Figure 1.--Herev we see an unidentified family, we think in the 1860s. The yoonger boy wears a button on outfit. Notice the blouse and pants are not ony the same coloe, but the same material. Also nitice the piping. His older brother wears a cut-away jacket vested suit with knee osntrs. He looks to be about 11 years old, a bit older than most boys wearing cut away jackets. he studio wasv Michell & Son in St. Austell in Cornwall.

Most boys were breeched by about age 5 years. A few that were not were mostly from upper-class families. We see boys at about age 5 wearing skeleton suits after breeching in the early-19th century. This was first dedicated boy's outfit. The popularity of kilt suits may have extended this after the mid-19th century, largely thanks to Queen Victoria's interest in Scotland. The kilt suit, however, seems more popular in American than England. Tunic suits were also popular for boys in the early-19th century, in this case more popular than in America. We begin to see button on outfits comsisting of blouses made in the same material as the pants (1860s). These outfits also appeared in America and were very common for younger school-age boys. We are not sure yet how common they were in England. Our English archive is growing, but not nearly as large as our American archive.

Created: 10:51 PM 7/15/2005
Last updated: 6:49 PM 10/11/2022