Figure 1.--This Canadian boy wears what looks like a home-made jacket with a checked shirt and small white collar. He is wearing it as if it were a cut-away jacket. This tin-type portrait is undated, butlooks to have been taken in the 1870s. It was taken at the J.B. Davidson Photograph Salon, probably in New Brunswick or Nova Scotia. A brother seems to have been photographed in an identical suit at the same time. Click on the image to see him. Image courtesy of the CS collection.

We notice Canadian boys weating cut-away jackets in the mid-19th century. We do not have many images Canadian images so we cannot yet develop much information about these suits in Canada. But as the cut-away javket suit was a popular style in both America and Britain we believe it must also have been common in Canada. These were worn both with matching and other pants. We notice boys wearing what look like home-made cut away jackets, we think they were commonly worn in the 1860s and 70s. We note the cut-awy jackets done in many different styles. We see them worn both with and without vests. They were also worn with various trouser types. We see boys wearing knee pants, bloomer knickers, and long pants. We do not yet have sufficent images to work out the conventions involved. A reader writes, "It looks to me that what you call call a cutaway-jacket here is really not cut away, but worn like a cut-away jacket." I think our reader is probably correct, although it is a little hard to tell just how the jacket may be constructed." It is, however, definitely worn like a cut-away showing that the fashion was still popular. We think that the jacket was intentionaally buttoned just for this reason.

Chronology

We notice Canadian boys weating cut-away jackets in the mid-19th century. we think they were commonly worn in the 1860s and 70s. Wealso note them in the 80s, but mostly as part of fancy Fauntkeroy suits rather than the relatively plain jackets worn erlier.

Popularity

We do not have many images Canadian images so we cannot yet develop much information about these suits in Canada. But as the cut-away jacket suit was a popular style in both America and Britain we believe it must also have been common in Canada. A reader writes, "It looks to me that what you call call a cut-away jacket here is really not cut away, but worn like a cut-away jacket." I think our reader is probably correct, although it is a little hard to tell just how the jacket may be constructed." It is, however, definitely worn like a cut-away showing that the fashion was still popular. We think that the jacket was intentionally buttoned just for this reason.

Vests

We see cut-away jackets worn both with and without vests (waistcoats). Cut-away jackets as part of a three-piece suit were very common.

Pants

Canadian boys wore cut-away jackts with matching and contrasting pants. They were also worn with various trouser types. We see boys wearing knee pants, bloomer knickers, and long pants. At the time that cut-away jackets were popular, most boys wore long pants. Conventions varied from family to family, but even younger bys miht wear long pants. The cut-away jacket, however, was a style for youngr boys and in the 1860s bd 70s, yoinger boys might wear shoetened-length pants. We are not yet sure about the relative poplrity of the differentv types of pants. An example of a cut-away jacket suit worn with what look like knickers is the suit worn by William McFarland Notman about 1870.

Styles

We notice boys wearing what look like home-made cut away jackets, We note the cut-away jackets done in many different styles.

Conventions

We do not yet have sufficent inaes to work out the conventions involved.

Created: 2:39 AM 3/10/2007
Last updated: 10:49 PM 2/1/2008