Figure1.--An infant Baudouine is seen here about 1931 with his parents. Baudouine like most royal children wore dresses, but only as an infant as the fashion of dressing young boys in dresses had largely disappeared by the 1930s, even for royalty.

Baudouine like most royal children wore dresses, but only as an infant as the fashion of dressing young boys in dresses had largely disappeared by the 1930s, even for royalty. We note Baudouine wearing short pants outfits as a boy, often with white ankle socks. Some of his short pants outfits were worn with berets. He also wore long pants sailor suits. He did not wear the fancy lace-trimmed outfits his father and uncle war. He did wear short pants suits into his teen years, often with patterened socks. As a younger boy he wore strap shoes with many outfits. We are not sure who chose his clothing. His mother died in 1935 in a tragic accident. He was only about 5 years old at the time. His father remarried in 1941 when Baudouine was only about 11. I assume she then took a role in selecting the clothes of her stepsons.

Clothing Selection

We are not sure who chose his clothing. His mother died in 1935 in a tragic accident. He was only about 5 years old at the time. His father remarried in 1941 when Baudouine was only about 11. I assume she then took a role in selecting the clothes of her stepsons. We do not know to what extent their father was involved in selecting their clothes.

Garments

We have begun to collect some information about how Baudouine was dressed as a boy. We do not notice any fancy outfits like his father and uncle wore.

Headwear

We notice Baudouine wearing berets in some photographs. So far we have only noted him wearing light-colored berets as a younger boy, even with sailor suits. One image shows him wearing what looks like an American-styled World War II sailor cap, but on closer examination it looks to be a light-colored beret. We note one image of him swearing a dark sailor suit, but it id difficult to make out what type of cap he is wearing with it.

Dresses

Baudouine like most royal children wore dresses, but only as an infant as the fashion of dressing young boys in dresses had largely disappeared by the 1930s, even for royalty.

Little Boy Outfits

We note Baudouine wearing short pants outfits as a boy, often with white ankle socks. Some of his short pants outfits were worn with berets.

Sailor suits

Both Baudouine and his brother wore sailor suits. We note several different sailor suits, all with traditional styling. Baudouine some short pants white sailor suits as a yonger boy. He also had dark long pants sailor suits. In one image he wears a dark sailor suit with strap shoes and white socks in what looks like a somber occassion. His brother Albert had a matching sailor suit.

Fancy outfits

He did not wear the fancy lace-trimmed outfits his father and uncle war.

Suits

He did wear short pants suits into his teen years, often with patterened socks.

Overcoats

We notice Baudouine wearing a trench coat, styled rather like a gaberdine overcoat. The image shows him wearungbit with short pants, perhaps on a rainy day during the summer. We are not sure what kind of overcoat he wore during the winter.

Hosiery

We notice Baudouine often wore white ankel socks with short pants. We notice knee socls as an older boy. We are not sure about long stockings. His father and uncle wore silk long stockings as children. We do not know if they also wire heavy long stockings during the winter. We are not sure about Baudouine and Albert. We note one photographs which may be the Belgin princes on a zoo visit, but we are not sure. The boys in the photograph are wearing tan long stockings. Perhaps our Belgian readers will have a better idea.

Footwear

As a younger boy he wore strap shoes with many outfits. We also notice what looks like white loafers.

Created: May 15, 2002
Last updated: 6:14 AM 4/4/2011