Figure 1.--.

Fashions developed in specific countries have rarely been retained exclusively in any one country. Country styles affected fashions in other countries. In some historical eras a particular country set fashion and in other eras they primarily imported fashions developed in other countries. Some countries have been persistent boyswear fashion exporters. England and France have been particularly important in either creating or embelishing existing styles. Germany has had an important impact on Scandanvian and other neighboring countries. Italy has a major fashion industry, but HBC at this time does not have enough information to assess Italian fashion flows. America has been both an importer and exporter. Japan on the other hand has been primarily a fashion importer and continues to be so today. One notable trend is that often it is the most affluent elelent in any country that is most affected by imported fashions.

America

America has been both an importer and exporter. European fashion has always been important in America, especially among the well to do. Boys on the frontier after breeching largely wore scaled-down versions of their father's clothes. Specialized children's clothing was largely found in affluent urban communities--where children had the opportunity to be children and did not have to begin working at an eraly age. Affluent American mothers always wanted to dress their boys like little English boys. The boys, however, objected. By the 1940s, few American boys wanted anything to do with European fashions. Rather it appears to be that America has influence Europe. Long pants, jeans, "T"-shirts, sport shorts, sweat shirts, baseball caps, baggy pants, baggy swim suits, ect. are all American styles. I can't think of an important American boys fashion since the 1940s that has been imported from Europe. Not that moms didn't like the European styles--American boys didn't like them.

England

England has been the single most important country in the history of boyswear. Fashions developed in England such as sailor suits, kilts, Eton suits, Norfolk suits, and blazers and short pants suits spread around the world. Only in the post-World War II era did fashions from America begin to affect English boyswear.

France

French fashions have also been highly influential. The French have been less creative than the English in developing new styles, but French stylistic embelishments of garments developed in England have been very important. There have also been some inovative French garments such as the school smock and beret.

Germany

Germany has had an important impact on Scandanvian and other neighboring countries. Language afinities are a factor. Germany's powerful econonomy is certainly an important factor. The guest worker program drawing workers from the forner Yugoslavia and Turkey, for example, helped to spread German fashions to those countries.

Italy

Italy has a major fashion industry, but HBC at this time does not have enough information to assess Italian fashion flows.

Japan

Japan on the other hand has been primarily a fashion importer and continues to be so today.