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Military apparel is one interesting aspect of military history as well as battle. And at least in modern times, military styles have played an important role in men and boys fashions. Our knowledge of military uniforms of early cvilizations varies depended on their archeological and sculptural prowess. Thise civilizations that left buildings decorated with sculpture give us important insites on military iniforms. Art often did not survive the ages with a few exceptions with burial trditions that preserved at like the Egyptians and Etruscans. And civilizations levaing a literary heritage like Greece and Rome tell us much more. Uniforms only became possible with the dawn of civilization and the wealth created by agriculture as opposed to hunter-gathering societies. Uniforms developed for several reasons. Early unifiormd depending on the society could help express familial pride. Their were obvious military reasons. The uniform helped the front-line soldiers differentiate themselves from their enemies. And as armies increased in size, the unifirms were helpful in command and control porposes, helping commanders identify their and opposing units from a distance. And uniforms as armies grew larger in the Iron Age allowed commanders to ensure that the ordiary soldier, commonly men of modest means, were properly equipped. The uniforms appearing on battlefields and changed dramatically over time and affected by the type of soldiers and the different miitary missions. Even in modern times, nit all soldiers had uniforms, although officers usually did. Despite the wide range of uniforms some elements and components have remained essentially unchanged. One major difference is that many historic uniforms were showy and used bright colors intended for recognition ar a distance. Modern combat uniform are more intended to camafloge the soldier and make him hard to see at distance. The turing point in this aproach was Wold War I and imrovements in the killing power of weapons requiring changes in tactics.
Our knowledge of military uniforms of early cvilizations varies depended on their archeological and sculptural prowess. Thise civilizations that left buildings decorated with sculpture give us important insites on military iniforms. Art often did not survive the ages with a few exceptions with burial trditions that preserved at like the Egyptians and Etruscans. And civilizations levaing a literary heritage like Greece and Rome tell us much more. Uniforms only became possible with the dawn of civilization and the wealth created by agriculture as opposed to hunter-gathering societies. Uniforms developed for several reasons. Early unifiormd depending on the society could help express familial pride. Their were obvious military reasons. The uniform helped the front-line soldiers differentiate themselves from their enemies. And as armies increased in size, the unifirms were helpful in command and control porposes, helping commanders identify their and opposing units from a distance. And uniforms as armies grew larger in the Iron Age allowed commanders to ensure that the ordiary soldier, commonly men of modest means, were properly equipped. The uniforms appearing on battlefields and changed dramatically over time and affected by the type of soldiers and the different miitary missions. Even in modern times, nit all soldiers had uniforms, although officers usually did. Despite the wide range of uniforms some elements and components have remained essentially unchanged.
The two basic types of uniforms have been army and naval uniforms. The different army units (cavalry, grebnadiers, artillery, infantry, etc.) might have quite differently styled uniforms. Niw we have a third service--the air forc. Modern Air Force uniforms are generally quite similar to army styles.
The most important military-style uniform, of course, was the sailor suit and sailor hat popularized by Queen Victoria when she began dressing the young princes in them during the mid-19th century. The designs for boys' sailor suits varied greatly, many employed knee pants or even skirts and others were veray fanciful. Most true sailor suits followed the uniform designs of the natiional navies.
Army uniforms had much less influence on boys' style. I'm not sure why sailor suits were considered acceptable boys wear, but not army uniforms. Victoria did not dress the princes in army uniforms, but more than that must be involved. Boys did wear army uniforms at military schools and academies in Germany, Austria, and America. Fancy dressoutfits have sometimes used military themes. After the Civil War, brightly colored Zouave outfits with billowing bloomer pants or skirts for younger boys were very popular. Choir groups like the Vienna Choir Boys wore army uniforms before World War I. But clearly army uniforms had much less impact than naval uniforms. Some elements of uniforms, such as sashes have appeared on boys' outfits such as Little Lord Fauntleroy suits. Some boys outfits also employed military-style buttons.
One major difference is that many historic uniforms were showy and used bright colors intended for recognition ar a distance. Modern combat uniform are more intended to camafloge the soldier and make him hard to see at distance. The turing point in this aproach was Wold War I and imrovements in the killing power of weapons requiring changes in tactics.
Military uniforms have had an important impact on boys clothes. Often there were differences between what the parents, especially the mother, wanted their sons to wear and what the boys themselves wanted to wear. The use of military styles for boys appears to have bridged that gap, at least until the mid-20th century when sailor suits became associated with very young children or even girls--making them unacceptable to most boys. Here we want to assess both the uniform styles that became popular and the ways these military styles were used on boys clothing.
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