Figure 1.--This CDV portrait is undated, but was probanly taken about 1870. The boys seems to have been from New York. The photographer was C.D. Fredricks & Co. of New York City who also had studios in Paris and Havana. Thevunidentified boy wears a stylish cut-away jacket suit. Note the matching Glengary. Also not the very stylish hairdo. I'm unsure just how to describe it.

Some boys' suits came with matching headwear. Most did not, but matching headwear was seen as stylish and mothers might purchase headwear seem as matching. This could include both hats and caps. Caps seem the most common. We haven't seen matching hats very commonly, but they could be matched in color if not in fabric. And of course sailot hats could be won with sailor suits. we have seen matcing caps in various styles. Caps could be matched with both the same material and color as the suit. We notice some 19th century suits for younger boys with matching caps of various styles. Tams seem to have been popular. We also see Glengaries, but there were many other styles. We notice some 19th century suits for younger boys with matching caps of various styles. Tams seem to have been popular. We also see Glengaries, but there were many other styles that were made to match boy's suits. We also see some done in the 20th century, but a more narrow range of styles. We also see matching caps in the 20th century. A matching peaked cap worn with an Eton or other styled suit was popular during the mid-20th century, here the flat or peaked camp was ofen used.

Berets and Tams

Tams were a stylish cap style worn by younger boys. We notice some boys with tams that matched their suits.

Caps

Chauefer's cap

We note a style of peaked cap, but are unsure what the proper mname is. It looks to us rather like a chauefer's cap. Instead of the more familiar rounded-crown peaked acp, this cap has a rather puffed out crown. The extent of the puuffing varied. We are not sure avout the chronology of these caps, but we note then in the early 1930s through the 1930s. They coulkd have been worn in the 1890s as well, but we do not see them in the 194os., especially after world War II. They were done in the same material and color as the suit. We do not notice very many examples of this cap in the photographic record, but we do find a few examples. It seems to have been though of as a fashionable style, notas conservative as the standard peaked cap.

Glengarry

The Glengarry was a Scottish cap. It was most commonly worn with Sciottish outfits, but we see some younger American boys in the second half of the 19th century wearing them with other suits. Ionically this was an English, not a Scottish influence as Queen Vivtoria helped to populrize Scottish fashions for boys. The New York boy here is a good example (figure 1). Glengarries were commonly done with checks or other Scottish patterns. Msatching Glengarries were made specifically in the same color or even same fabric as the suit.

Flat Cap

The flat cap was probasbly the most common type of matching headwear worn by American boys. Mthing flt caps with suits were especially commonn in the 1910s and 20s. This was the case because knicker suits were most common at the time. And it was very easy to match navy suits with navy caps. Earlier suits were much more common in patterns which masde it more complicasted toi mstch the suit and cap. We see quite a few boys with navy blue knicker suits and flat caps. This was the most common msatching combination. Short pants suis were less common. Long pants suits were worn by older teenagers, but less commonly with matching fklat caps.

Peaked cap

Peaked caps were a popular style for boys to wear with suits. They were often matching caps. The style we see is primarily the rounded crown style of peaked cap like the caps worn by British school boys. We note matching peaked caps in the late-19th century. We contibue to see peaked caps in the early-20th century. They see some tounger boys wearing them rather than flat caps. A good example are two unidentified brothers, probably about 1910. They were a conservative style for boys. Not quite as common as the flat cap. A matching peaked cap worn with an Eton or other styled suit was popular during the mid-20th century, here the flat or peaked camp was ofen used.

Sailor cap

There were several different styles of sailor caps. And the photographic recors suggests that many boys wore suits with matching caps. Unlike sailor hats, sailor caps did often match the suit and were done in the same color and materil as the suit. They may have also been purchased separately. Most sailor suits were done in the same dark (navy) blue or white. Thus a cap could be purchased separately at a later time or if the boy lost his cap. Not all sailor suits were navy blue or white. For one of these suits, if the capmtched it almost certainly ws purchased as pat of the suit.

Hats

Fabric hat

We note circular fabric hats with fold up brims in the late-19th century from about the 1870s-90s. The brim could be folded down, but we never see the caps worn that way. We do not know what these hats were called. Unfortunately in period catalogs, headwear stykles are often not identified. It was a popular style and we We see quite a few American boys wearing them. It is a little difficult to tell from the available portraits, but quite a number of the photographs look like they matched the suits. It was perhaps the most common 19th century style of matching headwear. There were other headwea styles that were more common, but they were not matching styles. These were soft caps that could be made from a variety of suiting material. Thus they could msatch the color and pattern of the suit. The hats were worn by school-age boys, but usually not teenagers excepot very young teens.

Rounded-crown hat

Rounded-crown hats were very common for boys in the 19th century. And they were commnly worn with suits which became vert commn by mid-century. Rounded-crown hats appear to be the most common hedwear for bys during the 19th century. We see countless boys in the photographic record wearing these hats, commonly with suits. As best we can tell, these hats usully did not mztch the suits. The hts were not done with pattern and commonly the color foes not look to match. Thisis to be expected because th hats were not done with suiting material. We notice some examples where the hats seem to match the suit. We are ot sure if they were actually sold togeher or if mother hs just chosen a hat tht closely match the suit. We wonder if some stores may have offered hats that matched the suits. Of course hats and suits inthe 19th century were commpnly worn so it seems likely that some would have mtched with oout being part of an actual suit.

Sailor hat

Sailor hats were commonly done in straw. The wide-brimmed hat is commonly seen as a sailorhat. Not oll sailor hats had wide brims. Tere were a range of different brim widths. Asthey were done in straw they did not match er se even those they may have been purchsed specifically to go with a sailor suit.

Created: 6:01 AM 5/3/2006
Last updated: 1:44 PM 3/23/2014