Why does donald duck wear a sailor suit

He likes Seaman. A highlight of this fashion was very popular during and after World War II. Donald Duck used to be one of my favorite characters. Login or Join to answer. We had trouble talking to the server. Please try again. Your answer will be saved while you login or join. Live Preview. Older ». Have a question? Ask Fluther! Decades later in , he returned to service as a sailor in the Navy, but there is little evidence of what he accomplished there.

Donald Duck is a cartoon character created in , at Walt Disney Productions. In his sailor suit. Quack, Quack, Quack. Gee, I think he's cute! I like the way he waddles and I like to hear him talk.

I'd always bring up and say 'What can we do with this duck, boys? We put a little middy blouse on him and a hat. He evolved into a pal of Mickey's and I worked him in with Mickey in stories and eventually we decided to set him up in his own pictures. Therefore, it seemed only natural to have Donald dressed as a sailor. However, it wasn't quite as simple and logical that a duck would love water and that water was associated with sailors.

After all, there are many different types of sailor uniforms over the decades and many different ranks. The specific middy blouse and hat that Donald wears comes from a fashion trend that was popular during the time Walt was growing up. Having young boys wearing sailor suits was popularized by Queen Victoria of England. The 5-year-old Prince of Wales who became the future Edward VII had his portrait painted onboard the royal yacht in wearing a scaled down version of a real Royal Navy enlisted man's uniform.

The Queen specifically picked this style rather than an officer's uniform to court favor with the public. In addition, it reinforced that at the time, England had the largest navy in the world. The child's sailor suit caught the attention of families who wanted to copy the royal style. When he grew up, Prince Edward dressed his own sons in the sailor suit, as well.

By , both boys and girls girls wore a skirt rather than the dark bellbottom trousers were wearing sailor suits thanks to aggressive marketing. In fact, some young boys up to age of 10 wore practically nothing but sailor suits. These were stylized versions in blue and white of Royal Navy enlisted men uniforms with the "V" front and back flap. Because of the popularity with the middle class especially since the dark blue showed dirt less on children who were active and the suit being appropriate at both formal and informal events , the country of France soon adopted the sailor suit for children, as well, and did some stylistic innovations including adding soft white hats that had a ribbon like Donald's hat.

Mass production helped make the suits affordable and there were both winter and summer versions with slight variations. For a while, it became an international style trend but worn most commonly in France and Germany than any other country. It also became the traditional outfit of the famous Vienna Boys' Choir. The fashion fad died out during World War II. The Wise Little Hen In Donald's debut cartoon, he has a longer bill, a longer neck, and white eyes. Orphan's Benefit In the few black-and-white cartoons Donald appeared in, his shirt is shaded black, while his bow tie is shaded white and his hat is shaded gray, and his feet are oddly black.

The Band Concert Moving Day Moving Day marked the first cartoon to feature Donald's more familiar design, with a shorter bill. The Autograph Hound From this short onward, Donald's hat is now blue, and his shirt collar is a darker shade of blue, as opposed to the lighter shade it was previously. Donald's Double Trouble From onward, Donald's animated appearances would remove the buttons on his shirt, though they were retained in the comics.

DuckTales Donald never wears his classic sailor suit on the original DuckTales , instead dressing in a Navy uniform though a photo of him in his regular outfit can be seen in " Nothing to Fear ".