Figure 1.--This is a detail from a Swiss secondary school, The school was in Winterthur, located in the Zurich canton. The photo is was taken March 30, 1931. One of the interesting features here is that the two boys are dressed in pretty much the same style (with sweaters, Schiller collared white shirts, and short trousers). The chief difference is that one wears tan long stockings while the other wears knee socks with stripes around the cuffs. In late March when the weather would still be fairly cool, some boys would probably choose to have bare knees while others would not--or perhaps their mothers would make this decision in the early 1930s. The boys seem to be about thirteen years old. The photo does give us a nice idea of older schoolboy dress in the German-speaking region of Switzerland.

Switzerland is a mountainous country with cold winters. The sweater is thus a popular garment in Switzerland. We are not sure yet about the chronology. The sweater is a casual garment and ths not commnly worn for studio portraits in the 19th century. We do much more about the 20th century with the appearance of family snapshots. We norice a lot of boys wearing them throughout the 20th century. They were commonly worn to school. This depended on both the school and family. Many boys wore suits to school. But we also notice many boys wearng sweaters to school, mostly pull-overs. Sweaters seem more popular wih boys than girls. We see boys wearing sweaters with bright colors and patterns in the inter-War era, what we would now call ski sweaters. With black and white photography, we are not sure about the actual colors. Girls also wore sweaters, but the loudest patterns seem more popular with the boys. We also note what look like plain grey sweaters. "V"-neck sweaters seem very popular even though the sweaters were commonly worn without ties. Some boys wore belts over their sweaters. We see the same convention in Germany. We are not sure why this was so popular. Long sleeve sweaters were almost universal until after World War II. Sweaters were normally made of wool until well after World War II.

Prevalence

Switzerland is a mountainous country with cold winters. The sweater is thus a popular garment in Switzerland. We note largev numbers of boys in the photographic record wearing warm sweaters.

Chronology

We are not sure yet about the chronology. The sweater is a casual garment and ths not commnly worn for studio portraits in the 19th century. We do much more about the 20th century with the appearance of family snapshots. We norice a lot of boys wearing wearing sweaters them throughout the 20th century. Our chronological information is still limited, but we see a lot of V-neckpull-overs with loud patterns in the 1930s. The patterns here with pattens covering the sweater are a good example. We note that by the 1950s, a lot of crew-neck sweaters with only a band of patterns A good example is from the Hinwil School. Two has two boys at the right dressed in identical pullovers with a pattern across the chest (perhaps because the boys are twins. Other boys wear sweaters with bands of pattern, but many others wear plain collars. We are unsure about the colors.

Usage

They were commonly worn to school. This depended on both the school and family. Many boys wore suits to school. But we also notice many boys wearng sweaters to school, mostly pull-overs.

Gender

Sweaters seem more popular wih boys than girls.

Colors and Patterns

We see boys wearing sweaters with bright colors and patterns in the inter-War era, what we would now call ski sweaters. With black and white photography, we are not sure about the actual colors. Girls also wore sweaters, but the loudest patterns seem more popular with the boys. We also note what look like plain grey sweaters.

Types

We see Swiss children wearing different types of sweaters. The most popular by far was the pull-over. We see mostly V-neck pullovers. Crew necks seem much less common, although this varied chronologically. The "V"-necks seem very popular even though the sweaters were commonly worn without ties. Most boys wpore "V"-necks with patterns, some quiter loud. A few boys had plain sweaters, we assume grey, but this is difficult tgo tell with black-abnd-ehite photography. A few boys wear what look like British school sweaters with trim at the collar and cuffs. Long sleeve sweaters were almost universal until after World War II. We notice some girls wearing cardigan sweeaters. Turtle necks do not seem to be very common.

Material

Sweaters were normally made of wool until well after World War II.

Belts

Some boys wore belts over their sweaters. We see the same convention in Germany. We are not sure why this was so popular.

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Created: 9:20 AM 3/8/2010
Last updated: 4:12 AM 6/26/2010