*** European boys' suits country trends Europe








Boys' Suits: Country Trends--Europe

German sdhort pants suits
Figure 1.-- European boys in the 20th century through the 1950s tended to wear short pants suits. This included many boys into their early teens. Here we see a German boy posing with his proud mother about 1960.

We note European boys commonly wearung suits in the 19th and early- mid-20th centuries. We do not know much about the 19th century, but we know a great deal about the 20th century. Suits begin to become less common after the mid-20th century as casual styles become more common. We can often identify the country involved based on suit styles worn, at least for the major countries. The smller countries tended to wear styles set in the major countries, especilly England, France, Germany, Italy, and Russia. There was a great deal of similarity among coutries, but along with suit styles there are other cluses such as the caos, neckwear, hisiery, and footwear. We note a range of styles, including destintive styles for younger boys. Fauntleroy suits were not as popular in Europe as in America, but sailor suits seem more popular. The styles worn in the 19th century were quite varied. Gradually single- and doubled-breasted suits emerged as the mail styles, but Norfolk abd Eton suirs were also worn. Various type of pahts wee worn by boys, including knee opahts, short pants, knickers, and long pants. Short pants suits were very common for schoo-age boys. After World War II, especially by the 1950s we see fewer European boys wearing suits and thge suits they wore were increasingly standardized.

Austria

We do not yet have a great deal of information on Austrian suits, largely because our Austrian archive is fairly limited. We note boys wearing skeleton suits in the early-19th century. This was a common style throughout Western Europe. As far as we can tell the types of suits worn in Austria and chromolgical trends is fairly similar to Germany, at least by the time photographic images beconme available in the mid-19th century. At mid-centuiry, jackets and pants often did not match, byt by the 1860s suits we begin to see matching suits, althouh this did not become lsrgely universal until the 1870s. We note the same juvenile styles. Fauntleroy suts were not very common, but sailor suits were. Sailor suits became especially popular in Austria. We are not sure hu because Austria-Hungary was not a mjor naval power. Perhaps it was the influence of the monarchy. We see the same styles like collar-buttoning, single and double breasted, Norfolk and Eton jackets. And we notice the same type of pants (including short, knee, knicker, and long pants) worn with suits. The chronological trends concerning these styles as well as the wearing of suits also seem similar. The major destinctive Austrian trend seems to be the use of tracht (folk) styles for suits as well as more casual styles. And in the post-War II period we note suits becoming less common for boys, atrend we note throughout Europe.

Belgium

Suits were very commonly worn by Belgian boys, as did boys in other European countries, in the late 19th century and the first half of the 20th century. Some boys wore sailor suits instead of suits. Only in the 1950s did boys begin to wear increasingly casual styles and suits became less common. There were many different styles of suits. We note both single and double breasted suits. We believe that Belgian boys basically followed popular French styles, although we have only limited information at this time. We do note that in the late 1920s and 1930s that an open collar shirt with a wide collar worn over the suit lapels was a popular style. Belgian boys have worn suits with kneepants, knickers, short pants, and longpants. We note a few boys wearing black suits which appear to have been a color that was not popular in many other European countries, although worn in America. One good source of information on the suits worn by Belgian boys over time are the First Communion portraits taken. Belgium is a largely Catholic country and most boys did their First Communion in suits, although her again more casual styles were notable bu the 1060s even for First Communion.

Bulgaria

We have only limited information on Bulgarian suits at this time. We know very little about suits in the 19th century. After the Napoleonic Wars, the Balkans gradually shifted from Otoman provinces to independent Christian kingdoms. This began with Greece (1820s) and then reached Romania and Serbia, but grdually reached Bulgarian in the southern Balkans as well. Russia stronglysupportedthe process because of strategic, religiou, and ethnic ties. We note boys by the late-19th century beginnng to dress like boys in other European countries, especially Bulgarian boys in Sofia and other Bulgarian cities. We notice boys in Bulgarian cities after World War I (1914-18) dressed much like boys in other European countries. It is virtually impossible to identify Bulgarian boys and suits just from available photographs unless they are identified. We see various styles of jackets as well as the short pants, knickers, and long pants wesee in other countries. This was less common in rural areas, but fairly standard in the cities. The same age conventions seem to have governed the selection of pants as was the case in other European countries, but again varied from family to family. Knicker suits seem the least common, but we see a few teenagers wearing them. Short pants suits seem standard for school age boys and the long pants become common as boys reach the teen years, espcially after the early teen years. Economic conditions were extremely difficicult after the Communists seized control following World War II. We do not have much information on suits during this period. After World War II we begin to see most boys waring long pants suits by the 1960s.

