Figure 1.-- Here we see three suits. We are not sure, but the model on the left (No. 102) is a military style. We speculate that it might be a military schoo uniform..
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Figure 1.-- Here we see three suits. We are not sure, but the model on the left (No. 102) is a military style. We speculate that it might be a military schoo uniform.. |
We notice the Stern Brothers offering several different styles of suits. One of the suits here is a military styled suit cimplete with a military cap. We are not sure what this suit was for. We speculate that it might a uniform for a military school. Here
we are just not sure. This is the only type of school that we know of at this time that had uniforms.
The Catalog here is from Stern Brothers, No. 66, 1890 Fall & Winter 1891, Fashion Catalog. The Stern Brothers Department Store in New York was founded by the sons of German Jewish immigrants that began selling dry goods in Buffalo, New York. From these humble beginnings the Stern Brothers became an important merchandising family in New York City. The entire family worked in this store, which carried both luxury goods and merchandize for the working classes. It was an elegant store noted for its fashionable clothes. This enterprise was distinguished by its elegant door men in top hats and by the generous and friendly service of the Sterns themselves. It eventually was taken over by Federated Stores and the various Stern stores were converted into Bloomingdakes and Macey stores.
America has a rather limited history of boarding schools, but for some reason quite a number of the military schools that did exist were military schools. I'm not sure why this was, but by the mid-19th
Century several such schools were in operation. There are some tragic stories of the boys even being deployed in Civil War battles. Most of the American military were boarding schools. There were, however, also some day schools. Unlike many of the European military schools, American boys were generally sent to military schools for the beneficial impact of discipline and not in preparation for a career in the military. Often it was unruly boys who might be sent to a military
school. Many parents decided on military schools as a way of instilling discipline in their children. Most military schools are secondary schools, but there are some elementary military schools as
well. Almost all military schools are private fee paying schools. Military schools continue to florish in America. One urban school district (Chicago) has even established a public (state) boarding
school.
We notice the Stern Brothers offering a military styled suit. It is complete with a military cap. We are not sure what this suit was for. It does not seem to be a costume. We speculate that it might a uniform for a military school. Here
we are just not sure. This is the only type of school that we know of at this time that had uniforms. We re not sure just what school for which this uniform may have been worn. There must have been a military school somewhere in the New York City area.
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