominated boys' fashions for a century. The Scout moverment which appeared in England at the turn of the 20th century was certainly an important factor in spreading English styles. The classic image of English boys wear is of course the English schoolboy in a brightly colored peaked cap and matching blazer, school tie, short trousers, kneesocks with colored tops, and school sandals. English styles set the standard for boys' waer until American casual "T" shirts and jeans began to repace the more formal British look.

France

France next to England has probably had more influence on boyswear than virtually any country, at least until American fashions began to spread in the post World War II era. The French contribution to boys' wear has primarily been stlistic. French boys adopted many sdtyles created in England and then embelioshed them. Many English styles like the sailor suit became popular in France. Relatively few boys' garments were created in France. Perhaps the skeleton suit--although HBC is still uncertain about the origins of tghis famed garment. The classic image of the French boy is a boy on his way to school wearing a beret and colarless dark-colred smock with short pants.

Germany

HBC has only limited information on German boys clothes. HBC believes that they have generally followed styles developed in England, France, and other European countries. There do not appear to have been a lot of boys' clothing styles actually developed in Germany. The one exception appears to be lederhosen. One of the most popular styles in Germany was the sailor suit which was commonly worn by German boys until the 1940s. German boys like most Europen boys commonly wore kneepants in the late 19th century and short pants from the 1920s through the 1950s. Modern German boys have adopted the pan-European style of jeans, swat shirts, sneakers, and other casual clothes.

Italy

Italian clothes for boys involved the same fashionsd as those common in the rest of western Europe during the 19th and 20th centuries. Unfortunately, I have very limited specific informtion on Italy, nor have I been able to acquire many images on Italian boys clothes. Hopefully some of the Italian visitors to this web site will provide some information and insights on historical Italian boys' styles and fashion trends. Interestingly there have been numerous Italian visitors to HBC. The topic of historical clothe does seem of interest. Unfortuntalely no Italian visitors have yet made contribution to HBC. This is unfortunate as the topic of Italian boys' fashions is of some interest.

Scotland

The Scottish kilt is probably the most instantly recognizable boys' fashion. While a relatively minor fashion today, the Higland kilt and American derivative the kilt suit was a major style for boys for half a century. Although widely worn in Scotland, the kilt did not become a major fashion for boys until Queen Elizabeth and Prince Albert began dressing the young pruinces in kilts during the 1840s.

Other Countries

These six countries are not, of course, the only countries that have destinctive national styles. Boyswear fashions in many other countries from Algeria to Switzerland are surveyed in the country section of HBC. Quite a bit of information has been collected, although we still have only limited information on many countries.