Czechoslovakia

Czech boys commonly wore suits at the time the country achieved indepebdence after Workd war I. We notice Czech boys wearing the same styles of suits we see in Germany where styles were apparently set. We suspect that styles in Prague and the other large cities were virtyally identickl with Germany. We do not see any important diffrences. Sailor suits were popular in Czechoslovakia even though the countrty and Bohemia before it never had a navy. Perhaps sailor suits were somewhat less popular in Czechoslovakia than Germany. And sailor suits may have been more popular among the large German minority. Given our relatively small archive, however, we can not yet make a definitive assessment. And perhaps Slovakia was a little differenht because it was more rural and somewhat less prosperous. We note both single- and double-breasted suits, akthough sinfle-breasted jackets seem the most common. Boys wore knee pants, short pabts,knicker and long pants with these suits. Shirt pants became more common during the inter-War era abd were widely worn after World War II. We see more biys wearing long pants suits by the 1960s. But as in thre rest of Europe, by this time we see fewer boys wearing suits.

England

English boys have worn a wide variety of suits. The suit used to be a much more important part of a boy's wardrobe than is the case today when suits are not commonly worn. The basic suit garments were the jacket or coat and matching trousers. Some three-piece suits came with vests. There were also suits with matching caps, but this was not very common. Many suit styles originated in England, including the sailor suit, the Eton and Norfolk suits as well as several other lesser known styles. Suits with cut-away jackets were popular in the mid-19th century. Sack suits gradually became the sandard style. Single-breasted coats have been the major style worn by boys in England. Suits were worn with different types of trousers. English boys have worn long pants, kneepants, knicker, and short pamts suits. We see boys in the 19th century wearing both kneepants and knicker suits. Many English boys after World War I wore short pants suits. The popularity of short pants suits began to decline in the late 1950s. They were still available for younger boys in the 70s, but rarely seen since except as part of school uniforms.

France

French boys have worn a wide variety of suits over time. The style of a suit is largely, but not completely determined by the jacket style. French boys have worn basically the same suit styles worn by other European boys. We do not notice any destinctive French suit styles. Some of the basic suit sytles were detailed somewhat differently in France than in other countries. French boys mostly wore kneepants suits in the late 19th century. After the turn of the 20th century, shorts pants suits began to appear and after World War I were the primary suit type worn by French boys. Older boys might wear knicker suits. Some boys ha suits with shorts for the summer and knickers for winter wear. After Worl War II, long pants suits became more common, especially during the 1960s. By the 1980s, virtually all French boys wore long pants suits--except for the very youngest.

Germany

HBC is just beginning to archive inforamtion on the suits worn by German boys. Unlike American suits where we have some early catalogs, we do not yet have any information on German suits, other than available images. German boys at the turn of the 20th century commonly wore kneepants suits. After World War I (1914-18), short pants suits became increasingly common, although older noys might wear knicker suits. By the 1960s, boys were increasingly wearing long pants suits. We have little information on the style of suits, but we have noted double breasted suits at the turn of the century. Single breasted suits, however were more common. More specific details on jacket styles are not yet available.

Greece

As elsewhere in Europe, young boys commonly wore dresses and other skirtged garments like their sisters thoughout the 19th century. We are not sure about earlier times when Greec ewas a province of the Ottoman Empire. And even after independence we are not sure how families dressed boysin rural areas where traditional styles were prevalent. Greek folk costumes include the kilt. We are not sure to what extent boys wore these garments. We do not know if they were comminly worn or just worn for special occassions. Nor do we know about social-class cinnoitations. In the cities and towns we believe that the general European fashion of dressing boys in dresses was common. At this time we do not have enough information to make any assesments s to prevalence, styles, and conventions. We will not be able to do this until we acquire more images. After the turn of the 20th century this fashion continued but gradually declined in popularity as it did in other European countries. .

