This of course was the U.S. centenary year. We do not have many sources for 1876 yet. We do have one very valuable source. It is a page from what looks like a Butterick catalog with patterns for a variety of garments. It includes bibs, tuckers, undershirts, kiltsuits, suits, jackets, and overcoats for younger children. These fashions were offere both in London and New York.
We note very fancy bib patterns offered by Butterick.
This is a garment that we had only vaguely heard of before, a tucker. This was a garment made from a fine cloth or lace worn over the neck and shoulders. It was primarily a garment for girls and women, but was also worn by younger boys not yet breached. Butterick offered a tucker pattern on its page of boys' outfits in 1876.
Younger boys still very commonly wore dresses in the 1870s. We note a variety of dress outfits for boys in 1876. Butterick dresses included patterns labeled both costumes and dresses. I am not sure if there was an actual difference. The French word for suit is "costume" this may in part have indluebced the choice of words or perhaps it just sounded better to the boys and parents. We are not sure. All the dresses had a rather plain, suit like look rather than the flouncy styles that girls might wear. The dresses were made to size 6 years. This was the age boys commonly began school.
Another popular style for younger boys were kilt suits. They were done in various styles. There was a jacket and kilt or skirt, normally done with a doddice. Many were done with plaid material, but normally a muted plaid. They were not worn with the Highland regalia. Butternick offered kilt suits in several different styles. They were called 'Scotch suits' or just plain 'boys' suits'. These suits werecdone in sizes up to 6-8 years.
Butterick offered an infant's undershirt and a child's shirt. This suggests that these garment were won by both boys and girls. We're not sure just how the word shirt was used in the 1870s. worn here I am not sure if the word shirt conveys the idea of modern undershirt. It does not look like a garment worn without a garment over it.
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