Figure 1.--We think that this unidentified boy (probably about 11 years old) is German, although we are not entirely sure. He wears a double-breasted dark suit with short trousers and a white shirt with a tie that seems somewhat loosely, maybe even carelessly tied. He wears black cotton long stockings, obviously with a Strapsleibchen, and low cut Oxford-style black shoes. He is probably in his dress-up clothes for church or some other formal occasion since he would probably not attend school in such dressy clothes. At first we thought the image might be American because of the cut of the jacket, but we notice a rug beater hanging on the brick wall behind him, a style of implement more common to Germany than to the United States. The long stockings and length of the trousers probably indicates a date in the late-1920s or early 30s. Earlier, short trousers tended to be a little longer in Germany. In fact the image could even be as late as 1930-32. It is obviously not especially chilly outside. The black long stockings are worn more for formality than warmth and were insisted upon by many middle-class mothers as appropriate for dressy occasions. Boys in Germany often continued to wear short trousers suits up into their middle teen years although they were often allowed to wear long trousers to school from about age 14 years.

Double-breasted suits were wudely worn in Europe and America both during the 19th and 20th century. We think they were most popular in Western Europe. The double preasted suit seems to have social-class connotations and in the 20th century gradually became to be seen as a more formal style and more suited for adults. These developments and time-line varried from country to country. We see them being worn throughout Europe, especially Western Europe. They were also very popular in Europe. We do not yet have much country-specific information on double-breasted suits. We do not know aboutvany destinctive country styling. Nor do we know much about the time line of the popularity of double breasted suits or styling changes in different countries. Souble breasted suits seem particularly popular in America and we do have an American page. We are still developing information on double breasted suits in Europe.

America

A standard or sack suits came in two basic types: single- and double-breased jackets. There was a wide range of stylistic variations affecting the lapels, pockets, and other features of the jackets. We note double-breased jackets in the late-19th century. We are not yet sure about the chronology. We are unsure about the 1860s, but do see them in the 1870s. They were widely worn for many years. Double-breasted like single-breasted jackets varied in popularity over time. Double-breasted jackets came to be seen as more formal. You do not see sport jackets commonly being mde as double-breasted jackets. After the 1950s we mostly see boys wearing single-breasted suit jackets. As a youth in the 1950s, I saw double-breasted jackets as rather old fashioned. The War may have been a factor when styles usung less fabric were favored. There were some notable variations. Double-breasted jackets, like single-breasted jackets were made in different styles, including blazers. Double-breasted jackets, however, were less like to be done in the various destinctive jacket styles. Rather most double-breasted jackets over time seem to have been done in a basically similar style. While the basic style remained unchanged, the various elements of the suit such as the placement and width of the lapels did vary chronologically as fashions changed.

Belgium

We note Belgian boys wearing both single and double breasted suits. I'm not entirely sure when they first aopeared, but they were a popular style in the 1920s after World War I. Double-breasted suits seemed to have been most common in the inter-War period during the 1920s and 30s and into the 1940s. They begin to go out of style in the 1950s when single-breasted jackets begin to dominate. We note suits both with and without vests. They were made with a variety of trosers, including knee pants, short pants, and long pants as well as knickers. Wenote them in a variety of colors and material. They were done in sizes for school age boys although they were less common for the yonger boys in primary school. The double-breasted suit had somewhat of a formal, more mature look. It was widely worn by mean at the time.

Canada

England

Double-breasted suits were worn in Britain, but we do not see a lot of boys wearing them. We believe a factor here is that few if any schools adopted the double-breastedjacket as part of the school uniform. This may have affected the image of the garment as a boy's suit style. In addition, many boys wore their school uniform rather thsn a suit in England.

France

We do not have nuch information on double-breasted suits in the 19th century. We do see some fasionably dressed boys wearing double-breasted suits in the inter-War era. After World War II, we mostly see see single-breasted suits.

Germany

We have noted double breasted suits at the turn of the century. Single breasted suits, however, were more common in the 20th century. We have noted, however, some stylishly dressed boys wearing double breasted jackets. We also notice some jackets made to look like double-breasted garments, but the second column of buttons were purely ornnamental.

Italy

Netherlands

Double-breasted suits were commonly worn in the Netherlands. We have, however, limited onformation at this time because of our limited archive of Dutch images. One example is 16-years old Frans Leferink in 1927.