Figure 1.--This Parsons, Kansas boy was probably photographed in the late 1890s. Note the sailor styling on his jacket and the white collar with a back flap. His mother has added a very large, perfevtly knotted plaid bpw and a cap that clarly have no relationship to the sailor styling of the rest of his outfit. Also notice the very short hair style.

Few garments were so widely worn by boys and in so many different styles and forms. We are all familiar with the fact that boys began wearing sailor suits in the mid-19th century. Less familiar is the may varied styles of suits that were worn. The styles were inspired by naval uniform styles and traditional suits were based on actual uniforms. There were, however, a wide variety of sailor suits styles, especially in the 1860s and 70s. Some seamstresses used the same imagininatio on boys sailor suits as they did with girl's dresses. Some were rather elaborate, varying substantially from actual naval uniforms. Only gradually did the traditional sailor suit with three stripes become an established standard. Less obvious is the ways to which sailor styling has been adopted in other garments. Many boys wore jackets or blouses with a hint of sailor styling. Many boys wore Fauntleroy and ither outfits with sailor hats. Other boys wore sailior suits or outfits with sailor styling without sailor caps or hats. The various permutations were especially striking in the 19th century. Especially difficult for mothers to resist during the 1980s and 90s was to add an emormous bow, even with outfits with sailor styling.

Sailor Suits

Few garments were so widely worn by boys and in so many different styles and forms. We are all familiar with the fact that boys began wearing sailor suits in the mid-19th century. Less familiar is the may varied styles of suits that were worn. The styles were inspired by naval uniform styles and traditional suits were based on actual uniforms. There were, however, a wide variety of sailor suits styles, especially in the 1860s and 70s. Some seamstresses used the same imagininatio on boys sailor suits as they did with girl's dresses. Some were rather elaborate, varying substantially from actual naval uniforms. Only gradually did the traditional sailor suit with three stripes become an established standard. We are not intirely sure why the traditional suits gradually emerged as the standard style and eventually ecipsed the moreimaginative styles. We suspect that boys themselves preferred the suits more closely based on naval uniforms. The mass production of ready-made clothes also meant that that less diversity emerged because each garment was no longer hand made by seamstresses.

Sailor Inspired Garments

Less obvious is the ways to which sailor styling has been adopted in other garments. Many boys wore jackets or blouses with a hint of sailor styling. Many boys wore Fauntleroy and ither outfits with sailor hats. Other boys wore sailior suits or outfits with sailor styling without sailor caps or hats. The various permutations were especially striking in the 19th century.

Added Touches

Especially difficult for mothers to resist during the 1980s and 90s was to add decorative touches. The most common was an emormous bow, even with outfits with sailor styling. Note the bow the boy here is wearing (figure 1). We also note ribbon and lace being added to some sailor outfits.

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[Sailor suits] [Kilts] [Smocks] [Pinafores] [Sailor Hats] [Blouses]
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Created: March 26, 2002
Last updated: 12:08 AM 1/28/2008