Figure 1.--Ford & Allen of Boston offered was suits for children 6 months to 8 years of age (figure 1). They wre described as 'Man-tailored Wash Suits'. We are not sure what 'man-tailored' means. It seems a strange term for toddler clohing, but apprantly they were offering bioth toddler and little boy and girl outfits. The caption reads, 'Mothers, Develop the heaklth and beauty of your little 'human flowers' with our Man-Tailored Wash Suits. For Children 6 months to 8 years at 50c to $7.00. Write for our summer Style Book and learn why the best-dressed boys and girls in all the fshion cerntres of the world wear Ford & Allen Suits. See our dainty, destinctive, serviceable Rompers, Norfolks, Middys, and Afternoon suits and you will understand their vogue." Note the lirrle gorl pictured in a short pants outfit. This may be the first time we have seen this.

A variety of stylish toddler styles with simple casual styles were available in 1915. The fancy, fussy styles for little boys are clearly a thing of the past. we notice quire a range of styles. The button-on style. often called Oliver Twist suits, appears to have been very popular for boys. And we see a variety of tunic suits as well as romper suits. The general age range was from about 2-5 years. We notice one company offering outfits from 6 months to 8 years, although the styling was apparently different. The play suits were done as wash suits, but most of the outfits were for pre-school children. And we do not see them very commonly at school, especially beyond 1st grade (6-7 year old).

Stuart's Oliver Twist Suits

Stuart's offered a simple, casual short pants outfit for a toddler boy styled an "Olver Twist suit. It had button-on styling with a comfortable square Russian collar. The illustration suggest it was a play suit. It was pictured with a girl wearing a very different style--a frock with bloomers. It looked much like the tunic suits for boys that appeared at the turn of the 20th century. The pairing of these two outfits is a good example of the increasing popularity of gender specific styles.

Stuart's Rompers for All Occassions

This is one of three pages of rompers offered by Stuarts. They are made in both the open leg and elasticised leg styles. The rompers on this page are for children from 2 to 4 years, although there is one style for a younger style as well as a device to secure diappers called a sanitary belt. Both boys and girls are pictured wearing these rompers. Colors vary including tan, chambray, blue, and gingham. The style for te younger child is available in both pink and blue gingham.

Stuart's Oliver Twist and Middy Suits for Boys

This page from the Stuart's catalog has suits for "Oliver Twist" and one sailor suit for younger boys. The Oliver twists suits come in sizes for boys ip to 5 years. The sailor style comes in sizes up to 4 years. These suits all come with knee-length short pants.

Stuart's Practical Bloomer Suits for Little Boys

These bloomer suits are made in as large a size as the Oliver twist and sailior (middy suits. They come with elastisized abive the knee knicker panrs as in figure 1.

Ford & Allen Wash Suits

Ford & Allen of Boston offered was suits for children 6 months to 8 years of age (figure 1). They wre described as 'Man-tailored Wash Suits'. We are not sure what 'man-tailored' means. It seems a strange term for toddler clohing, but apprantly they were offering bioth toddler and little boy and girl outfits. The caption reads, 'Mothers, Develop the heaklth and beauty of your little 'human flowers' with our Man-Tailored Wash Suits. For Children 6 months to 8 years at 50c to $7.00. Write for our summer Style Book and learn why the best-dressed boys and girls in all the fshion cerntres of the world wear Ford & Allen Suits. See our dainty, destinctive, serviceable Rompers, Norfolks, Middys, and Afternoon suits and you will understand their vogue." Note the lirrle gorl pictured in a short pants outfit. This may be the first time we have seen this.

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Created: 5:37 PM 6/21/2011
Last updated: 5:37 PM 6/21/2011