Figure 1.--Here we see a CDV portrait of a girl and her little brother wjo looks about 4 years old. Notice the sleeves do not come all the way down to the wrists. The portrait is undated, but we would guess was taken in the early 1860s, in part because the boys trousers do not match his jacket. Notice his sister's wonderful bonnet. Also notice her gloves without finger tips. This at the time was a style only for girls and women. We are not sure of the purpose.

The 1860s was a very different matter. The cut-away jacket was no longer a rare site. The cut-away jacket is a style especially assiciated wuth younger boys during the 1860s. They are very commonly represented in the CDVs that appeared in the early-1860s. We note large numbers of American boys wearing cut-away jackers in early CDVs meaning images as early as 1862. It is a very sharp contrast with the Dauerreotypes and Ambrotypes from the 1850s. The style was so well established in the early-60s that it surely must have been popular by at least the late-50s. It was the most popular suit jacket style for younger boys. The jackets were usually very plain. Some had breast pockets. The sleeves on some early jackets did not come all the way to the wrist. They were worn with a variety of small collars with and without neckwear. We have no idea about the colors of the jackets at this time. Some were trimmed around the edges. The boys look to be about 5-8, perhaps 10 years old. It was the first suit style boys wore after being breeched. The suits varied as to the extent the jacket was cut away. Many boys wore these jackets with matching vests. They were worn with a variety of pants, including bloomer knicklers, knee pants, and long pants. Unlike trends in the 1850s, the cut-away jacket commonly had matching trousers. Some boys in the early 60s still had pants that did not match, but matching trousers were much more common. A good example are two American brothers wwearing matching suits in the 1860s.

Created: 5:16 AM 9/8/2008
Last updated: 1:15 AM 3/16/2010