Figure 1.--This portrait shows a well dressed brother and sister about 3-8 yers old. The girl wears a white dress and lacy hat. The boy wears a cut way jacket suit with knicker pants. It is a four-piece suit with matching peaked cap. The suit is dome in a light material for summerwear in a muted pattern. Notice the gloves. they are for formality, not cold weather. The portrait is undated, but we would guess the 1880s. The studio was Rosemont Paris Photogrphic Studio in Leeds.

Headwear was not normally made as part of a suit. They were usually purchsed separately. Rather the parents purchased what they thought was appropriate and fashionable to be worn with the suit. An exception was the peaked cap, generally referred to in England as a school cap. There were suits with matching caps, but this was much less common than headwear purchsed separately. We see these caps being commonly worn in the second half of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century. They were primarily school caps, but we see some matching suit caps. But mostly we see caps purchased separately. Actually it was very common for English boys to wear their school caps with suits. Many boys did not have separate suits, but wore their schoolwear which was often a blazer or suit. Wearing headwear was much more common in he 19th century and first half of the 20th-centry than is the casetoday. The pearked hat was not the only cap worn, but it was by far the most common. This was especially the case for standard sack suits worn by school-age boys. There was some diversity in the 19th century, but by the 20th century the peaked cap was uniquitous. We see this even more pronounced in America where the peaked cap was not strongly asociated with schoolwear.

Created: 7:51 AM 12/6/2016
Last updated: 7:51 AM 12/6/2016