Figure 1.--We are not sure if this postcard-back photograph is a family snapshot or an itinerant photographer's portrait work. The three children, almost certainly siblings judging by the likeness of their faces, are dressed up in their Sunday best. Since both boys are wearing above-the-knee knickers rather than knee trousers, we think the photo must be dated at some point in the 1910s. The button shoes suggest the 1900s, perhaps even 1908 or 09. The boys are dressed in sack suits, note that one wears a double-breasted and the other a single-breasted jacket. Both wear above the knee knickers and black or dark-colored long stockings. This was typical at the time. The girl is in white, both a white dress and white long stockings, and has a prominent bow in her hair. The shoes suggest pre-World War I to me. They are button-high shoes for the boys, and ankle-strap shoes for the girl. The youngest boy with a wide soft white collar and large bow looks about 6-7 years old. The older boy (with fuller cut knickers) seems to be about 11-years old. He looks to be wearing a string tie that isn't very properly adjusted because it covers part of his collar. The girl would seem to be about 12-13 years old and has ringlet curls. We have no indication of origin, but since the photo was bought locally, I suspect that the setting is in the Middle West, possibly Indiana.

Boys still commonly wore suits in the early-20th centuy. Double-breasted suits were popular at the turn-of-the-20th century, both the late-19th and early-20th century. Single-breasted suits gradually grew increasingly popular as the 20th century unfolded, at first for boys. Norfolk styling was very popular in the early-20th century and most were single-breasted jackets. The Norfolk suit was especially popular and many were sungle breasted suit, but we stil commonly see double-breasted jackets in the 1920s and even the 30s. Single breasted jackets emerged as the dominant style for boys, especially after World War II, but double-breasted suits have never entirely gone out of style. They were, hoever, rarely worn by boys in the post-War era. I remember thinking as a boy in the 1950s that double-breasted suits looked rather old fashioned. At the time we mostly saw adults wearing double-breasted suits, and even that was becoming less common. This was not the case earlier in the century. Single breasted jackets were standard in the late-20th century, especially after World War II in the 1950s. We occassionaly saw boys wearing double-breasted suits, mostly in fashion magazines. Suits in general, however, were increasingly becoming less common as fashions continued to become more casual.

Created: 6:12 PM 9/11/2022
Last uodated: 6:13 PM 9/11/2022