** German boys clothes: suit garments








German Boys' Clothes: Suit Garments


Figure 1.--This portrait of an unidentified German boy was probably taken during the late-1950s. The boy looks to be about 12-13 years old. He wears a single-breasted short pants suit. It looks like a flanel suit. Suits with patterns had declined in poularity by mid-century.

Suits are outfits with matching tops and bottoms meaning jackets and pants. There were several different types of jackets, both single and double breasted jackets. Younger boys in the 19th century might wear cut-sawy jackets in the 19th century. Older boys might wear Norfolk jackets. Eton syits were less common than in England. We also notice collar buttoning jackets. Styles became more standardized in the 20th century, especially after World War I. We notice several different types of pants, including short pajts, knee pants, knickers, and long pants. The choice here involved age conventions as well as fashion changes over time. There were also three-piece suits which had vests/waiscoats. That usually meant a matching vest. A suit also might have a matching cap, but they were not very common. We rarely see mstching caps in Germany. we do not see that in Germany.

Headwear

A suit also might have a matching cap, but they were not very common. We rarely see mstching caps in Germany. we do not see that in Germany.

Jackets

We have little information on the style of the jackets, but we have noted double breasted suits at the turn of the century. Single-breasted suits, however, were more common in the 20th century. We have noted, however, some stylishly dressed boys wearing double-breasted jackets. We also notice some jackets made to look like double breasted garments, but the second column of buttons were purely ornnamental. English styled jackets such as Etons and Norfolks do not seem to have been very popular in Germany. We also notice some varably styled jackets that look have been made by mother at home. One popular fashion in Germany was to wear a Bavarian jacket, often with lederhosen, instead of a suit. At first reserved to Bavaria, after World War II the style beconmes more common in other parts of Germany. More specific details on jacket styles are not yet available.

Vests

Standard suits were composed of jackets and pants. Many suits came with vests, but they were an optional item. We first notice them being worn with cut-away jackets in the mid-19th century. A good example is a Bremen boy in 1873. They were worn with many oter types of suits. We note many images of German boys wearing vests in the 19th centuy. As they were worn with jackets, it is frquently difficult to make out much detail. Almost always they were worn with suits. Vess with suits seem to become less common after World War I (1914-18). Boys might wear vests without jackets, but this was more of a mid-20th century style. We do not notice boys wearing vests without jackets during the 19th century or even the early 20th century. The earliest example we note is from the 1930s and even this was more of a sweater. We do note boys wearing vests as kind of a formal outfit in the 1970s.

Pants

German boys in the late 19th century commonly wore kneepants suits. Long pants suits were also worn, but HBC is unsure how common they were. We're not sure when knicker suits first appeared. German boys still commonly weore kneepants suits in the early 20th century. After World War I (1914-18), short pants suits became increasingly common--although older boys might wear knicker suits. Suits became worn less in the 1930s after the NAZI take over. After World War II, Gemany was in a terrible state and few families had much money for clothing. Many German boys continued wearing their suits after they had rather grown out of them. Many boys srill wore short pants suits in the 1950s, often with sports shirts or with an open collar. By the 1960s, boys were increasingly wearing long pants suits, although suits were being wrn less than before as German boys increasingly turned to more casual fashions.







HBC






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Created: 2:28 AM 9/24/2010
Last updated: 2:28 AM 9/24/2010