Figure 1.--Here is an undated item from an unknown catalog. It is a page for girls outfits, but we have coordinated brother-sister sailor outfits included. The ad copy for the sailor outfits read: "Einen Matrosenanzug trágt jeder Junge und jedes Mádchen gern. Die Mádchenbluse zeigt Armelaufschláge und wird zu einem weiten Faltenrick getragen. Für 2-7 jáhrige." Meaning: Every boy and girl likes to wear a sailor suit. The girl's blouse has cuffs and is worn with a wide pleat. For 2-7 year olds. Ad cvopy of course is meant to sell to parents, inngthis case mothers, and often does no always reflect what the boys abd girls really want.

We note younger bous wearing sun suits during the summr with both short pants and romper pants. Rompers were more common in France, but we see some examples in Germany, mostly in the 1940s and 50s. By the 1960s rompers were primarily for infants. Before the War, sailor suits were a very popular oufit for boys, even including younger teens. They first appeared in the mid-19th century and continued to be worn for basuically a century. They declined in popularity during the NAZI period, we are not sure why, probably because of their middle-class image. Sailor suits y largely disappeared for boys after the War. We do see a few sailor outfits offered for younger boys after the War, but only for younger, mostly pre-school boys. This convention might extend into the early primary years. We do see somme offerings in botique shops for somewhat older boys, but based on the photographic record, especially school photography, the centuries-old fashion style had clearly passed out of fashion for boys. We also see some done in coordinated brother sister styles, but again mostly for younger boys. This seems to have been popular fashion convention in Germany. We note an entire page in a 1950s catalog devoted to brother-sister outfits. The age range for these coordinted styles is not indicated, but was probably about the same as the sailor suit referred to above, 2-7 years old, meaning they were worn in thev early primary years. .

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Created: 10:03 AM 3/24/2024
Last updated: 12:41 AM 3/25/2024