** boys' fashions country chronologies










Boys' Fashion Chronologies: 20th Century Country Trends


Figure 1.--It was still possible in the early-20th century to identify where a photograph was taken by looking at the clothes the people were wearing, including the children There is no doubt that this photograph wsas taken in Japan. A few decades after this photograoh was taken, Jaoanese children were mostly wearing Western garments.

For the first time we have detailed country information available on 20yth century. Thanks to photograophy, we have considerable information on the 19th century, but mostly limited to studio portraits. By tghe 20th century the fmily snapshot came into existence. So we not only see people when they dressed uop, but all aspectts of life outdide the studio. Much of our information is about the larger, wealthier nations which have left us an enormous photographic record. As a result, much of our information comes from these countries. After World War II as the Third World becgan to develop prosperous ecinomiers, we are able to develop information beyond Europe and North America. We see these countries changing. At the beginning of the 20th century, people around the world dressed very differently. By the end if the 20th century, we see children in many countries dressing similarly, basically wearing Western fashions. We have country pages to follow these developmdents around the world, lthough we have only limited infoirmationm on many snaller non-Western countries. This depends primarily on the availzbility of the photographic record.

America

Late-19th century stules continued after the turn of the century. Little boys continued to wears dress, although not with as elaborate trim. The age of boys wearing dresses began to decline, especially in the 1910s. Little Lord Fauntleroy suits were still popular. After the turn of the century Fauntleroy suits with short pants (rather than knee pants) began to appear and were increasingky worn with white stockings or white knee socks. The size of the jackets increased to cover the blouse entirely. In addition large lace collars began to be replaced with ruffled collars and smaller bows. Some ruffled collars were wore with open necks. Increasinly knee pants and long stockings were replaced with either short pants or knickers worn with knee socks. Shortpants became particularly popular in Britain and Europe while knickers became more popular in America. America was a much more rural society in the late 19th and early 20th century tha it is now. Many Americans live on the farm or in small rural towns. When they dressed up they followed the same dressy styles as boys in the cities wore--although the latest styles probably took a little longer to reach rural America in the days before television. Fashion magazines and mail order catalogs made sure that rural America was never to far removed from the latest fashions. A dramatic change occurred in the clothes worn by America boys after the First World War (1914-18). Dresses and kilt suits for younger boys disaapeared as did Fauntleroy suits and kilts. Sailor suits were still worn, but most by younger boys. Knee panrs disappeared. Some boys wore the new short pants with knee socks imported from England, but knickers proved much more popular in America. Boys continued to dress more formally than is common today. American boys mostly wore knicker suits. Suits and jackets were still more commonly worn than today. Double breasted styles were popular, but single breasted jackets the most common. Parents generally purchased patterned knee socks for boys, although some boys wore ankle socks during the summer. What Americans now refer to as Eton suits for little boys appeared for the first time in the 1920s. Youner boys were the most likely to wear short pants. They were most common with affluent families which were more apt to follow and other European styles. In the early 1920s knickers were worn with long stockings or kneesocks, but by the 1930s it became common to wear them with ankle socks--especially during the summer. Overalls were commonly worn by rural boys, but city boys had not yet begun to wear what we now call jeans. Suits were less commonly worn as casual styles became increasingly accepted when families moved to the suburbs. One casual style popular in the 1940s and early 50s was an openecked shirt worn with a wide collar that did not button at the neck. Suits changed from large lapels in the 1940s to very narrow lapels in the 1960s. Flashy sports jackets with contrasting fabrics in the 40s and early 50s changed to more conservative styles in the 60s. Madras and searsucker jackets were popular. Even by the 60s, some younger boys were still wearing them with short pants. Knickers began to become less common by the early 1940s and were not commonly worn by 1945. Little boys commonly wore shorts, but by the early 1950s most America boys wore long pants, often jeans. Jeans for pre-teen boys might be lined in red plaid flannel. Jeans were not considered fashionable, however, and many secondary schools did not allow them, although his had begun to change by the late 1960s. The move toward casual clothes was accentuated by the Beatnicks of the 1950s and the Hippies of the 1960s. Major changed occurred in boys clothing beginning in the 1970s. The move has been to casual clothing. All kinds of jeans were worn and they emerged as fashion statements. The full impact of the Hippies began to filter down to the average child. Children eventually demanded jeans, but not just any jeans--it was designer jeans in the 1970s. Other insisted on buying jeans that looked worn or even torn. The "T" shirt emerged as a major fashion, especially ones with statements, logos, or athletic or music group images. Boys no longer dressed up in short pants and kneesocks, except for the very youngest and even younger boys wanted longs by the 1980s. While boys didn't want to dress up in short pants, they increasingly wanted to wear shorts for casual wear.

