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The German economic miracle occurred in the 1950s. Germany in 1950 was still emerging from the devestaton of World War II. The German Economic Miracle stunned the world. Germany by 1959 was one of the most prosperous countries in the world. Increasingly stylished clothing was available in Germny. Catalogs and magazine advertisements by 1959 were offering a wide range of clothing to an increasingly properous German consumer. Some store were still offering knicker suits for boys in the early 1950s, but most boys wore short pants or long pants in the winter. Some children still wore long stockings, but companies began introducing tights in the early 50s. They were marketed for both boys and girls. Nightshirts were still offered for sleepwear.
Our German readers have been kind enough to send along advertisements, periodical features, and catalog items to help develop this section. Unfortuntely, many of these items are unsources and/or undated, making them difficult to use. We can, however, usually estimate the decade. Thus we will archive undated items we believe to be from the 1950s here. Readers are invited to comment if they believe we have not accurately estimated the date.
One 1950 catalog offered long trouser and a casual jacket for an oldrr boy, a knicker suit for a slightly younger boy, and short pants outfits for younger boys. The younger boys have matching shits and shorts, but not traditional suits. One boy is shown wearing white kneesocks. I'm not sure about the actual sized these clothes were offered in. Notice the older boy wearing a beret. That is something that would have been unlikely to be seen in the first half of the 20th century. Another catalog shows a boy wearing ankle-length knickers with a short hooded jacket, a short pants suits in sizes 6-12 years, and a boy in an overcoat and long trousers.
Some children still wore long stockings, but companies began introducing tights in the early 50s. They were marketed for both boys and girls. The advertisement from Willy Schoeneis & Co. in Gottingen is quite revealing. It is an appeal to mothers to switch from dressing their boys and girls in long stockings to dressing them in the more convenient and better-fitting tights. Note that the ad juxtaposes two images showing the old-fashioned long stockings, worn by the boy, with the innovation of tights, worn by the girl.
The boy has one of his stockings down because the clasp on one of his hose supporters has apparently come undone, whereas this problem doesn't exist with the new invention of tights for children.
We note a 1953 German catalog with a page on sleepwear. One of the items is for a nightshirt. The illustration picrures a boy wearing it, but the ad copy explains that it was for both boys and girls.
We have several German catalog items from 1955. Suits were still commonly worn.We note a Peek & Clopprnburg catalog offering a boys suit and girls' plaid-like dresses. We do not know much about the catalog yrt. The short pants suit was for boys 3-16 years of age. We note an unidentified German catalog page with bath robes and sleepwear. It is headed "Wir sind noch gar nicht m�de, Mutti!" which means something like, "We are not tired yet at all, mummy!" The page offers both pajamas and bath robes. The pajama seem for younger girls, but bath robes for both boys and girls are offered. Strangely the children in bathrobes are not wearing pajamas. We are not sure if they were meanyt to be wearing night shirts or perhaps after a bath. The overall depiction, however, does not seem to be after a bath. The girl has a print bath robe, the girl some kind of print. The German term is Morgenrock, I think morning skirt or robe. The girls bathrobe is done in sizes 4-8 years and the boy's 5-9 years.
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