Figure 1.--This 1906 cabinet card portrait shows a brother and sister who look to be about 5-8 years old. The little boy wears a sailor suit ith a broad-brimmed hat and knicker pants. His ister wears a dress and lace collar with a fancy hat. Notice the umbrella giving the girl's outfit an elegant look. The card does not identify the studio and city. Rather as was common in the Balkans, the mount says onlu 'Cabinet Portrait' on the ront and 'Souvenir on the back. We think it is Serbian because it came from a Serbian dealer. Without the provinance we could not tell it was a Serbian portrait, although the mount helps to locate to the Balkans/Eastern Europe. There is writing on the back which we think is Serbo-Croatian. Put your cursor on the image to see the back.

As with most countries we have far more information on the 20th century. There is a very substantial photographic record to work with, both portraits and family snapshots. The portraits we see show fashionable Western styles, at last among the well-to-do urban elite. The less affluent showed a more mixed fashion picture. They were, however, less likely to be photographed. Serbia was one of the countries most affected by World War I. Extensise damage was done throughout the country. For the most part we do not begin to see snapshots until after World War I in the 1920s. This is important as snapshots begin to cover a wider social and economic swath of society. We see the same fashion trends in Serbia as we see in the rest of Europe, at least with Western-style clothing. A factor in Serbia is that it was a largely poor agriultural country. Many Serbs could not afford fashionable clothing. We see large numbers of barefoot children in the early-20th century. We see many Serbian children wearing styles that seem influenced by German styles. Germany before World War II had a very large and influential fashion industry. The Serbian fashion history of the 20th century is also concerned with the spread of modern European styles into the countryside. Another issue was after World War I, Serbia became part of Yugoslavia. This union with neighboring Slavic counries lasted until 1991 when with the fall of Communism, the country began to break apart. During the Yugoslav era few snapshots identify where the photograph was taken. This makes it diffucult to identify the ones that were Serbian. As late as World War II there were still important differences that did not change until after the War.

The 1900s

As with most countries we have far more information on the 20th century. There is a very substantial photographic record to work with, both portraits and family snapshots. We still see mostly studio portraits in the 1900s. The cabinet card here is a good examole (figure 1). The portraits we see show fashionable Western styles, at last among the well-to-do urban elite. The less affluent showed a more mixed fashion picture. They were, however, less likely to be photographed.

The 1910s

The 1920s

For the most part we do not begin to see snapshots until after World War I in the 1920s. This is important as snapshots begin to cover a wider social and economic swath of society. We see the same fashion trends in Serbia as we see in the rest of Europe, at least with Western-style clothing. A factor in Serbia is that it was a largely poor agriultural country. Many Serbs could not afford fashionable clothing. We see large numbers of barefoot children in the early-20th century. We see many Serbian children wearing styles that seem influenced by German styles. Germany before World War II had a very large and influential fashion industry. The Serbian fashion history of the 20th century is also concerned with the spread of modern European styles into the countryside. Another issue was after World War I, Serbia became part of Yugoslavia. During the Yugoslav era few snapshots identify where the photograph was taken. This makes it diffucult to identify the ones that were Serbian.

The 1930s

We see a lot more Serbian/Yugoslav boys wearing modern Western clothing in the 1930s. Many of the images we have found show boys dressed much like German boys. the outfits are not identical, but they are similar and it would not be possible to identified Serbian images with any surity unless we knew they had Serbian provinance. We see city boys wearing short pants suits in the cities. Quite a few boys wear sailor suits, but not as many as in Germany. Knickers were not very common. These garments in the cities are two close to German styles to enable any kind of identification. Caps were an important difference. In the countryside it was different. Short pants in the countryside were much less common and we see rougher garments. this was a major difference than in Germany where there was not such a major difference between urban and rural areas. . Here it is often still possible to make some kind of identification. Perhaps not Serbs specifically, but at least somewhere in the Balkans.

The 1940s

As late as World War II there were still important differences that did not change until after the War. Yugoslavia was again drastically affected by World War II. The country became a killing field both because if German actions and the animosities betweem the various ethnic groups. At the end of the War the Communists sozed power bringing about dreastic social change.

The 1990s

The union with neighboring Slavic counries lasted until 1991 when with the fall of Communism, the country began to break apart.

Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing national pages:
[Return to the Main Serbian page]
[Australia] [Austria] [Belgium] [England] [France] [Germany] [Ireland] [Italy] [Japan] [Korea] [Mexico] [New Zealand] [Scotland] [United States]

Created: 5:13 PM 10/16/2016
Last updated: 5:14 PM 10/16/2016