Figure 1.--This portrait of the Lobuono children was taken in Bari (south-eastern Italy) during 1935. Notice the boy wearing a sailor suit done as an officers uniform. This was something you only saw in Catholic southern Europe. You never saw Ajmnerican, British, or German boys wearing anything but enlisted sailor suits. Even the Kaiswr's children and the Tsareivitch Alexis wore enlisted uniforms. We are unable to explain why officer's uniforms appeared in southern Europe.

Part of the charm of the sailor suit was that the British Royal family chose an enlisted man's uniform and not an officer's uniform for Bertie and the subsequent princes. Unfortunately the discussions that led to this are lost to history. But the whole idea must have required considerable discussion and vetting. Of course it was nothing new to dress pinces in military uniforms. This was probably done since the time of the pharoes. What was different was that an enlisted (ratings) uniform was chosen. Monarchy was underseige in the mid-19th centuries. The famous Winterhalter portrait of Bertie was Prince Albert's gift to Queen Victoria (1846). The Revolutions of 1848 targeting monarchies were to follow shortly. Attaching themselves to the popularity of the Royal Family was a very astute step. But Bertie appearing in an admiral's uniform would not have had the same affect. We believe that this was Prince Albert's judgement at work, but cannot confirm it. Many styles of sailor uniforms became popular for boys throughout Europe and America--but they were always enlisted uniforms. We believe thar admiral's uniforms never woukd have been nearly as popular. We are not entirely sure why this was, but believe it to be true. Somehow it invested boys with the lore of the sea, but giving him an admiral's rank without earning would just not have been right. We notice an exception to this. We begin to see boys in the Catholic countries of southern Europe (Spain. France, and Italy) wearing naval officer's uniforms. We do not see army uniforms, only naval uniforms. We begin to see this in the 1930s, but they do not become common until after World War II. Mostly se see them as a First Communion outfit. Enlisted unifoems were more common, but we do note them being worn in all three countries, especially Spain. We do not see this in the mostly Protestant countries of northern Europe, although it is a little difficult to tell as the sailor suit as a boy's garment rapidly went out of style after World War II. We are unsure why officer's uniforms becamne a boys' style in these three countries. Perhaps readers will have some thoughts here.

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Created: 3:13 AM 10/6/2010
Last updated: 3:13 AM 10/6/2010