Italy

Italian suits are considered to be some of the most stylish available. Our information on suit styles is still very limited. We have noted Italian boys wearing all the different types of suits, kneepants, knickers, short pants, and long pants. They often are more trendy than the more staid English suit styles. They also tend to use a wider range of materials. Presumably some of this styling flair caried over onto boys' suits. Our knowledge of Italian suits, however, is still very limited. We have little igormation on the 19th century at this time or the early 20th century. We note boys generally wearing short pants suit in the mid-19th century. Shirt pants suits wre vey common through the 1950s, although we note boys in the 1950s wearing long pants suits as well. Social class factors may have been a factor in the types of suits worn.Boys in the 1960s increasingly began wearing long pants suits. A HBC reader has provided us an image of a popular suit style in the 1970s. Boys commonly wore short pants suits through the 1950s, but long pants suits began to become more common in the 1960s. Suits were very common in the ealy 20th centuy, but after World War II, casual clothes became increasingly common. Our information on Italian suits is still very limited. We hope that HNBC readers will provide more detailed information on boys' suits.

(The) Netherlands

Dutch boys used to wear suits more commonly than is the case today. Boys used to have much more limited wardrobes than is the case today, but many would have suits. Suits were worn for a wide range of occassions than is the case today. Suit styles appear to have been influence by English styles. Several different types of suits have been worn, including kneepants, short pants, knickers, and long pants. Jacket styling also varied over time. Younger boys wore short pants suits while older boys may have worn knicker suits--especially during the winter. Some boys wore suits to school, but this became less common in the 1950s.

Russia

Russian boys wore a range of suit types. Our information is limited, but many of them were the same basic styles as worn by other European boys. Suit and other clothing styles were largely set in Western Europe. This was especially true in the 19th and early 20th century. One exception was the Russian-blouse. This could be worn instead of a suit jacket. We know less about the 20th century. This is because after World War I, the Soviet Union was established. Soviet authorities based on Communist ideology, discouraged fashion. It was seen as a Western bourgeois dalliance. Od course fashion is as old as humanity. Thus the Soviet authorities were weiging against a basic thred of human nature. Clothing manufacturers were nationalized as part of Soviet economic policy. Soviet authorities limited both wages and the acialability of consumer goods such as clolthing. Soviet manufactuers no longer had to respond to consumer demand. And shortages of consumer goods meant that Russians had to be satisfied with whatever was available. Another factor was the relative poverty of Russia during the Soviet era, especially before World War II. Russia even at the time of World War II was still a larely rural country although the cities had grown with industrial expansion. Many boys except in the major cities probably did not have suits. This changed after the War when living conditions improved, although were still far below standards in the West. And this was reflected in children's clothing.

Scotland

We do not yet have much much information about suits in Scotland, but have begun to collect some information. Our Scottish archive is still very limited. Our information on the 19th century is limited, but we now have some information on on the 20th century. The images we have found show Scottish boys wearing suits that were virtually indistinguishable from English suits. There were the same popular styles as worn in England. We notice a variety of styles. We do have a portrait of an Edinburgh boy wearing a Fauntleroy outfit, but with a cape rather than a jacket. We also see Scottish boys wearing sailor suits like the ones worn by Enflish boys. We also notice Scottish boys wearing the same kind of regular suits worn in England. We see cut-away jackets in the mid-19th century. Boys wore both single- and double-breasted jackets. Some boys from well-to-do families wore Fauntleroy suits. Norfolk jackets seem popular in the late-19th cedntury. The jackets seem the same as those worn in England and America. Scottish suits are a little different than the suits worn in America in that knickers pants seem more common than knee pants. Of course when worn with kilts the Scottish connection is clear. An important factor was age. Suit styles were very different for boys of differenht ages. These differences are now much less notavle.







HBC






Navigate the Historic Boys' Clothing Web Site:
[Return to the Main country suit page]
[Return to the Main suit page]
[Introduction] [Activities] [Biographies] [Chronology] [Clothing styles] [Countries]
[Bibliographies] [Contributions] [FAQs] [Glossaries] [Images] [Links] [Registration] [Tools]
[Boys' Clothing Home]



Navigate the Historic Boys' Clothing Web chronological pages:
[Early 19th century] [Mid-19th century] [The 1860s] [The 1870s] [The 1880s]
[The 1890s] [The 1900s] [The 1910s] [The 1920s] [The 1930s] [The 1940s]
[The 1950s] [The 1960s] [The 1970s] [The 1980s]



Navigate the Historic Boys' Clothing Web style pages:
[Skeleton suits] [Eton suits] [Norfolk jackets] [Kilts] [Knicker suits]
[Blazers] [Short pants suits] [Long pants suits]




Created: 8:27 PM 5/3/2012
Last updated: 1:05 AM 12/10/2018