Figure 1.--We note German children wearing tights rather than long stockings in this 1960 catalog page. They may have first appeared slightly earlier, perhaps 1958 or 59. More boys and girls wear them. Kneesocks appear to have been more common for cold weather, but stores in 1960s were also offereing tights. The children here wear white tights. The boy looks to be wearing a sweater and knit shorts. We are not sure which catalog this was. |
German mail order catalogs offer a very useful time line on changing fashion trends. German mail order catalogs in 1960 show a number of trends. We note German children wearing tights rather than long stockings in 1960. They may have appeared slightly earlier. Nore boys and girls wear them. Kneesocks appear to have been more common for cold weather, but stores in 1960s were also offereing tights.
Our assessment of German caralog pages in some what complicated by a tendenct to mix a variety of garmenrts on one page. We note this tendency with the Quelle catalogs, including one page labeled "Die richtige Knabenkleidung", meaning "The [?richtige] boys' garments". As the image is not of a high enough quality to cut and paste, we have just cross referenced it under the major categories.
There were several styles of jackets avialable, some had fleece-like collars and or linings. We note both short and longer winter jackets.
There were several styles of jackets avialable, some had fleece-like collars and or linings. We note both short and longer winter jackets. We also note lighter javlets looking rather like sweaters. One may be suede leather--which was also popular in America at this time. Unfortynately we can not read the text to describe the garments in greater detail.
Some sweaters were styled rather like jackets.
German boys by the 1960s were wearing suits less than in the past, but most boys at least in 1960s had at least one good suit for special oaccasions.
The Quelle fall/winter catalog showed conservatively styled light and dark grey suits, one with short and the other with long pants. The short pants suit went to size 12 and the long pants suit to size 14.
German boys were increasingly wearing long pants in the 1960s, especially during the winter. Some pants in 1960 were styled with a quite tight fit.
One Quelle catalog page, presumably from a fall catalog, showed mostly blue and grey long long pants for boys Some were syles cut quite tight fitting.
German clothing catalogs in the 1960s always at least a few pages devoted to folk-styled outfits.
We note German children wearing both tights and long long stockings in 1960. Tights may have first appeared slightly earlier, perhaps 1958 or 59. More boys and girls wear both tights and long stockings. The long stockings, however, rapidly disapperaed after the appearance of tights. Kneesocks appear to have been more common for cold weather, but stores in 1960s were also offereing tights. The children here wear white tights (figure 1). We think that German boys wore white tights less commonly than the girls. I am not positive about the name of the catalog, but it mau have neen Quelle.
One Quelle catalog page, presumably from a fall/winter catalog, offered a varierty of both tights and long stockings for boys and girls. They are presented as cold-weather clothing, not as dressy wear which was once the case. The ad also stresses their use in winter sports. This is a realtivly rare ad in that tights rapidly replace long stockings and the twp appeared together in ads for only a few years in the late 1950s and early 60s.
We notice Hudson adverisements dated "c. 1960" for tights. In these
images the only color offered is black, although other colors were apparently
available as well. Helanca was a synthetic fiber resembling wool developed in
Germany during World War II because Europe had become "almost completely cut
off from its textile raw material sources overseas." "Artificial silk and
rayon staple, and therefore also the Helanca process, became more and more
important" in the manufacturing of boys' and girls' stockings and tights.
Hudson, one of the brands that was well known in Germany, advertised "the high
elasticity of Helanca material" which made possible "the production of
circular-knit seamless tights" for both children and adults.
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