Boys' Tunics / Kittelanzug: German Styles


Figure 1.--This undated image was taken in Berlin, probably in the 1900s, certainly before World War I. At first examination it looks like a girl, indicating that German girls also wore tunics. HBC is not, however, positive that it is a girl. Click on the image for a fuller assessment.

The tunic suit was a very popular style for boys in America and many European countries at the turn-of-the-20th century. We have less information about Germany as we have so few German photograophs from the pre-World War I period. Fancy, lace trimmed French styles were less popular in Germany, but believe the Russian blouse style was commonly worn. There is extensive information in the royalty satellite site on the German princes, Kaiser Wilhelm's grand children all dress in identical Russian blouse suits. They were worn with short pants, usually with short socks rather than long stockings. It seems to have been a summer outfit. Not only are we not sure how popular the tunic outfit was in Germany, but we are not sure to what extent the tunic was an exclusively boys' garment in Germany. Hopefully our German readers will provide some background information here.

Terminology

We are not sure at this time about the German term for tunic suit. A German reader tells us, "The term I found in my books is 'Kittelanzug'. But I can't be absolutely sure. There was no picture, only description. 'Kittel' has in German several meanings including smock and tunic. 'Anzug' means suit" Another reader confirms that this ws the correct term. A tunic (like this one pictured) were called 'Kittelanzug' or 'Kittelkleid'." Another reader tells us, "Tuni suits were not much worn by German boys after the War. The term 'Kittelanzug' lasted through the years. Even in the 1930s when tunic suits were no longer worn, the term 'Kittelazugs' did not disappear. The actual garment, hiwevercganged. The garmnt referred to had changed substantially. They were still for younger boys, but were loose bluses/shirts. Kittelanzugs were then simply long (but not so long as tunics) loose blouses with belts."

Chronology

HBC has noted boys in the early 19th century wearing tunic outfits in England and France. We have very little information on the extent to which this style was also worn in Germany. We notice tunics throughout the 19th century in France and American boys wore them at least by the mid-19th century. We do not begin to notice German boys wearing them until the turn of the 20th century, buy this may because our information on German styles during the 19th century is still very limited. Some of the images are difficult to assess. We o not believe, however, that girls commonly wore tunics. We have one World War I image, but we do not think that tunics were much worn by German boys after the War.

Popularity

The tunic suit was a very popular style for boys in America and many European countries at the turn-of-the-20th century. We have less information about Germany as we have so few German photograophs from the pre-World War I period. A reader tells us, "The tunic suit was an extremely popular outfit for German boys, at lest for middle-class and uper-class boys. Until World War I Tunics were almost only garments for boys between about 3-5 years before they began school."

Styles

We have noted several styles of tunic suits worn by German boys. We are just beginnng to collect information on the different styles. The basic tunic might have different types of collars and button details. Almost always there was a belt. Fancy, lace trimmed French styles were less popular in Germany, but believe the Russian blouse style was commonly worn. Some had square, open collars and were popular for summerwear. We notice others with wide white collars and matching collar cuffs. The sailor suit was a popular style in Germany. We have not noted any sailor tunics yet, but this may be limited number of German images. Some of the suits look rather like American Buster Brown suits, but that term was not used in Germany.

Length

Tunics were done in many different lengths from the waisr line down to or even below the knees. The boy's tunic here is just below the knees (figure 1). This varied over time as well as stylistically. The most common lengths were jacket-type lengths to cuts above the knees. We are not sure about lenths before the advent of photography, but believe longer lengths were standard. By the appearance of the CDV (1860s) we have a very substantial record of these tunics. With the shorter tunics the boys wore pants, including long pants, knickers, and knee pants. In the early-19th century we beliee that pantalettes were orn with tunics, but do not have the photographic recird to substantiate it. With the longer lengths we are not sure what the boys wore with their knickers. By the 20th century the shorter-length tunics were most prevalent.

Garments

A tunic suit was composed of both a tunic and matching pants. This was the basic tunic suit outfit. Some of the tunics are similar to those worn in American and other countries. While many of the tunics are similar, the pants worn by German boys appear to be somewhat different. We note that were worn with knee pants and bloomer knickers. In other countries the tunic suits almost entirely with bloomer knickers. I am not sure what type of headwear would have been worn with these tunics. A few images show these suits being worn with bows, but this was less common than in most other countries. We also note many children wearing them with long stockings. During the summer socks were more common.

Seasonality

A reader tells us, "Tunics were not just a summer outfit. German boys wore tunics all year round. They were no seasinal garments, although the material and fabric weight might very seasonaly."

Usage

We are not yet entirely sure about usage conventions. They presumably varied over time. Our archive on 19th century German tunics is limited. And 19th century images tend to be formal portraits, often without hints as to usage conventions. This tends to be much clearer in 20th century family snapshots. We have more information on the 20th century. German boys clearly wore them to school. This appears to have been the case in both the 19th and early-20th century. Any they also seemed to have been worn as dressup garments. We are less sure to what extent Gewrman boys wore tunics a casual or playwear.

German Royalty

There is extensive information in the royalty satellite site on the German princes, Kaiser Wilhelm's grandchildren, in the early 20th century. They all dress in identical Russian blouse suits. They were worn with short pants, usually with short socks rather than long stockings. It seems to have been a summer outfit.

Gender Conventions

We are not sure to what extent the tunic was an exclusively boys' garment in Germany. We can only access available images. In most images, the gender of the children is obvious. Some of the children in the available images are in fact very difficult to assess in terms of gender. An Austrian source, however, assures HBC that German and Austrian girls always wore dresses and would not wear tunics and kneepants. Hopefully our German readers will provide some background information here.

Colors and Patterns

Most of the tunic suits we have noted are solid colored outfits. We notice a range of colors including dark shades like the boy here (figure 1) as well as light shades. We are not sure what colors they were. We note one boy wear a plaid tunic. We don't think these plaid suits were very common.

Tunic Transitions

Tunics were popular boys' garments in the early 19th century. We see in the mid-19th century garments that look somewhat like tunics, but cut shorter. We are not entirely sure just how to classify these garments. They seem to be a kind of transitional garment between tunics and the more modern jackers worn in the late 19th century. We also note a range of stylish jackets worn at the time. We are not sure just how period German catalogs and fashion garments desctibed these garments.







HBC






Navigate the Historic Boys' Clothing Web Site:
[Return to the Main national tunic page]
[Return to the Main German garment page]
[Introduction] [Activities] [Biographies] [Chronology] [Clothing styles] [Countries]
[Bibliographies] [Contributions] [FAQs] [Glossaries] [Images] [Links] [Registration] [Tools]
[Boys' Clothing Home]





Created: April 13, 2002
Last updated: 10:55 PM 10/14/2017