Figure 1.-- The portrait here is undated, but we believe it was taken in the 1880s. Note that is a very plain suit with no detailing. You even have to look closely to identify it as a sailor suit. The boyv is wearing his sailor suit with a non-uniform hat. Here note the feather which was also commonly worn with Alpine caps and lederhosen. The portrait is a CDV taken by Alois Beer in Klagenfurt, Austria. |
HBC knows little about the history of the sailor suit in Austria. No information on the chronology of Austrian sailor suits available yet as we have relatively few Austrian images. The Austro-Hungarian Empire had a small navy based in Italian ports. The Empire controlled Venice and areas of northern Italy. The popularity of the sailor suit may have come more from the German fashion influence than the emulation of the Austrian Navy. The earliest Austrian image we have comes from the 1880s. we believe that sailor suits were worn earlier, but we just have so few austrian images that we do not have any earlier example. A factor here must have been the popularity of the sailor suit among Austrian royalty. A good example is the family of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the throne until he was assasinated (1914). We note one unidentified Austrian boy wearing a standard white middy blouse in 1912. The unidentified portrait of the Austrian boy here is undated, but we would guess the 1910s or the very early 1920s (figure 1). We are unsure how the popularity of the sailor suit was affected by World War I and the fall of the monarchy. After the NAZI Anchlus (1938) the sailor suit rapidly disapeared.
HBC knows little about the history of the sailor suit in Austria. No information on the chronology of Austrian sailor suits available yet as we have relatively few Austrian images. The Austro-Hungarian Empire had a small navy based in Italian ports. The Empire controlled Venice and areas of northern Italy. The popularity of the sailor suit may have come more from the German fashion influence than the emulation of the Austrian Navy. We know that the marriage of the Prussian Crown Prince to a British princess, the Princess Royal Victoria, helped introduce the sailor suit to Germany. Both Prince Wilhelm and Prince Henry wore sailor suits as boys in the 1860s. Prince Henry even persued a career in the Krirgsmarine. We are not sure if Austrian royalty began dressing boys in sailor suits during the 1860s.
The earliest Austrian image we have comes from the 1880s. The unidentified CDV portrait here is undated, but we believe it was taken in the 1880s (figure 1). Note that is a very plain suit with no detailing. You even have to look closely to identify it as a sailor suit. The boyv is wearing his sailor suit with a non-uniform hat. Here note the feather which was also commonly worn with Alpine caps and lederhosen. I think the hat and the feather as well as the pose by a fence is to give the image a country look. This seems a bit strange as the boy is dressed in a sailor suit--hardly a farm look. We believe that sailor suits were worn earlier in Austria, but we just have so few Austrian images that we do not have any earlier example.
Germany in the 1890s began building a highseas fleet creating a naval frenzy. The naval frenzy may have affected Austria as well. We lnow that Austruia built a few dreafnoughts (big-gun battleships).
The sailor suit was a major style for boys in the 1910s. A factor with the popularity of the sailor suit must have been the wearing of the sailor suit among Austrian royalty. A good example is the family of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the throne until he was assasinated (1914). We note one unidentified Austrian boy wearing a standard white middy blouse in 1912. The unidentified portrait of the Austrian boy here is undated, but we would guess the 1910s or the very early 1920s.
We are unsure how the popularity of the sailor suit was affected by World War I and the fall of the monarchy. The Vienna Choir Boys adopted their trademark sailor suit in the 1920s. We notice that Hapsburggs were still wearing sailor suits in the 1920s.
Sailor suits were still worn by boys in the 1930s, although we have only limited information as this time. The Sound of Music of course was set in 1930s Austria. As as shown in the Broadway musical and film, the Von Trapp children both boys and girls, did wear sailor suits in the 1930s. After the NAZI Anchluss (1938) the sailor suit rapidly disapeared. The NAZIs considered the sailor suit as too symbolic of the monarchy and the middle class. Thus the NAZIs whob worked to break down class barriers looked down on boys wearing sailor suits.
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