Figure 1.--Here we see Marie with the children about 1884. Their brother Alexander had died in infancy. Michael would have been about 5-6 years old. Olga would have been about 2 years old. The boys are all dressed in sailor outfits. Michael wears a sailor-styled kilt suit.

Tsar Alexander himself himself, unlike his wife, has little interest in clothing. He dressed simply and would reportedly wore his clothes until they were virtually threadbare. The boys wore dresses when young. We also see a sailor kilt suit. As older boys they wore sailor suits into their teen years. we do not have a lot of images of the royal family, but the ones we do have show the boys wearing sailor suits. Even for a rather formal occassion, the boys wore sailor suits. Note Grand Duke Michael on the previous page as a teenage boy wearing a sailor outfit. Here all the boys wear sailor outfits (figure 1). The older boys wear dark standard sailor suits. Their little brother Michael, wears a white sailor-styled kilt suit. This by the 19th century a strong European influence. The Tsarina was a Danish Princess. We note her brothers commonly wore sailor suits. This was not yet a Russian imperial tradition , but a convention introduced from Denmark by the Tsarina. Styles in Denmark were strongly influenced by Germam styles. The German princes and well as German aristocratic children also commonly wore sailor suits. Nicholas as a young man, in contrast wore an army uniform. The girls always wore dresses, but not identical dresses because of the difference in ages. We do not see sailor dresses, but we only have a few photographs in our archive.

Parental Influence

Tsar Alexander himself himself, unlike his wife, has little interest in clothing. He dressed simply and would reportedly wore his clothes until they were virtually threadbare. The Tsarena in contrast dressed fashionably if not extravegently. Apparently she decuded how to dress the children, including the boys into their teens.

The Boys

They seemed to have been dressed alike within the limits of the age differences. Nicholas as Tsarevich may have been dressed somewhat fifferently for offical occassions. The boys wore dresses when young. When a little older tghey began wearing sailor outfits. We also see a sailor kilt suits. We notice Michael wearing sailor-styled kilt suits. We are not sure his older brothers wore similat outfits. As older boys they wore sailor suits into their teen years. we do not have a lot of images of the royal family, but the ones we do have show the boys wearing sailor suits. Even for a rather formal occassion, the boys wore sailor suits. Note Grand Duke Michael on the previous page as a teenage boy wearing a sailor outfit. Here all the boys wear sailor outfits (figure 1). The older boys wear dark standard sailor suits. Their little brother Michael, wears a white sailor-styled kilt suit. This by the late-19th century was a strong European influence. The Tsarina was a Danish Princess. We note her brothers commonly wore sailor suits. This was not yet a Russian imperial tradition , but a convention introduced from Denmark by the Tsarina. Styles in Denmark were strongly influenced by Germam styles. The German princes and well as German aristocratic children also commonly wore sailor suits. Nicholas as a young man, in contrast began wearing an army uniform. This may have been only for formal occassions.

The Girls

The girls always wore dresses, but not identical dresses because of the difference in ages. We do not see sailor dresses, but we only have a few photographs in our archive.

Created: 4:21 AM 1/29/2019
Last updated: 4:21 AM 1/29/2019