Belgium

We have been able to collect much more information on the 20th century, especially after World war I in the 1920s. We do not note any destinctive Belgian styles, Rather we see boys wearing what look like mostly German and French styles. Here there may be differences between the Waloon and Flemist communities. HBC still has very little information on Belgian boys' clothing during this period. I'd be interested in any details visitors to this page may have. Available information suggests that smocks were commonly worn by boys. As in France, sailor suits were very popular which is interesting because the country had virtually no navy. Boys at the turn of the century mostly wore kneepants. The blouced knicker style seemed to have been popular. Gradully short pants became increasingly popular, especially after the 1900s. As in England, the Boy Scout movement had an important influence. Smocks were still commonly worn to school, but were less common whe the boys came home from school. Older boys might wear knickers. One particularly valuable source of information on early-20th century boys' fashions are postcards as children were popular subjects of cards during this period. Little boys after World War I in the 1920s no longer commonly wore dresses. Belgian and French mothers, however, did adapt a number of styles for such as modified Fautleroy suits with short shirts, white kneesocks, and strap shoes. Belgian boys in the 1920s adopted the new short pants style which was becoming popular in France. Formal short pants suits were worn with knee socks, but ankle socks were often worn on more cassual occasions and were more common than in England. Belgian and French short pants by the l930s were generally worn shorter than in England, often well above the knees. One particularly valuable source of information during the 1920s on boys' fashions are postcards as children were popular subjects of cards during this period, but they became less common in the 1930s. Belgian boys continued to wear short pants after the war. The style was common well into the 1960s. Traditional styles tended to persist longer in many rural areas. Smocks and shorts were less common in the 1960s, but still worn by many boys. Smocks were still commonly worn in many elementary schools. Many boys still commonly wore shorts, both for play and dress in the early 1960s. Probably about half of Belgian boys still wore shorts until they were 12 or 13 years old. Many of these boys, however, might have long pants for cold weather wear during the winter. Most of the boys wearing shorts wore ankel socks during the summer, some with sandals. Boys usually did not wear shorts much past the age of 14. Some traditional parents, however, had boys wear shorts up to 16 years, especially if their school required a short pants uniform. Major changes followed the Paris Student riots in 1968. Belgium boys today dress virtually indistinguisably from boys in France, Germay, Spain, Italy, Britain, and the United States. The pan-European boys' fashions appears to have swept even traditional Belgium. Boys wear jeans, large "t" shirts, sweat shirts, and tennis shoes. Distinctive French outfits are a thing of the past. Baseball caps are less popular in France than in America, but that is one of the few differences.

