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We are not sure about the age conventions involved with cut-away jacket suits. A major problem here is that we have few catalogs from the mid-19th century (1860s-70s) when the jackets were most popular. Thus our assessment is primarily based on assessing the photographic record. They seem very common with pre-school boys and younger primary school boys. We see to see boys from about 3-8 years of age wearing these suits, but this is just an initial assessment. we are not entirely sure of the upper age level at this time. Our inintial assessment is that after about age 8 years boys started wearing more mature styles, but this has to be confirmed. We have not noted boys over about age 10 commonly wearing these suits. Age may have also affected styling, but this we are not yet sure about this and it needs further investigation. A complication here is that by the 1880s these jackets were going out of style there was one style that became very popular--the Fauntleroy suit. And the age conventions for Fauntleroy suits (1880s-90s) are not the same as for the standard cut-away jacket suits.
Cut-away jackets seem very common with pre-school boys and younger primary school boys. This CDV was probably taken in the 1870s, but there was no studio logo on the front of the card (figure 1). card. We do know that the boy's name was Bertie and he was 4 1/2 yeats old. Note the colorized blue bow. This suit was detailed with striped pipeing and stripes on the knee pants.
A complication here is that by the 1880s these jackets were going out of style there was one style that became very popular--the Fauntleroy suit. And the age conventions for Fauntleroy suits (1880s-90s) are not the same as for the standard cut-away jacket suits.
Cut-away jackets were very common for 6-years olds. We notice two American brothers wearing matching cut-away bjacket suits about 1865. They look abvout 4-6 years of age.
Many 7-year olds were also wearing cut-away jackets. This mean boys who for the most part had begun their eduction and wre in the second grade. We see that beginning in the 1850s, but even more importantly 1860s-70s. We see large numbers of boys in these decades in the photographic record wearing cut-away jackets. They were normally worn with knee pants, although we do notice long pants in the 1860s, especially for boys older than about 7-years. These declined in the 1880s when the cut-away jacket became part of the classic Litle Lord velvet Fauntleroy suit. Age 7 was on the upper edge of Little Lord Fauntleroy suit, a least the classic Fauntleroy suit. Older boys were decked out in Fauntleroy outfit, but using standard lapel jackets along with Fauntleroy acoutements such as blosess, collars, and cuffs along with floppy bows.
we are not entirely sure of the upper age level at this time. Our inintial assessment is that after about age 8 years boys started wearing more mature styles, but this has to be confirmed.
We have not noted boys over about age 10 commonly wearing these suits.
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