Figure 1.--Here we see a group of German children during the winter in the 1920s. Note that no one is wearing what might be called a jacket. We see coats, suit cots, and sweaters, but no jackets.

The modern garment known as the jacket is only became more common in the 20th century. We do not see the American lumber jacket which was worn in the early-20th century, but not in Germany. The jacket is a largely 20th-century garment. As far as we can tell, we do not see boys wearing what might be called jackets until the 1930s. A factor here is thzt noys commonly wore suit coats as one might wear a jacket today. Jackets suddenly became more common in Germany during the 1930s. We believe in may have been adopted from England or America because the Germn term is 'jacke'. The Hitler Youth uniform jacket was the first such mid-weight garment that might be called a jacket. It was also a short garment. We see different styles. And then after World War II we see many boys wearing jackets, largely a function of rising income levels. Jackets do not become really common in Germany, however, until after World War II when the German Economic Miracle begins and families negan to have higher levels of descresionary income. We begin to see boys wearing all kinds of different jackets. Thus was especially the case when heavier jackets like ski jackets appeared. Actually the ski jackert was short like a jacket, but bulky like a heavy coat. They came in bright colors.

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Created: 7:01 AM 5/11/2015
Last updated: 7:42 AM 5/11/2015