Figure 1.-- Here I am with a cousin perhaps in Spring 1941. We are out for a walk on Sunday in our best suits--note the walking sticks. I wore berets a lot as a younger boy. We called them a " Baskenmütze " or Basque cap. My cosin wears a " Tirolerhut " or Alpine cap. They were often worn with Lederhosen, but my cousin is not wearing Lederhosen in this photograph. Our jackets are exactly the same, except for the material pattern. Note we both have velvet at the collar. Also note that my mother was more protective. I am still wearing long stockings and heavy shoes to make sure I stay warm while my cousin wears kneesocks and sandals.

I wore a variety of headwear as a boy. With my Traininganzüge I wore a wollen knitted cap that fitted snuggly to the shape of my head. A peak came down in the middle of my forhead. I had uniform cap with my sailor suit. Curiously while my sailor suits were often not styled just like the German naval uniforms, my caps were always the uniform styles. I wore berets a lot as a younger boy. We called them a " Baskenmütze " or Basque cap (figure 1). My cousin wore various other caps such as a " Tirolerhut " or " Seppl-Hut " sometimes called an Alpine cap in English. These caps were worn with a feather. Boys often worn them with Lederhosen. Here in the picture we are out for a walk on Sunday in our best suits--note the walking sticks. Our jackets are exactly the same, except for the material pattern. Note we both have velvet at the collar. Also note that my mother was more protective. I am still wearing long stockings and heavy shoes to make sure I stay warm while he wears kneesocks and sandals. My cousins also wore Schirmmützen.. A "Schirmmütze" is simply a cap (Mütze) with a visor (Schirm). So a baseball cap can be a "Schirmmütze".

Beret

I wore berets a lot as a younger boy. We called them a " Baskenmütze " or Basque cap (figure 1). I suppose that my mother thought that berets are practical in not too cool seasons (not in deep winter). I liked them more than the thick, heavy, woolen caps. I am not sure, but I think berets were considered stylish at the time. I think they tended to be worn by mothers more concerned with fashion. They also had social class connotations. I supose that we were what might be consideered the upper middle class even though my parents were separated we did not have a lot of money. If I recall correctly I did not wear berets once I started secondaty school.

Knitted Cap

With my Traininganzüge I wore a wollen knitted cap that fitted snuggly to the shape of my head. A peak came down in the middle of my forhead.

Sailor Cap

I had uniform cap with my sailor suit. Curiously while my sailor suits were often not styled just like the German naval uniforms, my caps were always the uniform styles.

Schirmmütze

My cousins also wore Schirmmützen.. A "Schirmmütze" is simply a cap (Mütze) with a visor (Schirm). So a baseball cap can be a "Schirmmütze". Germams usually use this word for a cap that was popular in the 1940s and 50s.

Tirolerhut

My cousin wore various other caps such as a " Tirolerhut " or " Seppl-Hut " sometimes called an Alpine cap in English. These caps were worn with a feather. Boys often worn them with Lederhosen.

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Created: February 24, 2004
Last updated: 6:59 AM 11/30/2007