Figure 1.-- This cabinet card portrait shows brothers wearing identical double-breasted suits. The portarit is undated, but the mount style dates it to the 1900s decade. Notice the peaked caps. The boys look to be about 10-14 years old. Mothers at the time often made small differences depending on ages, but these two boys are dressed absolutely identically, despite the age differences and the fact the suits wre bought at different times. Even their hair is done the same. The portarit was taken in Jamestown, New York.

Suits became steadily more common for American boys in the 19th century. By the end of the 19th century, most boys were wearing suits. Even news boys wore suits. They were even common in rural areas at schools and churches. The reverse is true for the 20th century, especially after World War I in the 1920s. Suits were, however, still very common at the onset of the 20th century in the 1900s decade. We continue to see large numbers of boys wearing suits. Dasual clothing as we now kniow it did not yet exist. Boys unless from wealthy families did not have large wardrobes. Double-breasted jackets in the early-20th century were the most popiualr style of sut. Actually, the 1890s and 1900s decades were the two most popular decades for double breasted styling. The tw brothers here are a good example (figure 1). We see that in both the photographic record and the mail order catalogs. And this was not just for the upper and middle-class boys. We see working-class boys wearing these suits as well, at least in the early-20th century. A good example is Tom Epperson in 1908-09.

Created: 6:01 AM 8/15/2024
Last updated: 6:01 AM 8/15/2024