Figure 1.-- This Vienna boy wears a traditionally styled white summer sailor suit. We are not sure how to fate it, but would guess the 1910s. He looks to be about 6 years old. Notice the white strap shoes. |
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Sailor suits were one of the most popular outfits for Austrian boys in the first half of the 20th century. They were widely woirn by Austriuan royals and thotougly adopted by the middle-clas. Sailor suits were less common in rural areas. We see a range of different styles in the early decades, but after World War I (1914-18), traditional styles becme increasingly common. We note boys wearing different kinds of pants with sailor suits, including bloomer knickjers, knee pants, short pants, and long pants. The choice od panbts was in part chronological. The Boys wore sailor suits into their early teens. We alsao notice girls wearing them. We note both white and blue suits. White blouses and dak pants were more common than the all white suits. The all dark suits were very common for fall and winter. While sailor continued to be popular after World War I, this was not the case after World War II. We rarely see boys wearing them fter the War in the late 1940s.
The sailor suit was a major style for boys in the 1910s. A factor with the popularity of the sailor suit must have been the wearing of the sailor suit among Austrian royalty. A good example is the family of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the throne until he was assasinated (1914). We note one unidentified Austrian boy wearing a standard white middy blouse in 1912. The unidentified portrait of the Austrian boy here is undated, but we would guess the 1910s or the very early 1920s.
We are unsure how the popularity of the sailor suit was affected by World War I and the fall of the monarchy. As far as we can tell there was little noticeable affect other than the styles became very traditional. This was the case even though Austria went from the center of a major multi-ethnic empire to aa small land-locked country without a navy. We continue to see large numbers of boys wearing sailor suits. The Vienna Choir Boys adopted their trademark sailor suit in the 1920s. We notice that Hapsburggs were still wearing sailor suits in the 1920s.
Sailor suits were still worn by boys in the 1930s. We continued to see large numbers of boys wearing sailor suits. As far as we can tell, they were very popular and even worn by younger teens. We see more dark than white suits, but some boys has striped blouses. The Sound of Music of course was set in 1930s Austria. As as shown in the Broadway musical and film, the Von Trapp children both boys and girls, did wear sailor suits in the 1930s. After the NAZI Anchluss (1938) the sailor suit begins to become less common. he NAZIs considered the sailor suit as too symbolic of the monarchy and the middle class. Thus the NAZIs worked to break down class barriers looked down on boys wearing sailor suits. This in particular affected the older boys wearing them.
We still see some Austrian boys wearing sailor suits in the early 1940s during World War II. They were not as common as in the 1930s and we mostly see younger boys wearing them. White sailor continued to be popular after World war I, this was not the case after World War II. We rarely see boys wearing them fter the War in the late 1940s. We are not entirely sure why the sailor suit so rapidly went out of style, but the same was obsereable in Germany and many other countries.
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