Canada


England

English boys clothing went through very substantial changes during the 20th centuries. Many of the styles and changes in England proved very influential in other countries. The formal Victorian styles of the late-19th century continued into the Edwardian era of the early-20th century. We see a range of cap styles. Boys wears shifted from the Fauntleroy suits to more restraibed styles. Kilt suits disappear. We still see Eton collars. Many boys wore knickers and long stockings. Knee pants or long sgort pants began to appear before World War I (1914-18), influenced by the new Boy Scout movement. There were major changes during and after the War. We begin to see far grearter infornality and pracgicality than was common before the War. Short pants became standard for boys. They were still commonly worn with suit with suit jackets or blazers in the inter-war years. This was often because boys wore blazers or suits to school. Peaked caps became very cimmon, usually a boy's school cap. Working-class boys continued to have very limited wardrobes. Schoolwear was often his dress up outfit. Closed-toe sandals become standard for schoolwear. After World War II Continental styles were influential. Especially after the 1960s, informal styles often originating in America became increasingly common. We se boys increasingly wearing long pants. Shirt pants and knee socks become less common. Trainers also become popular. By the end of the decade, except in school uniforms, English boys had adopted the kind of pan-European style of highly informal, casual clothing. Baseball caps become popular. Short panrs were mostly casual summer wear. Shorts began to become long and baggy by the end of the century.

France

Fance is today the largest country in Western Europe, in part because Louis XIV extnded th border to the Rhine. Germany was potentially the largest country, but the Holuy Roman Empire never managed to colalese into a unified nation state until the late-19th century, but because of two dangerously flawed leaders, was reduced in size by two horrendous world wars which put the very existnce of France in question. Modern France was in ancient times Gaul (Gallia), the primary Celtic land after the Celts were driven west by the Germanic tribes. Gaul was conquered by Ceasar's Legions in one of the great and brutal military capaigns of history. With the fall of Roman power, the Germanic tribes flooded across the Rhine. In the struggle with the Romans Visagoths, and Huns, the Franks emerged as the dominant power (5th century). Modern France takes its name from the Franks. Francia is the Latin term for "country of the Franks". Pepin founded the Carlogian dynaty which under Charlanegne include much of western and central Europe (9th century). Many of the modern European states developed from the break up of the Carlogian Empire after the death of Charlemagne. France emerged as one of those countries at about the time that the Viking raids began. The country thus was formed by the Celtic, Roman, Frankish, and Viking peoples. France developed with a weak monarchy because of the resistance of the nobility to cental authority. This left France open to attack from the Vikings and English, but in modern times the challenge would come from the Germans. France next to England has probably had more influence on boyswear than virtually any country, at least until American fashions began to spread in the post World War II era. The French contribution to boys' wear has primarily been stlistic. French boys adopted many sdtyles created in England and then embelioshed them. Many English styles like the sailor suit became popular in France. Relatively few boys' garments were created in France. Perhaps the skeleton suit--although HBC is still uncertain about the origins of tghis famed garment. The classic image of the French boy is a boy on his way to school wearing a beret and colarless dark-colred smock with short pants. HBC has relatively little written information on the historical development of French boys clothes, but will sketch out a basic outline on the basis of various photographs and magazine illustrations that I have seen. Hopefully French visitors to HBC will eventually provide some historical details.

Germany

HBC has begin to collect considerable information on 20th century boys' fashions. No destinctive German style appeared after the turn of the century. Styles appeared to have followed trends in the rest of Western Europe. Certainly the royal family was an important factor in setting German styles. Sailor suits remained very popular for boys, even some younger teenagers wore them. Slowly knee length pants and long stockings were replaced by shorts, albeit long ones. As in England abd other European countries, the new Boy Scout movement was an important factor in popularizing short pants. Shorts by the 1910s had become more common than kneepants. Fautleroy suits were worn, but I'm not sure how widely. Short pants increasingly replaced kneepants in the 1910s. Shorts had become the dominate fashion for German boys in the 1920s as in the rest of Europe. Quite old boys wore short pants although some also wore knickers. Some younger boys would wear long stockings with shorts during the winter rather than kneesocks. More so than French and British boys, some German boys would have a pair of long pants to wear during the winter. German boys did not generally wear school uniforms. This is somewhat surprising as after the NAZIs seized power in 1933, virtually everyone else in the country wore uniforms. After the World War II, Germany was devestated. There was little money for clothes. Insights into what German boys were wearing after the War can be seen in some of the many images of the Berlin Air Lift. With assistance of the Marshall Plan the Germany economy revived and the economic miracle soon caised a consumer exposion. West German children were among the best dressed in the world. Conditions were more difficult on the other side of the Iron Curtain in East Germany. The division of Germany ended in 1989 and the Berlin Wall was quicjly torn down. Differences between East and West were readily apparent and continued to linger in the 1990s. German boys today dress just like other boys in Western Europe. Short pants are rarely worn except by younger boys for casual summer wear. German like other European boys virtually live in jeans.

