Figure 1.--This new style cabinet card pictures three brothers. The style of mount dates it to the 1900s, we would guess about 1905. The photo itself measures 4" x 5.5". There is an address on the backing which has been cut off. It looks like ?25 1st Ave. The boys look to be aboyt 5-13 years of age. The younger boy wears a tunic suit with bloomer knickers. The older boys wear double-breasted suits with knee pants. All three wear long stockings.

We see boys of all ages wearing knee pants suits in the 1900s. Knee pants suits were standard for boys. This can clearly be seen in the photogrphic record. as well as mail order catalogs. School portaits are an especilly good way of assessing age trends. They commonly show like age groups and youncan assesses the prevalene of various garnents and fashion trends. The issue is somewhat complicated after primary (elementary) school. Most children did not continue their educatioin after primary school. Thus social class factors or at play in secondary schools. At the turn-of the 20th century we also see teenagers wearing knee pants which was not the case before the 1890s. This was a process begun in the 1890s, especially during the second half of the decade. We now see boys of all ages wearing them, including teenagers. Younger boys might wear bloomer knicker with tunic suits. Virtually all boys, however, wearing sack lapel suits wore them with straight-leg knee pants. The age boys switched to long pants varied from family to family. Most older teens wore long pants suits, but we even see some older teens wearing knee pants. Virtually all pre-teens wore knee pants suits. This continued to be the case throughout the decade until knickers begin to appear.

Created: 7:44 PM 4/3/2014
Last updated: 7:44 PM 4/3/2014