Figure 1.--Here we see three Germn siblings. They look to be aboyt 6-12 years old. The boy wears a cut-away jacket suit. The girls wear matching dresses with low necklines and puff sleeves. The hems come to mid calf. Their mothers would have had longer dresses. Rhe CDV is undated, but looks like the 1860s. PRETTY LITTLE GIRLS w CUTE BOY fancy dress 1860s. The studio was A. Bernhard in Ballenstaedt. Ballenstedt is a town in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. It is situated at the northern rim of the Harz mountain range.

German girls wore dresses and skirts in the 19th century. We are not yet sure how popular skirts were, but dresses were vey comon. We only have detailed information from mid-century with the appearance of CDVs (1860s). This of course was a century-old tradition. German girls wore a wide range of different dress styles. Girls' trends tend to mirror fashion changes for women's clothes. We notice changes in necklines, bodices, sleeves, waistlines, and hems. These can be followed in the photographic record. The only major difference is that girls might have shorter hems which lowered with age. Blouses and skirts were also worn, but we are not entirely sure yet just how common they were. A few girls may have worn other garments, but the photographic record suggests that it was rare. Of course as dresses were seen as more formal, this provably in part reflects that people dressed up for studio portraits. This continued to be the case throughout the remainder of the 19th century. Girls did not wer kilts and tunics, but pinafores were very common. And girls continued wearing mostly dresses and skirts in the first half of the 20th century as well. Pinafores began to decline in popularity after World War I. School portraits which becme a well-established tradition provide detailed evidence of fashion trends in the 20th century. We see many girls wearing pinafores to school. Smocks were not common. We also have snaphots which reflect actual usage more than studio portraits. Sailor styles as with the boys were especially popular in Germany, but were only one of many different styles. We do not see girls wearing other garments until, except the bloomers worn for gym, until World War II, but pants did not begin to become common until the 1960s. Skirted garments of course have never gone out of style, but are now very common for both girls and women.

Chronology

German girls wore dresses and skirts in the 19th century. We are not yet sure how popular skirts were, but dresses were vey comon. We only have detailed information from mid-century with the appearance of CDVs (1860s). This of course was a century-old tradition. Girls continued wearing mostly dresses and skirts in the first half of the 20th century as well. Pinafores began to decline in popularity after World War I. School portraits which becme a well-established tradition provide detailed evidence of fashion trends in the 20th century. We see many girls wearing pinafores to school. We do not see girls wearing other garments until, except the bloomers worn for gym, until World War II, but pants did not begin to become common until the 1960s. Skirted garments of course have never gone out of style, but are now very common for both girls and women.

Types

There are several different skirted garments. The most important is the dress, but there are also skirts, kilts, tunics, and pinafores. Dresses, skirts, smocks, and pinfores were worn by girls and younger boys. Kilts and tunics were only for boys. German girls wore a wide range of different dress styles. Girls' trends tend to mirror fashion changes for women's clothes. We notice changes in necklines, bodices, sleeves, waistlines, and hems. These can be followed in the photographic record. The only major difference is that girls might have shorter hems which lowered with age. Blouses and skirts were also worn, but we are not entirely sure yet just how common they were. Pinafores were common. A few girls may have worn other garments, but the photographic record suggests that it was rare. Of course as dresses were seen as more formal, this provably in part reflects that people dressed up for studio portraits. This continued to be the case throughout the remainder of the 19th century. Girls did not wear kilts and tunics, but pinafores were very common. Smocks were not common. We also have snaphots which reflect actual usage more than studio portraits. Sailor styles as with the boys were especially popular in Germany, but were only one of many different styles.

Gender

Dresses were the primary garment worn by girls and women. Following a long tradition, younger boys also wore dresses and other skirted garments. We have not yet developed information on the age trends. This continued to be the case in the 19th century. We do not yet know if this differed from other countries. We think that convention mau have been weare in Germany than many other European countries, but we can not yet substantiate this. We note that this this as in other countries began to decline in the late-19th century. We still see this in the early-20th century before World War I, but to a lesser extent and only very young boys. The only important exception was tunics which were very popular for younger boys. After the War, skirted garments for boys rapidly disappeared. Ending a centuries-long convention of younger boys wearing skirted garments.

Ages

Created: 1:14 AM 7/17/2015
Last updated: 10:15 PM 1/11/2016