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A variety of outfits appeared for younger boys not yet deemed old enough for more mature looking suits. We see rompers, tunic suits (also called Buster Brown suits), Oliver Twist sits, and sailor suits. Rompers were widely worn by boys after the turn of the century. They may have appeared before 1900, but they were not widely worn in the 1890s. I am not sure preciselt when rompers first appeared. I'm also not sure how they varied in the 1900s and 1910s. (Any insights HBC visitors might have would be most appreciated. They were a style for generally younger boys. Many of the boys outfitted in rompers might have worn dresses before the turn of the century. They were an informal style in the early 20th century, but some dressier styles appeared in the 1920s and later period. Unlike France they were generall reserved for the toddler age range. Tunics were worn in the 19th century, but after the turn of the 20th century they became enormously popular. They continued to be worn in the 1910s. They could be play outfits or worn for special ooccassions. Here the material used could be a factor. Other outfits usually were made with shortened-length pants, usually cut rather long at knee-length. Shorter short pants did not begin to appear until the 1920s. These suits were often worn with white socks, but long stockings were still worn. We see the belted-styling of the tunic suit. Both colored and stripped material were common. The outfits varied greatly. Most were functional, plain suits much more practical than the fussy Fauntleroy suits once worn by little boys. Some were made for dressy occasions while increasingly more were made as play suits--a harbinger of the casual styles to come. Increasing concessions weremade for yiounger children. Many of these outfits were acceotal for smart casual or even formal affairs. Blouses still common. Younger boys might have especially fancy ones whiuch might still qualify as Fauntleroy styles.
Rompers were widely worn by boys after the turn of the century. They may have appeared before 1900, but they were not widely worn in the 1890s. I am not sure preciselt when rompers first appeared. I'm also not sure how they varied in the 1900s and 1910s. (Any insights HBC visitors might have would be most appreciated. They were a style for generally younger boys. Many of the boys outfitted in rompers might have worn dresses before the turn of the century. They were an informal style in the early 20th century, but some dressier styles appeared in the 1920s and later period. Unlike France they were generall reserved for the toddler age range.
Tunics were very widely worn by American boys in both the 1900s and 1910s. A good example is American boy Hewett Lindsley in 1910. Tunics continued to be a very popular garment for younger boys throughout the 1910s. We notice large numbers of offerings in the major catalogs during the 1910s. There are also many examples from the photographic record. As far as we can tell the tunic styles were very similar in both the 1900s and 1910s. We see tunics being done in different styles. Sailor tunics were especially popular. A good example is Theodore Roosevelt Johnson in 1912. We also see Martin Murphy in 1912. He is wearing a white sailor tunic. And we see 3-year old Paul Burham Dailey in 1914 wearing a sailor tunic suit. There were other styles as well. Tunics suits were mostly worn with bloomer knickers. We also note a wide range of colors and detailing. The summer colors thst were most popular seem to have been white, blues and browns and to a lesser extent red. Detailing seems to have been somewhat less elaborate than in the 1900s. The heavier wunter tunics seem less common than in the 1900s. The tunics during the 1910s may have been cut somewhat shorter than during the 1900s. We have not been able to find enough dated photographs to be able to understand stylistic changes over time. We notice the Hubbard boys in 1917.
Stuarts catalog offered Oliver Twusr suits in 1915. The ide was that they had some early-19th century touches. The ad copt offered "
the incorrigible artful dodger, the murderous bully sikes, and the terrible fagin, that treacherous ringleader whose grinning knavery threatens to send them … The sctual offerings, however, look nothin like children wore at the time depicted by Chrles dickens. Short pants were not wirn at the tgime, bits wore long pants. We see what looks like a square Russian blouse collar. Stuart's offered a simple, casual short pants outfit for a toddler boy styled an "Olver Twist suit. It had button-on styling with a comfortable square Russian collar. The illustration suggest it was a play suit. .
Stuart's Oliver Twist Middy and Oliver Twist Suits for Boys. The term "Oliver Twist" suits appears to refer to the button-on styling. The skeletin suits commonly worn at the time did have burrobn-on styling.
The Fauntleroy Craze is generallu dated about 1885-1905. There were still suots after 1905, but fae fewwe ans mosdtly for very young voys. Fauntlerou blouses persisted a little longerthan the suits thenselves. And gradually become less fancy. Here we see an example in 1911 (figure 1).
Sailor styles were popular in America during the 1910s, but they seem less popular in America than many European countries, especially France and Germany. Sailor styles were popular in America during the 1910s, but they seem less popular in America than many European countries, especially France and Germany. We see fewer boy and younger boys wearing sailior suits in America, mostly biys under 10 yeras of age--especially by the end iof the decade. We see, however, many girls wearuing sailor outfits, including older girls which probably affected the popularity with the boys. We note boys wearing sailor suits throyghout the 1910s. A good example is an unidentified boy with his sisters in 1913. This is notable because the family appears to be a rural family of modest means. World War I broke out during the 1910s. The War began in 1914, but America did not enter the War until 1917. American entry was largely based on a maritime issue--freedom of the seas. The Germans decided to reintroduce unresstricted submarine warfare. I'm not yet sure how this affected the popularity of sailor suits. Sailor suits were popular in the 1910s, but we do not think there were as popular as in the 1900s. We are unsure about the social-class conventions. We note quite a few family images of boys from affluent or at least comfortable families wearing sailor suits. And by the 1910s we have many family snapshots with homes and other settings in the background so we can make some assessment of social class. In the 19th century we have mostly studio portraits to go on. While we think of sailor suits as primarily an urban middle-class style, we do see them, r being worn in rural areas as well. We see many different styles of sailor outfits, including tunic suits, blouses, reefer jackets, and button-on outfits. Sailor blouses were very popular in the 1900s. We see more button-on outfits in the 1910s. Sailor tunics were popular in both decades, but seem to have been most popular in the 1910s. The fact that youngr boys wore button-on suits and tunics probaly contributed to the style increasingly beeing seen as a little boys' style. We tend to see mostly younger boys wearing sailor outfits in school during the 1910s. Sailor styles in the 1910s seem less popular in America than many European countries. We do not note many girls wearing sailor-styled dresses.
European and American boys at the turn of the 20th Century wore two garments in the Russian style, tunics and blouses both worn as part of a suit ensemble. The Russian tunic had existed for some time. The Russian blouse suit was a new style. The Russian style came in two styles, a tightly buttoned at the neck style which appeared in the 1890s and an open square collared style which appeared after the turn of the century. The open square collar was rather an informal style worn with short pants. This style was popular throughout Europe and America. As clothing became more informal in the 1900s and 1910s, younger boys began wearing a Russian blouse by itself in both a closed and open neck style.
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