Figure 1.--This portrait is unidentified, but it is almost certainly a German boy. We would guess that he had his portrait taken about 1930. He wears a jacket with Norfolk styling and the shirt style with wide collars rather like a sailor suit middy blouse. This was a popular style shirt in the late 1920s and 30s.

The following information is available on the garments worn by German boys during the inter-war era.

Headwear

Some boys wore sailor caps and a military-style peaked cap during the 1920s. Headwear in the 1930s were dominated by Hitler Youth uniform styles.

Sweaters

Many boys wore sweaters during the Winter They were often knotted bu mother or grandmother rather than bought in stores.

Shirts

We mostly see boys wearing white or other solid color shirts. Most are standard collared shirts. We note some fancier styles for younger boys. Some look to have been made at home. This portrait is unidentified, but it is almost certainly a German boy. We would guess that he had his portrait taken about 1930. He wears a jacket with Norfolk styling and the shirt style with wide collars rather like a sailor suit middy blouse. This was a popular style shirt in the late 1920s and 30s (figure 1).

Sailor suits

Sailor suits were more popular in Germany in the 1920s-30s and were not, as in Britain, just worn by little boys. Virtually all German boys had sailoe suits in the early 20th century. This declined somewhat in the 1920s, but they were still widely worn. They declined in popularity, however, after the NAZI takeover. The NAZIs did not approve of sailor suits for some reason, I'm not sure why. I'm also not sure how this attitude was communicated to the public. After the mid 1930s you arealy see a German boy wearing a sailor suit--except for very young boys.

Suits

Geman boys still commonly wore Norfolk suits in the 1920s, but by the 1930s standard single and to a lesser extent double-breasted jackets. Some boys had Bavarian jackets. Kneepants suits were still quite common in the 1920s, but by the 1930s boys were wearing short, knicker, and long pants. Suits became somewhat less important in the 1930s as after the NAZI's seized power, the Hitler Youth became more important in a boy's life. Also the Hitler Youth began discouraging church attendendance--one of the princapal events in which boys dressed up.

Pants

Short pants increasingly replaced kneepants in the 1910s. Shorts had become the dominate fashion for German boys in the 1920s as in the rest of Europe. Quite old boys wore short pants although some also wore knickers. Some younger boys would wear long stockings with shorts during the winter rather than kneesocks. More so than French and British boys, some German boys would have a pair of long pants to wear during the winter. Often smaller boys did not have any long trousers. Younger boys might wear long over the knee stockings with shorts as the weather became cooler. German mothers appear to have been more concerned with the winter than British mothers. Many older boys had long pants to wear during the colder winter months. Mothers commonly made the decision as to when it was cold enough for long trousers.

Lederhosen

Bavarian boys wore lederhosen, short leather pants, during the summer. The style spread to other areas of Germany as well.They lasted forever and were perfect for rough outdoor wear. They were very versetile garments. They were worn by some boys much as jeans were once worn, for casual weear. They were perfevt fopr camping and often worn by Boy Scouts and later Hitler Youth. They were also commonly worn to scool and could be even worn as a dressy outfit with a suit jacket.

Hosiery

Kneesocks were commonly worn by boys in the 1920s and 30s. Boys wearing short pants usually wore kneesocks. They were generally colored kneesocks, primarily grey and light browns. Paterened kneesocks were also worn. White kneesocks were especially popular for dressy occasions. Unlike the smaller boys, older boys did not commonly wear over the knee stockings with shorts. Rgere was also a kind of sock worn on the calf that boys sometimes wore when wearing lederhosen

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Created: February 17, 2004
Last updated: February 17, 2004