Figure 1.--This Belgian boy looks to be dressed for his confirmation. He wears a soft dark sailor cap with his white sailor cap. Note how he is wearing his cap. We do not think this is how he actually wore it, but rather polaced like this by mother so his hair could also be seen. Image courtesy of the CS collection.

Sailor suits were first worn with sailor hats, but sailor caps soon followed. The important styles of sailor caps followed actual naval uniform styles. Older boys more commonly wore a variety of sailor cap styles. The most cap styles generally corresponded to the uniform styles actually adopted by the country's navy. Given the small size of the Belgian navy, however, the styles worn by boys in neighboring countries may have been of more significance in influencing Belgian styles. Sailor caps were most commonly worn with sailor suits and unlike sailor hats, less commonly with other outfits. They were a style that were commonly worn to school, but less commonly after World War I. The sailor cap might be worn casually. We also notice it being worn with sailor suits for formal events like First Commnion and Confirmation. The caps were made in both black and white. There a variety of different styles. Most had streampers. Notice the very wide streamers the boy here has on his cap (figure 1).

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Created: October 17, 2003
Last updated: October 17, 2003