Figure 1.-- This Romanian family portrait shows two brothers which may be named on the back wearing identical knitted snow suits. Notice the matching mittens. The hoods and mittens would have had to be tied on by mom or dad. We thought mother may have knitted the outfits at home which may be why the outfit are being worn in the portrait, but knitting is so perfect that I think they must be mchine made. The parents are also wearing over coats. Perhaps the studio was not heated. The boys look to be about 5-8 years old. The outfits re very fgionable. We suspect tht the father is a a ranking aparatchik. We might have guessed that the portrait was taken in the 1930s, but the inscription on the back suggests the 1950s. The writing is , however, dificult to read. We can make out April 3, but the year is more difficult to make out. It looks like 959 meaning 1959. Put your cursor on the image to see the back.

The Russians helped liberate Romania from Ottoman control (19th century). Is it as this time that Western styles were first introduced. Until this time, most Romanians wore traditional styled garments. Romanian was given a German monarchy which affected clothing styles, including boys clothing. As in other countries, the monarchy had a substantial impact on popular fashions. Gradually we see European styles apparing in Bucarest and the major cities. As a result, we see typical European styles in cities by the 20th century, especially after World War I. Romanian boys at least in the cities wore the same standard styles we see throughout much of Europe. It would be difficult to identify Romanian children by the clothing worn, except for the rural children wearing peasant styles. Peasant styles persisted in the country side which over time began seen as folk styles. Romania was a largely agricultural country, thus styles in the country side were of some impotance. We see these peasant or folk styles as late as World War II, but rapidly disappeared after the War. After the War the Soviet Union oversaw the establishment of a People Republic meaning Romania becanme a Stalinist police state and a part of the Soviet Empire. Russia became a fashion influence rather than Germany. A major factor was Communist economic failure which affected the ability of Romanians to afford to dress well. The Communists not only reported standard economic failure, but the Ceseneus turned the economy into a clossal failure. This began to change with the fall of Communism (1989). Romanians today dress in the standard pan-European styles common throughout the Continent, although low income levels continue to affect fashion.

Headwear

Skirted Garments

We have very little information on skirted garments in Romania yet. European styles and conventions appeared relatively late in Romania. European styles rapidly appeared in Romanian cities. Because of our limited archives, we are not yet sure about skirted garments and conventions. We do note smocks, but we are not yet sure about prevalence and usage. There appear to have been school smocks, but we are not yet sure about how commonly they were worn at school. We do not yet have information on other skirted garments.

Suits

We see Romanian boys in the cities wearing the same types of suits as other Europen boys. Wedo not see any destinctive Romanian styles. As in other Europen countries, silor suits were popular for younger boys. We also do not see any destinctive Romaniabn sailor suits. These suits were worn by the boys in urban areas. It is virtually imossible to identify Romanian phoyigraphs unless the images are identfied in some way such as writing on the back. There is a substabtial German influence in the suits worn by Romanian boys in the cities. Romanian was a largely rural, agucultural countru until after World War II. This included many small towns and villages in which tradional clothing and life stills were still very common. Thus was a very realdivided between the modern cities and traditiinal rural areas. This is a little difficult to follow in detail because our Roanian archive is still very limited.

Shirts

Pants

We do not have a large Romanian archive, only a few imagesvat this time. The images we have so far show short pants, knee pants, and long pants. We do not know much yet about the 19th century. We have a little unfirmation on thev20thcentury. Short pants were very commom in the inter-War era. We are not sure yet about knickers. We note some boys wearing rompers, his may have been a French influence. They do not seem to have been very commonn. These of course are the urban styles. Until after World War II, many boys in rural areas still wore traditional clothing. After the War in the Communist era these traditiinal styles rapidly disappered.

Inclement Weather Clothes

Here we see Romanian brothers wearing what look like matching knit snow suits during the Communit era (figure 1). We would guess their father had an important post of some kind. The fatheris a youg man, but given how well the family is dresses we assume he has a Party post.

Hosiery

Over time we note Romanian boys wearing all the different types of hosiery as well a many boys going barefoot. We see boys wearing socks of all lengths, from ankle socks to knee socks as well as long stockings. We are not yet sure about tights. This of course was affected by changing fashion trends over time. Our Romanian archive is not yet large enough to develop general trends in Romanian hosiery. But we are able to begin to develop some overall patterns. We see quite a few Romanian boys weearing knee socks, at last among the better off urban population. Romania was a generally poor, agricultural country in Eastern Europe, large areas of which were under Ottoman control until the lat-19th century. This we see quite a number of children going barefoot, especially during difficult times such as the World War I and II periods. While located in Eastern Europe, Romanian was situated toward the southern band of Eastern Europe south of Poland. Thus the heavy emphasis on long stockings in the late-19th and early-20th century was not quite as widespread as in Scandinavia, the Baltics, Germany Poland, and Russia. Not to say long stockings were not worn, just not as dominant as in the more northerly northerly countries. The Ottoman influence may also have been a factor. Now long stockings were not just worn for warmth. There was also the modesty factor which has to be considered.

Footwear

Related Style Pages in the Boys' Historical Web Site
[Smocks] [Long pants suits] [Knicker suits] [Short pants suits] [Socks] [Eton suits] [Jacket and trousers]
[Blazer] [School sandals] [School smocks] [Sailor suits] [Pinafores] [Long stockings]

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Created: 1:55 AM 11/27/2015
Last updated: 11:25 AM 10/6/2024