Interest in seaside vacations began in Britain and gradually spread to the Comtinent which had quite a few beaches. The coming of the railroad and the wealth ctreated by the industrial revolution brough a sea side vaction within the ability of the middle class. All of this came together at about the same time that the sailor suit emergd as a popular outfit for boys and eventually girls as well. And of course nothing seem more appropriate for the seaside than a sailor outfit. Thus sailor suits were one of the most popular seaside styles for boys by the late-19th century, especially white or light blue suits. Striped suits were especially popular when white suits were not worn. Boys especially younger boys did not swim at the seaside. The might play in the waves, but wadinf in the shllows or even more imporanly plying in the sand was common. Thus sailor suits fit in well with what the boys were doing. They were also populr tire away from the beach in seaside resorts. The sailor suit continued to be popular through the 1910s and World War I (1914-18). Unlike World War II, French and English beachs were safe places and continued to be used during World War I. The sailor suit began to decline in popularity during the 1920s. They were no longer widely worn by the 1940s. Of course by this time seaside vacations went out of style during the World War II German occupation (1940-44).
Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing Web Site:
[Return to the Main French seaside garment page]
[Introduction]
[Activities]
[Bibliographies]
[Biographies]
[Chronology]
[Clothing styles]
[Literary]
[Countries]
[Contributions]
[FAQs]
[Glossaries]
[Images]
[Links]
[Registration]
[Boys' Clothing Home]
Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing Web Site:
[Sailor suits]
[Sailor hats]
[Buster Brown suits]
[Eton suits]
[Rompers]
[Tunics]
[Smocks]
[Pinafores]