Figure 1.--This unidentified American boy is dressed to thevnines. He wears a flat cap that matched his double-breasted suit. The portraot is undated, but looks like the 1900s, both because of the styles and mount. Notice the floppy bow instead if a tie.

American boys at the turn of the 20th century favored flat caps. We are not sure when they first appeared. We think that they appeared in the 1890s, but we can not yet confirm that. We know they were worn in the 1900s and were very common by the end of the decade. Interestingly, boys wearing knee pants in the 1900s might or might not wear flat caps, but almost always boys wearing knickers wore flat caps. We are not entirely sure why the two were so closely associated. Flat caps were most common in the 1910s and 20s when virtually all boys wore flat caps. They were widely available. See for example a Wards's 1926 catalog offering. We also see them in the early 30s, although we do not see them being commonly worn in the late-30s. Their popularity is roughly comparble to that of knickers and in fact the two garments in American are strongly associated. until about the late 1930's. We see them at first being worn by older boys and teenagers, but by the 1910s, all school-age boys were wearing them. They were commonly worn by American boys in the 1920s-30s before baseball caps took over. Boys at the time did not generally wear baseball caps as they were not commonly available in stores and Little League where boys played ball as part of organized, uniformed teams had not yet developed.

The 1880s

We have not yet noted American boys wearing flat caps in the 1880s. That does not mean that they did not appear in the 80s, but it cerainly means that vthey were not very common yet. Our American archive is vert=y wxtensive and itv is unlikely we would have missed any style that was worn to any extent. Caps were growing in popularity, but hats were sttill commonly worn.

The 1890s

Headwear was very common throughout the 19th century. We see American boys wearing flat caps in the 1890s, but they do not seem to be a major style, espcially for younger boys. . We do not only see boys wearing a wide variety of cap styles, but quite a few boys wearing hats as well. This began to change by the end of the decade. We are not sure when the flat cap first appeared, but we think it was the 1890s. We also see peaked caps with rounded rather than flat caps in the 1890s. This was a cap we see as early as the mid-19th century in England, but later in America. The flat cap, however, appears much later.

The 1900s

American boys at the turn of the 20th century wore a variey of caps. The flat casp was one of them. We see quite a few of them, but it was notv yet the dominant style. especially at the onset of the mew century. . Gradually during the 1900s, the flat cap emerged as the favorite. We know that flat caps were commonly worn in the 1900s and were especially common by the end of the decade. We see quite a variety of caps early in the decade, but by the end of the decade, the flat cap was clearly the one favored by most boys. At the time parents had more say about what boys wore than is the case today. We think the preference was primarily the boys' choice, but we have not noted any discussion as to just why the the flat cap becme so popular. American boys for some unknown reason unexpectedly changed form knee pants to knickers late in the dedcade. This occurred very sudenly and we are not sure why, but within a year are so knickers which were not common earlier became the dominant type of pants worn by American boys. Some younger boys continued to wear knee pants, but most boys quickly made the switch to knickers. Inerestingly, boys wearing knee pants in the 1900s might or might not wear flat caps, but almost always boys wearing knickers wore flat caps. We are not entirely sure why the two were so closely associated. We note many boys wearing flat caps that matched their knicker suits. The boy here is a good example (figure 1).

Figure 2.--Here we have three children sitting on their front porch. Notice the girl's hair bow and the boy's flat cap. It does not match his suit. The snapshot here has a postcard back. The clothing and the stampbox show thar it was taken in the 1910s. Here the house tells us that the family was not poor, but lived in modest circumstances. The flat cap was a style not exclusively, but strongly associated with knickers.

The 1910s

Flat caps were even most common in the 1910s when virtually all boys wore flat caps. Headwear continued to be commonly worn including by children. Girls were sonething of an exception because hair bows were so popular in thev 1910s. Unlike the 1900s we no longer see boys wearing many different styles of caps. The flat cap was not the only cap worn, but it was definitely the dominant style by a huge margin. We see countless group photographs in which virtually all the boys wear flat caps rather than other styles. And this was the case throughout the decade. we are not sure why this was. Never before had one single style became so dominant. They dominated clothingb catalog and and advertisements, even when they were notb the iftem being sold. The 1911 Franklin Simon catalog is a good example. We believe this was because the boys themselves like the style. This does not look to us like a style that mothers who purchased most of the children's clothes would be especually drwn to choosing. We have no idea just why the flat cap was respecially preferred by boys over the several other caop styles worn atr the time. Flat caps were widely available and were the primary cap worn by school age boys. The popularity of flat caps is roughly comparble to that of knickers and the two are strongly associated. Almost all the images we have of American boys wearing knicker suits in the 1910s show them wearing flat caps with their suits. In some instances the flat cap material and color actually match the suit. Knickers became standard for American boys in the 1910s and so did flat caps. We note the Bennett boys in the 1910s. Notice that this looks like quite an affluent family and the caps match the overcoats. We also see most boys in more modest families wearing flat caps. They were not universal, but nearly so. We note the flat cap being commonly worn to school. They were worn in both casual circumstances as well as when dressing up in a suit.

Figure 3.--Here we see an American boy named George wearing a flat cap with casual clothing in 1926. Notice the long pants.

The 1920s

We continue to see American boys commonly wearing flat caps and knickjers in the 1920s, although not quite as popular as in the 1910s. We see boys wearing flat caps both when dressing up and for casual wear. We think that wearing flat caps with suits was somewhat less commonm than in the 1910s and that the flat cap was beginning to be seen as a casual style. Notice the American boy wearing casual clothes here. They were commonly availavle in catalogs. See for example a Wards's 1926 catalog offering. A social class desinction became more prevalent in the 1920. Boys from more affluent families began wearing the rounded crown peaked caps, especuially when dressing up. We also see these boys often shifting from knickers to short pants. This was not a new style, but the peaked cap began to take on a more decidely social class dectinction in the 1920s. The Bennett boys asre an example of boys who wore flat caps in the 1910s, but probably who would have worn peaked cas in the 1920s. Headwear in general was still common, butb notb as common as in the 1910s and earlier decadeds. Hairbows fior girls became less popular in the 1920s, but the practice of wearing headwear never returnhed to its earlier popularity.

The 1930s

We also see flat caps in the early-30s, although we do not see them being commonly worn in the late-30s. This was in part because headwear was declining in popularity, especially for children. As well as the style becoming less popular. And just as knickers declined in poularity during the late-30s, so did flst caps. until about the late-30's. We see them at first being worn by older boys and teen afers, but by the 1910s, all school-age boys were wearing them. They were commonly worn by American boys in the 1920s-30s before baseball caps took over. Boys at the time did not generally wear baseball caps as they were not commonly available in stores and Little League where boys played ball as part of organized, uniformed teams had not yet developed.

The 1940s

We continued to see some boys wearing knickers in the early 40s, but we almost never see flat caps. Not only did flat caps go out of style, but boys begn wearung headwear in general less commonly. I grew up in the 1940s and don't recall wearin headwear of any kind except during the winter. This was a huge shift from ealier decades.

Created: 9:44 PM 2/23/2008
Last updated: 11:21 PM 3/3/2010