Figure 1.--We note German boys wearing pantalettes into the 20th century. The unidentified boy here wears a white Russian blouse with colored trim and a white kilt skirt. The photograph is undated, but looks to have bee taken about 1905.

HBC have no written information about pantalettes in Germany. We believe they were less common than in France, but this is just speculation at this time. We have noted one German painting from the 1830s showing that pantelettes were being worn, but do not yet know how precisely to interpret it. A German reader has provided us some initial information she has noted about the prevalence of pantalettes in Germany. We have little informnation on Germany at this time, in part because we have just begun to acquire 19th century German images. we note German children wearing pantalettes, but are not yet sure about the gender conventions.

The 1830s

We have noted one German painting from the 1830s showing that pantelettes were being worn, but do not yet know how precisely to interpret it. we note German children wearing pantalettes, but are not yet sure about the gender conventions.

The 1860s

A German reader tells us, "I have an interesting book (Kinder-Photo-Album) There are 168 pitures of cdv's and cabinet-cards with children shown. These mostly German photos are from 1850s to the 1900s. I found 15 pictures showing pantalettes. They seem to have been most popular in the 1860s. There were eight children from the 1860s, six are girls and two are boys. Four children wear pantaletts that are so long that no socks and stockings can be seen. Three p pantalettes are combined with long white stockings. One child wears pantalettes combined with short white socks.

The 1870s

Our Grman reader tells us< "Two children are shown wearing pantalettes from the 1870s. Both are girls and are wearing long white stockings."

The 1880s

we note German children wearing pantalettes, but are not yet sure about the gender conventions. Our German reader reports, "Three children are from the 1880s. All three are girls. One wears pantalettes with long white stockings. Two wear pantalettes with long black stockings."

The 1890s

The 1900s

We note German boys wearing pantalettes into the 20th century. The unidentified boy here wears a white Russian blouse with colored trim and a white kilt skirt with broad pleatts (figure 1). We're not sure about the color. The pantalets look like they are trimmed with eyelet lace. The photograph is undated, but looks to have been taken about 1905. Our German reader tells us, "Two children are from around 1900. Both are girls. Both wear pantalettes with long black stockings."

Created: December 15, 2002
Last updated: 4:23 AM 4/8/2008