Italy

We notice many of the same styles worn throughout Europe also worn by Italian boys. We have not yet developed detailed information on Italian boys clothing, in part because we have realtively few images from Italy as well as little information on Italian fashion. This is a serious shortcoming as Italy is an especially important country concerning European fashion. We note many Italian boys wearing sailor suits in the early 20th century. We are less sure how common Fauntleroy suits were. Knee pants were commonly worn by Italian boys of all ages. We are less sure about hosiery trends, but believe that because of the climate that long stockings were less common than in northern Europe. We note Italian children waring school smocks in the early-20th century, but are unsure how common smocks were outside of school. Rompers might be worn by younger boys. Sandals appear to have been especially popular. Short pants became common after World War I and were commonly worn by Italian boys through the 1950s. Older boys might wear knickers. Kneesocks and long stockings were not as common in Italy, especially southern Italy, presumably because of the climate. We note Italian boys wearing singlet type undershirts as casual shirts. Long pants began to become more common in the 1960s. Italian bous by the 1970s were commonly wearing jeans. The pan-European fashion trends by the 1980s meant that there were few destinctive styles worn in Italy as elsewhere in Europe.

Japan

Japan in the 20th century emerged as the most modern country in Asia, undergoing an emense social transformation. Japan was the only country in Asia to industrialize and create a modern economy. The changes in Japanese society are observeable in children's clothing. This was especially the case for boys who were more likely than girls to wear Western clothes. We note Japanese boys in major cities beginning to wear Western-styled clothes after the turn-of-the 20th century. This was promoted because Western styles were adopted as school unifirms. It was not until after World war II, hiwever, that Western dress became widely worn in the countryside. We also see children commonly wearing more stylish clothibg after the War, especially as the economy began to eapidly expand in the 1950s. Even though Japan was occupied by the Americans, European-style clothes became very popular for children in Japan. American styles like jeans were less popular. The short pants Japanese boys wore became destinctive by the 1970s. Beginning in the 1990s, Japanese children began to wear many of the same styles popular in American and Europe. Gradually Japanese children clothes became less destinctive. We have created different chronological periods based more on stylistic changes than the chronological periods we have used fof other countries.

Russia

Generally we prefere to assess chronological trends by decades, but the Bolshevik Revolution (1919) was such a watermark event that we think it is appropriate to divide Russia's 20th century chronology by the Tasarist (1900-19), Soviet (1919-91), and post-Soviet 1992-2000) eras. There were major fashion shifts in part ideological and in part economic. Russian srtles at the begining of the 20th century were sharply divided. The upper class and urban middle class sported the fashionable clothing of the West. The working class, especially the rural population dressed very differently, boys commonly wore tunics which for some reasonnsparked a popular Western style--the Russian blouse. This changed with the Revolution. Fashion was no longer ideologically acceptable. Thus we see much less fashionable clothing in the cities, but in rural areas the peasant clothing rapidly declined and children ransitioned to Western styles, although not very fashionnle western clothing. You no longer see advertisemnts in magazines and newspapers. A Soviet propaganda wildly overstated the income gains of the woring class. And income leves lagged far behind the west, affecting how people dressed. But even the Iron curtain could not keep fashion out, especially after Stalin died and the NKVD/KGB had to moderate its fierce repressive regime to some extent. Russian teenagers all wanted blue jeans and oher western styles. As a result, by the time the Soviet Union emploded, Russian children had already adopted the popular pan-European styles of the West. The most obvious difference between Russian and Western clothing was the persistance of long stockings in the post-World War II era and then the transition to tights.






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Created: 2:43 AM 12/8/2021
Last updated: 2:44 AM 12/8/2021