|
We have limited information here. We believe German girls did wear pinafores to school, but we are not sure about how common this was. We do not believe that German boys wore pinafore to school, but do not that some German boys wore pinfores at home. They were very basic styles, not the fancier styles will frills that girls wear. The reason German girls wore them was the same as in other countries, to protect clothes agains dirt. In Germany there have never been school uniform like in England. Pinafores were, however, very popular for girls to wear at school. A German reader tells us that some especially prestigious schools has particularly trendy pinafores. Other schools had rules about fancy pinafores and insisted on plain pinafores to discourage vanity on the part of the girls. Conventions seemed to have vaied widely in Germany and our information is still uite limited. We notice some German images with girls wearing plain pinafores and some with no pinafores at all.
We have limited information here. German girls did wear pinafores to school, but we are not sure about how common this was. Quite a few school portraits show girls wearing pinafore, but it seems highly varible, both chronologically and frfom school to school as well as from g\family to family. Boys wearing pinaforss to school were not very common at all.
In German Schürze means 'apron' thus 'Kinderschuerze' means a child's apron as there is no precise term for pinafore.
As in other countries, the pinafore was primarly a girl's school garment. In Germany it may have been exclusively a girl's school garment, at least in primary school. We do not believe that German boys wore pinafore to school to any extent. We do note that some German boys wore pinfores at home. The pinafores for boys were very basic styles, not the fancier styles will frills that girls wore. We do note boys wearing pinafores in Kindergarten. We do not know how common this was. Age was a factor here. We have only noticed Kingergaten boys wearing pinafores, but it is possible a few younger primary boys also wore them.
We have a fairly extensive archive of German school photography and while girls wearing pinafores are common, this is not the case for boys. We very rarely see boys wearing pinafores to school, but it was not unknown. In addition, the pinafores the boys wore were styles differently. Theywere much more basic than the ones worn by girls and they tended to be darker colors. The girls wore the plainer styles as well, but the boys did not wear the fancier styles.
The reason German girls wore them was the same as in other countries, to protect clothes agains dirt. A white cotton pinafore could be easily washed, unlike more expensive gaments made from wool, satin, and other fabrics.
In Germany there have never been school uniform like in England. Pinafores were, however, very popular for girls to wear at school.
A German reader tells us that some especially prestigious schools has particularly trendy pinafores. Other schools had rules about fancy pinafores and insisted on plain pinafores to discourage vanity on the part of the girls.
The styles and prevalence of pinafore worn by German girl to school varied over time. One German reader reports a portait of a class from an exclusive school, probably in the 1890s, in which none of the girls wore pinafores. A Pinafores were still worn in the 1920s, but often by a minority of the class. Her the age of the childrn was another factor. We notice much plainer pinafores in the 1920s than we noted before World War I. We also notice German girls wearing pinnies in the 1930s. An example is an unidentified school in 1936.
Conventions seemed to have vaied widely in Germany and our information is still quite limited. We notice some German images with girls wearing plain pinafores and some with bo pinaforeas at all.
This class of German girls was probably photographed in the early 1920s. The slate reads 119Sch./2g". 119 Sch. presumably maeans Schule Nr. 119. The class presumably was 2g, meaning that it was a fairly large school. It appears to be a primary schoola nd these girls had only one more year before they finished. The girls look to be about 12 years old. Note that several wear plain pinafores.
Related Chronolgy Pages in the Boys' Historical Web Site
[The 1840s]
[The 1930s]
[The 1940s]
[The 1930s]
[The 1940s]
[The 1950s]
[The 1960s]
[The 1970s]
[The 1980s]
Related Style Pages in the Boys' Historical Web Site
[Long pants suits]
[Short pants suits]
[Socks]
[Eton suits]
[Jacket and trousers]
[Blazer]
[School sandals]
Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing Web Page
[Return to Main pinafore country page]
[Return to Main school uniform pinafore page]
[Return to Maim German schoolwear garment page]
[Introduction]
[Activities]
[Biographies]
[Chronology]
[Clothing styles]
[Countries]
[Girls]
[Topics]
[Bibliographies]
[Contributions]
[FAQs]
[German glossary]
[Images]
[Links]
[Registration]
[Tools]
[Boys' Clothing Home]
