American Boy Dresses: Styles--Seasonality


Figure 1.--This Americam boy is unidentitified. All we know fir sure is that he was from Deckerville, Michigan. Hewears a light summer frock. The mount type suggests to us that the portrait was taken about 1905. Note the shoes with five straps. He seems to be wearing white stockings. We're not sure about his age, perhaps about 8 years old.

We note boys wearing both light-weight summer dresses and heavier winter dresses. Thre were a variety of light weight, usually cotton materials. Before the invention of air conditionig, a light weight summer dress could be a very compfortable outfit, although we note somne were worn with long stockings. Gingham seems to have been a popular light-weight material for dresses. They were often checked. We also note white dresses, although we are not sure about the material. We see quite a few American boys wearing white or light-colored dresses. We had thought this was primarily a summer style. But look at the Germantown boy. He is wearing a white dress even though his brother his wearing a heavy suit. This suggests that white dresses were also worn in cold weather. We also note boys wearing heavier dresses, often in darker colors. These were made in a range of materials such as flannel, serge, and a widerange of other materials. As most available portraits are taken in studios and undated, it is usually not possible to connect the dress with the season.

Summer Dresses

Boys and girls wore a variety of light weight, usually cotton materials. Before the invention of air conditionig, a light weight summer dress could be a very compfortable outfit, although we note somne were worn with long stockings. Gingham seems to have been a popular light-weight material for dresses. Ginham was often done in a checked pattern. Cotton voile was another popular fabric. We also note white dresses, although we are not sure about the material. We see quite a few American boys wearing white or light-colored dresses. The summer dreesses often had open necks as well as short sleeves. Both boys and girls wore these light-weight dresses. As far as we can tell the styles were similar for both boys and girls.

Winter Dresses

We had thought white was primarily a summer dress style. But look at the Germantown boy. He is wearing a white dress even though his brother his wearing a heavy suit. This suggests that white dresses were also worn in cold weather. We also note boys wearing heavier dresses, often in darker colors. These were made in a range of materials such as flannel, serge, and a widerange of other materials. The winter dresses had high necklines and long sleeves.

Assessing Seasonality

As most available portraits are taken in studios and undated, it is usually not possible to connect the dress with the season.





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Created: 7:00 PM 11/11/2006
Last updated: 7:00 PM 11/11/2006