Figure 1.--Here we see two Belgian brothers in similar knit suits in postcard-back postcards. The boys look to be about 2-5 years old. The ealer suggested the portrit was taken in the 1920s. We think the 1930s is more likely, even later. The studio was Triebels in Anvers.

We note many younger boys wearing knit suits. This seems especially popular in Euorpe during the inter-War era, but was notable into the 1950s. Belgium was one of the European countries where knitwear fashions were especially popular. We mostly see pre-school boys wearing these knit-wear items. Knitwear is commonly assoiciated with cold weather, but these juvenle knit outfis were not just worn during the winter. The knit outfits were done in wool with matching tops and pants. Knit tops meaning mostly sweaters were common for older boys, butthese outfitsih matching pants were specifically for older boys. Most seem to have been short pants suits. At te time, short pantswere standard for boys. There were heavier knit outdits sone with long pants specifically for winter wear. This was the era before synthetic fibers and these items were almost always done in wool,a much more common material than is the case today. A lot were done in light colors.. Here is a good example of these knit suits, we think about 1930 (figure 1). We do not see them being worn to school to any extent. We thik these knit suits were less common for girls buyt we are noy yet sure about that.

Created: 6:36 AM 2/4/2025
Last updated: 6:36 AM 2/4/2025