Figure 1.--These two brothers obviously came from an affluent family. The snapshot was probably charming photo of two Swiss boys, obviously from an affluent family, taken in the early 1930s. They appear to be standing on the grounds of the family mansion. Both boys have pageboy hair cut with bangs. The older boy, about 7 or 8years old wears a sailor suit with a white middy bloyse and white dickey. His presumably dark blue long trousers have a high waist band and are done with button-on styling. Notice the lanyard worn on his chestthat strangely seems to lead to a pants pocket. The dark sailor hat has a tally (band), but unfortunately we can not read it. His younger brother, about 4 or 5 years old, whears a button-on short trousers outfit. The shirt has a decoration at the front repeated on the sleeves. He wears beige long stockings neatly supported by a Strapsleibchen. These could be the children of a diplomatic family which would explain the elegant clothing.

We see some boys Swiss boys wearing sailor suits, but not very many. Swiss fashions are strongly influenced by Germany and to a lesser extent France. The sailor suit seems to be a popular German and French style, however, that was not neerly as common in Switzerland. Here our assessment is limited because we have so few 19th century images. We have archived some, but not very many. We know some boys wore sailor suits, but far fewer than in neighboring France and Germany. Our 19th century information is still quite limited. HBC is uncertain as to when Swiss boys began wearing sailor suits, presumably at about the same time that boys in neighboring countries began wearing them, probably the 1860s. We know much more about the 20th century. By the turn of the 20th century we know much more. Some Swiss boys were wearing sailor suits. As there were no required school uniforms, the clothes children wore to school reflect popular styles. Our assessment of Swiss schools suggest that sailor schools were not very popular, far less common than in France, Germany, and Italy. We notice that in German school portraits there are usually one or more boys wearing sailor suits. This does not seem to have been the case in Switzerland. A reader writes, "I have exhaustively looked through an archive there of Zuruich canton schools with class portrairs from the late-1920s through the 50s. There are are a few boys wearing sailor suits, but not very many, It was defintely a minority style in Switzerland, at least in the Zurich canton." This is certainly the case in the German speaking areas of Switzeland than the French area as smocks were common in the French-speaking catons. Sailor suits seem more common in the early 20th century than after Wold War I. We see very few sailor suitsat schools durung the 1930s. A Swiss reader reports to HBC that in the 1940s, "I never had a sailor suit and I believe only very few mates had them. They were not so popular and presumably reserved for sundays or important occasions, like First Communion ... until the cassocks took over."

The 19th Century

The 20th Century

We know much more about the 20th century. By the turn of the 20th century we know much more. Some Swiss boys were wearing sailor suits. As there were no required school uniforms, the clothes children wore to school reflect popular styles. Our assessment of Swiss schools suggest that sailor schools were not very popular, far less common than in France, Germany, and Italy. We notice that in German school portraits there are usually one or more boys wearing sailor suits. This does not seem to have been the case in Switzerland. A reader writes, "I have exhaustively looked through an archive there of Zuruich canton schools with class portrairs from the late-1920s through the 50s. There are are a few boys wearing sailor suits, but not very many, It was defintely a minority style in Switzerland, at least in the Zurich canton." This is certainly the case in the German speaking areas of Switzeland than the French area as smocks were common in the French-speaking catons. Sailor suits seem more common in the early 20th century than after Wold War I. We see very few sailor suitsat schools durung the 1930s. A Swiss reader reports to HBC that in the 1940s, "I never had a sailor suit and I believe only very few mates had them. They were not so popular and presumably reserved for sundays or important occasions, like First Communion ... until the cassocks took over."

Navigate the Historic Boys' Clothing Web sailor pages:
[Return to the Main Swiss sailor suit chronology page]
[Return to the Main Swiss sailor suit page]
[Return to the Main Swiss page]
[Middy blouse] [Sailor suits]
[Reefer jackets] [Sailor dresses] [Other sailor styles]
[Sailor hats] [The Royals] [Ring bearer/page costumes]

Created: 7:45 PM 6/5/2007
Last updated: 3:19 AM 3/15/2011