Figure 1.--This American boy's suit was made without lapels and was worn with a vest. It has a rather military look to it. HBC believes this undated portrait was painted in the 1860s. Click on the image for a fuller assessment. |
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Artists over time provide a fascinating record of developing styles in boys suits as the style began to decline in the 1830s to the appearance of many modern styles at the end of the 19th century. Unfortunately many of these portraits are undated, but many are which help to date the process. They provide glimses of suits when photography was stll developing as well as valuable color information. Many of the artists involved were naive or prmitive artists, but many had considerable technical skills. There are fewer paintings available by the late 19th century to illustrate the appearance of more modern styles, in part because the unschooled primitive/naive artists were being suplanted by photographers.
We notice a Virginia boy who looks to be about 12 years old. He is wearing a suit even though he was hunting. As was still common at the time the suit has knee breeches. Note the bright colors depicted. Tge suit is a kind of orange-tan and the vest is bright red. This was probably the vboy's best suit, rather than the suit he would have worn to go hunting. We are guessing his parents would have chosen a good suit rather than something more in keeping withb the scene depicted. We are not sure what he would have worn for outdoor pursuits.
The skeleton suit was still worn in the 1830s, but was gradually goung out of fashion.
HBC notes that many suits had waistcoats s or vests. The suit coat might be small and sometimes cut away to show the vest worn underneath. In many cases the vest completely covered the shirt or waist. Some jackets did not have lapels and might button near the collar. Some did not button together, but had a kind of fastner near the top. Suits were made to be worn with bows or stocks and some without. Side pockets on the coat were common.
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