German Mail Order Catalogs with Boys Clothings: The 1900s


Figure 1.--The S. Model catalog for 1903 shows a variety of coats for boys and girls. There were both reefe jackets and longer coats. There was also a cloak style hich was more popular in France. I can not read the text, but many of these styles look to be for older boys. Note the school cloaks with hoods.

Sailor suits were the heigth of fashion for German boys in the 1900s. Germany at the time was involved in a major naval arms race with Britain. The battleship at the time was the major prestige weapn system. Not country could be considered a world power without a fleet of battleships. The sailor suit was in part a reflection of this big-power rivalry. The sailor suit was probably more popular in Germany than any other country, but they were popular throughout Europe and North Amnerica. Some German fashions showed an an army influence as well, but it was the sailor suit that was a mainstay of boys' fashions. Some catalogs shows boys wearing mostly knickers blousing at the knee worn both with socks and long stockings. Sailor caps also were very popular.

The 1900s

We have found some German catalog items, but they are not dated. We believe that they were from 1900s catalogs, but cannot date them more specifically. One shows stocking supporters that look rather like skeleton waists. Unfortunately the ad copy is only fragmentary. The other shows knee pads to protect the knees of long stockings. We don't think that these knee protectors were very common because we don't see them in the photographic record. Tge catalog describes them as Knieschoner aus Leder.

1900


1901


1902


1903

The S. Model catalog for 1903 shows a variety of coats for boys and girls. Double breasted styles seem the most popular. There were both reefer jackets and longer coats. There was also a cloak style which was more popular in France. I can not read the text, but many of these styles look to be for older boys. The boys are pictured in various cap styles including sailor and golf caps. One boys wears a Glengary and the older boys Fedora style hats. Girls wear broad brimmed sailor styles. Quite a range of different styles of suits, many full sailor suits or with sailor styling, were available in the S. Model catalog. This apparas to be from the fall-winter catalog. Most came with knicker pants and were worn with long stockings, at least in the Fall and winter.

1904


1905


1906


1907

We have very little information on German 1907 fashions. A reader has sent us a 1907 advertisement for winter clothing. It primarily portrays winter clothing, but one boy's outfit is shown with the girls. The boy wears a brimless cap, winter blouse, andc knee pants. Both the boys and girls wear black long stockings.

1908

We note that the Breslauer Hausfrau, a popular woman's magazine offered tunic suits for younger boys in 1908. The two tunic suits are a good example of this popular style for younger boys at the time. They had the low-hung belt with no practical purpose which was a characteristic of these tunics. One is done in the popular sailor style. A HBC reader has sent us an illustration of pre-school outfits for a boy and girl, but we are unsure of the source. The illustration suggests older children, but the accompanying text indicated younger children.

1909








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Created: October 19, 2002
Last updated: 8:38 PM 1/19/2009