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French boys commonly wore sailor suits for more than a century. HBC does not know of French boys wearing sailor suits before the 1840s and Queen Victoria began dresing the princes in sailor suits. It was clearly a British creation, understandable given the impact of the Royal Navy. We have not noted French sailor suits and hats in the 1840s and 1850s, but that may be because of the limited available information. Photography was invented in France (1839), but we do not see the explosion of the industry as we do in America. This means we can follow developments in America much more closely than in France. We currently have only limited information on French sailor suit fashions. The sailor suit as a boy's fashion seem to have caught on in France by the 1860s and had become one of the most popular boys' fashions by the 1870s. This we can follow more closely because of the immense popularity of the CDV. We have not noted French sailor suits and hats in the 1840s and 1850s, but that may be because of the very limited available information. This limits our ability to follow French fashiin trends atr mid-century. The sailor suit as a boy's fashion seem to have caught on in France by the 1860s and had become one of the most popular boys' fashions by the 1870s. We currently have only limited information on 19th century French sailor suit fashions. French syles do not seem to have followed British styles as closely as in some countries, in part because French naval uniforms varied more from English styles than is the case in many countries. But the sanme V-fronht style was adopted. The three stripe detailing was less common than in Britain and America. .
HBC does bot not know of French boys wearing sailor suits before the 1840s and Queen Victoria began dresing the princes in sailor suits. It was clearly a British creation, understandavlec give the impact of the Royal Navy. We am not sure just when sailor suit crossed the Channel and began catching on as a boy's fashion. We have not noted French sailor suits and hats in the 1840s and 1850s, but that may be because of the limited available information. Photography was invented in France (1839), but we do not see the explosion of the industry as we do in America. This means we can follow developments in America much more closely than in France. We currently have only limited information on French sailor suit fashions. The sailor suit as a boy's fashion seem to have caught on in France by the 1860s and had become one of the most popular boys' fashions by the 1870s. This we can follow more closely because of the immense popularity of the CDV. This does not occur in France until the appearance of the CDV--another French invention. In fact, boys clothes showing an influence of army uniforms, such as double-breasted jackets with rows of buttons seemed popular. The sailor suit achieved immense popularity in France. France was not noted for a poweful navy, but it did have a navy and a naval tradition. Unlike other European countries (Austria, England, Germany, Itlay, Russia, etc.), there was no royal family to help popularize the fashion. Even so, as in the rest of Europe, the sailor suit in France developed as an important boys' style. Unfortunately images during this period are relatively rare until the 1860s when photography became more afforable and common. Bloomer-styled knickers appear to have been particularly popular in France. We are unsure as to just why sailor suits were so popular in France.
The sailor suit as a boy's fashion seem to have caught on in France by the 1860s and had became a popular boys' fashions by the 1870s. It was widely worn by the 1890s. We currently have only limited information on French sailor suit fashions during the late-19th century. Older boys wore sailor blouses with knee pants, bloomer knickers, and long pants. Most sailor suits feature stripe decorations. We even notice a stripe on the pants. Dickies commonly had horizontal stripes, a style used in actual naval uniforms. French syles do not seem to have followed British Royal Navy uniform styles as closely as in some other countries such as Germany and the United States. This may be in part because French naval uniforms varied more from English styles than is the case in many countries. Also clothing designers appeared to have experimented more with styling. This seems to have been the case with other garments as well. French boys'sailor suits diverted more from the traditional copy of the actual uniforms. At first boys wore sailor suits with long bellbottom trousers like the ones worn by sailors. As the 1870s progressed a variety of different styles emerged. Boys dresses appeared in sailor styles. Younger boys wore sailor suits with skirts, a kind of kilt suit style. Especially elaborate outfits were decorated with lace and ruffles and had a decidely un sailor look. Knee pants and knickers became ncreasingly common, but did not replace long pants entirely. By the 1870s sailor suits were one of the most popular styles for boys up to 12 or 13 and even older ages on the Continent. Boys, especially younger boys, increasingly wore their sailor suits with knee pants. The three stripe detailing was less common than in Britain and America. We also notice girls wearing sailor styles as well, primarily sailor-styled dresses.
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