Figure 1.-- The artit here is unknown, simply rederred to as the English School. It shows an unidentified English boy bout 4years old. He wears a classic sailor suit. Notice the broad-brimmed sailor suit. It was probably painted in the 1880s. This is not a master work, but the by's liknees and the clthing details are vet correctly rendered.

Children's sailor head wear has varied in England over time. English children, initially boys, began wearing sailor outfits (1840s). It all began when Prince Albert and Queen Victoria began dressing Prince Edward (Bertie) in a Royal Navy rating's (enlisted sailor's) uniform. Wnterhater painted an iconic image. It charmed the public and the sailor fashion for boys and eventually girls was set in motion. At that time sailors wore hats. Prince Bertie was pictured in a Jack Tar hat. Straw hats were just beginning to appear. Over time caps began to become more important. Wide-brimmed hats were impractical for sailors because of the often strong winds. Boys Sailor suits in the 19th were still often worn with wide-brimmed hats. By the end of the century, it was only the younger boys and girls that were wearing these wide-brimmed hats. This is why we see very small boys wearing large wide-brimmed sailor hats. Most school-age boys wearing sailor suits wore caps of various styles. Here England was a little different than most countries. There was an upper limit on the ages at which many English boys wore sailor suits. Sailor suits were most popular with the upper- ad middle-classes. These were the most affluent people in England And in the 19th century this meant that the children commonly attended private boarding schools beginning at about age 8 years. These schools for the mot part had uniforms so the children no longer wore sailor suits. This is why we see fewer English boys wore sailor suits into their early teens. Boys around the world wore sailor caps based on Royal Navy uniforms, but these caps were less comm in in England itself because the sailor suits were less common for older boys.

Created: 2:41 AM 7/19/2010
Last updated: 2:41 AM 7/19/2010