Figure 1.--These German brothers in 1937 are about to take a train trip, perhsps visiting grandmother in the country during the summer. You can tell they are going to take a trip rather than gree arriving relatives because they have ruck sacks. We have no idea what the older boy is holding up. Mother has dressed them up in brand new clothes bought in a largr size than actually fit so the oyfit could be wirn for a while. The boys wear matching sailor suits, striped sailor blouses and black or navy blue short pants. Notice the high-top shoes still being worn by younger boys.

The style declined in popularity after World War I as it did in other countries. Sailor suits continued to be popular in the 1920s. Even older boys wore them during the 1920s and even the 1930s, although not as commonly as in the 20s. The military had been a revered institution before World I. This changed with the tragedy of the War. Even so, the sailor suit as a fashion for boys continued to be very popular, especially in the 1920s and early 1930s. The sailor suit's association with artistocracy and the middleclass made it unpopular with the NAZIS in the 1930s because the NAZIs were trying to break down the prevailing class structure to create a more unified Volk and Reich. Germany boys wore sailor suits both for dress and play wear. Boys, especially younger boys commonly wore sailor suits to school. They could be worn to dressy occasions instead of a suit. Even so, some boys wore them as casual or play wear. Jeans at he time were not worn in Germany. Another casual style which became popular popular in the 1920s were lederhosen. Lederhosen were, however, never worn with sailor suits. English boys wore sailor suits with both long and short pants. In Germany boys in sailor suits wore long pants much less commonly. Even older boys wearing sailor suits, commonly wore them with short pants. The short pants in the early 1920s were quite long, rather like kneepants. The shorts gradually became shorter and by the 1930s could be quite short. Sailor suits with knee pants were commonly worn with long stockings. As shorts became more popular, boys began wearing them with kneesocks and short socks. Gradually the kneesocks became most common, especially with older boys. Knee socks were mostly solid colors. I don't have a great deal of information on the 1930s, but I think with the coming of the NAZI era in 1933 that the sailor suit declined in popularity. I don't think that this had anything to do with official or adult criticisms of the navy. Rather boys and probably many parents seemed to have found the Hitler Youth uniform more appropriate in the New Germany of the Third Reich. Perhaps some did not see the sailor suit fashion as the proper image for tough NAZI youth. Perhaps the NAZI Government set guidlines for styles of clothes produced and may have encouraged private companies producing boys' clothes to deemphasize production. Hopefully German visitors to this page can provide some insights. For whatever reason, sailor suits, at least for older boys, seemed to have gradually declined in popularity during the 1930s and were even less common during the War years (1939-45).

Decade Trends

German boys continued to wear sailor suits in the inter-war era. One noteable change in the 1920s was that the great variety of styles noted before the War generally disappeared. Increasingly we see the traditional style (meaning suits styled like actual uniforms) being worn by boys. Quite a number of boys wore sailor suits in the 1920s. This is clearly observable in contemporary school portraits. In some portaits a substantial number of the boys are wearing sailor suits. The popularity of the sailor suit in Germany changed significantly in the 1930s. The sailor suit did not disaapear in the 1930s, but we see only a small number of boys wearing them in each class. There was also a change in the age of the boys wearing them. Especially after the NAZIs seized power, we see fewer older boys wearing them.

Conventions

Germany boys wore sailor suits both for dress and play wear as well as for school. Boys, especially younger boys commonly wore sailor suits to school. They could be worn to dressy occasions instead of a suit. Some boys wore sailor suits as their best outfit. The sailor suit was a very flexible garment. Boys also wore them as casual or play wear. There were some sailor suits that were only worn for formal occassions. The popular styling for sailor suits by the 1920s had become fairly standardized. Play and dress sailor suits might be differentiated by the material used. In other cases boys might use older sailor suits as olay suits. Thus we see boys dressing up an playing in essentially the same sttles. Jeans at he time were not worn in Germany and would not becoe popular until well after World War II. Another casual style which was becoming popular in the 1920s were lederhosen, but on a regional basis. Lederhosen were, however, never worn with sailor suits.

Figure 2.--Unlike England, quite old boys in Gemany wore sailor suits during the 1920s and even into the 1930s--usually with short pants and kneesocks.

School Uniforms

German boys did not wear school uniforms, except at a few private military academies. While they did not wear uniforms, large numbers of boys went to school in sailor suits. Pictures of German schools in the early 20th Century show large numbers of boys in sailor suits. This was still the case in the 1920s, but gradually declined in the 1930s. This decline was especially apparent in the 1930s, although it was a style that did continue to be worn. Curiously the NAZIs after seizing power in 1933 never required school uniforms. Everone else in NAZI Germany wore uniforms, but not school children. Some children did wear their Hitler Youth uniforms to school, I'm not quite sure how common this was. I think the uniforms were only worn on special days. Interestingly in the debate over school uniforms in America, the charge is often made that children do not need to be regimented and made to look like little NAZIs. The fact that German boys did not wear school uniforms during the NAZI era seems to matter little in the debate.

Garments

The garments associated with the sailor suits worn by German boys in the inter-war year were fairly standard. The major items were the middy blouses and pants. Headwear especially caps was also worn by many boys. German boys commonly wore wide-brimmed sailor hats with streamers and more casual caps with their sailor suits before World War I. After the War, the wide-brimmed sailor hats were rarely seen. Caps were worn with sailor suits, but they were much less common than before the war. Boys in sailor suits often appeared with out matching caps in the 1920s and especially the 1930s. This was not common before Word War I. German boys tended to wear traditionally styled middy blouses, both blue and white ones. They normally had the traditional three stripes. Interestingly, the middy blouses were often worn with matching pants or white blouses with blue pants. It was, however, unusualy to see boys wearing blue middy blouses and white pants.English boys wore sailor suits with both long and short pants. In Germany boys in sailor suits wore long pants much less commonly. Even older boys wearing sailor suits, commonly wore them with short pants. The short pants in the early 1920s were quite long, rather like kneepants. The shorts gradually became shorter and by the 1930s could be quite short. Sailor suits with kneepants were commonly worn with long stockings.

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Created: November 27, 1998
Last updated: 1:12 AM 3/8/2010