Figure 1.--This cabinet card is undated. The mount style suggests the 1900s anf the knickers the 1910s so we would guess the portrait was taken about 1910. The boys are very smartly dresses. We would guess they cane from a well-to-do family. The peaked cap and sailor cap had just such social class connotations. The studio was Dunne in Hartford, Connecticut.

Fashions often have social class connotations. This varies over time. Here the economic expansion of the United states was a factor. Ameriva's indutrial development created enormous wealth. Drawing large numbers of individuals from modest rural origins into the growing cities and prosperous middle class. In the 19th century, especially the early 19th century, class destinctions were primarily a matter of cost and materials. As the American economy develooed and the buying power of even humble American families grew, the social class destinctiins wre more stylistic than cost. Boys from affluent families often wore destinctive hat or cap styles. There were a number of fashionable styles in the 19th century, especially during the second half of the century. Affluent boys in the first half of the 20th century boys might wear English-styled peaked caps with short pants suits. A few younger boys wore berets. These social class differences gradually disappeared in the second half of the century. In the post-World War II there was still come class destinctions, especially with the peaked cap. We see some boys weating fedoras when dressing up with suits. They seem primarily middle-class families. but we are mot sure about the social class conventions. Our initial assessment is that they were families with working-class origins that had recently entered the middlke-class. This wa the time when weaing headwear was declining, except for inclement weather. By the 1970s the primcipal headwear styles were casual ones like baseball caps. By this time there were no longer important social class differences.

Created: 1:45 AM 8/27/2014
Last updated: 1:45 AM 8/27/2014