Our information on German sleepwear is still quite limited. The two basic garments are night shirts and pajamas. Night hirts are basically the same garment, although detailing can can vary. Pajamas come in a wide variety of styles. Nightshirts were worn by boys and girls in the 19th century. Pajamas rapidly replace nightshirts during the early 20th centry in America and Britain. This does not seem to be nearly as common on the Continent. We see German boys wearing nightshirts commonly in the 1930s. Here we see RAD boys wearing nightshirts in their dormitories (figure 1). This was probably before World War II. We believe that nightshirts were more common than pajamas before the War. Wesee several images of children wearing them in the 1940s. After the War by the 1950s, pajamas had becone more common, but nightsirts were still worn. We note a 1953 German catalog with a page on sleepwear that offered nightshirts. We note a advertisemnt for a bathrobe and the boy does not appear to be wearing pajamas in a1955 catalog. A British reader tells us that the German boy in a family he stayed with during the 1960s wore a nightshirt.
Our information on German sleepwear is still quite limited. The two basic garments are night shirts and pajamas. Nightshirts are basically the same garment, although detailing can can vary. Pajamas come in a wide variety of styles.
Both boys and girls wore both nightshirts and pajamas. Styling could be different, but was not always different. This varied over time. Age was another fctor.
Nightshirts were worn by boys and girls in the 19th century. Pajamas rapidly replace nightshirts during the early 20th centry in America and Britain. This does not seem to be nearly as common on the Continent. We see German boys wearing nightshirts commonly in the 1930s. Here we see RAD boys wearing nightshirts in their dormitories (figure 1). This was probably before World War II. We believe that nightshirts were more common than pajamas before the War. Wesee several images of children wearing them in the 1940s. After the War by the 1950s, pajamas had becone more common, but nightsirts were still worn. We note a 1953 German catalog with a page on sleepwear that offered nightshirts. We note a advertisemnt for a bathrobe and the boy does not appear to be wearing pajamas in a1955 catalog. A British reader tells us that the German boy in a family he stayed with during the 1960s wore a nightshirt.
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