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We notice a lot of outfits for boys besides suits after World War I in the 1920s. There was tendency to sell shirts and pants as a kind of set. This included short-like tops which matched the pants as well as tops that were coordinated with the pants. These outfits were commonly called sets. They were usually done for boys about 3-8 years old. Sometimes it was just the color, but we also notice the same material being used. One outfit with an added sweater was described as a suit. Mixed in with these outfits were sailor suits, both traditional and non-traditional styles. The pants with these sets varied, but were often short pants. Some had self-belts. Long pants might be used for the sailor suits. A good example are the little boy outfits offered in the Wards winter 1927-29 catalog. Even for the winter catalog, Wards offered mostly short pants for the boys, age 3-8 years of age. This would include both pre-school and the younger primary-age school boys. They are shown wearing the shorts with long stockings for warmth. Note that all the illutrations are long stockings, not knee socks. We also see sports collars and tassles.
Although the word "consumerism" has a modern ring, it was personal concern for an early consumer movement, the "National Grange of the Patrons of Husbandry," That inspired a young traveling salesman named Aaron Montgomery Ward to start the world's first general merchandise mail-order company in 1872. Aaron Montgomery Ward was born on February 17, 1844, in Chatham, New Jersey, to a family whose forebears had served as officers in the French and Indian Wars as well as in the American Revolution. Looking for something more compatible, Monty left home and followed the river to Lake Michigan and the town of St. Joseph, county seat and market for outlying fruit orchards. Chicago was the center of the wholesale dry goods trade and in the 1860s Ward joined the leading dry goods house, Field Palmer & Leiter. As a retailer, Potter Palmer had previously built a reputation for fair dealing. Ward absorbed these principles while working as a clerk for $5. The Chicago City Directories for 1868 through 1870 listed Ward as a salesman for Wills, Greg & Co. and later for Stetthauers & Wineman, both dry goods houses. In 1870, after canvassing territory in Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Ward was again footloose. The plan shaping in Ward's mind was to buy goods at low cost for cash. By eliminating intermediaries, with their markups and commissions, and cutting selling costs to the bone, he could offer goods to people, however remote, at appealing prices - for cash. Since its founding in 1872, the company has literally "grown up with America" and has had a major impact on the shopping habits of a nation of consumers. Montgomery Ward & Co. discontinued its catalog operations in 1985 as part of its restructuring effort to change itself into a modern, competitive chain of value-driven specialty stores, a move which for a time saved the company. week.
We notice a lot of outfits for boys besides suits after World War I in the 1920s. There was tendency to sell shirts and pants as a kind of set. This included short-like tops which matched the pants as well as tops that were coordinated with the pants. These outfits were commonly called "sets", although in the1920s asc we see here, Wards is still using the term "suits". They were usually done for boys about 3-8 years old. Sometimes it was just the color, but we also notice the same material being used. One outfit with an added sweater was described as a suit. Sets like the ones seen here were very popuklar in the 1920s and 30s, commonly made with button-on waists (shiets) and shortb pants. After World War II they became more divers and button-on stlying became less common.
Several of these outfits were Oliver Twist suits. These were younger boys outfits, commonly dine with tassles, button-on-styling, and knee opants or short pants. We note them miostly in the 1910s and 20s. Byb the end of the 20s, the large buttons often used as stlistic devices were less common, but they were still button-on outfits. Mixed in with these outfits were sailor suits, both traditional and non-traditional styles. Buttons, often large white buttons, were the dominant stylistic feature of Oliver Twist suits. The size of the buttons was both stylistic and practical. Large buttons were also easier for small hands to manipulate as younger children began learning to dress themselves. Not all Oliver Twist suits had large buttons, but virtually all did have buttons as an important stylistic element. Large collars were popular and included with many of the suits, but not all. Other common features were collar string ties and tassles. They were often used because large floppy bows were not as commonly used for boys as had been the case earlier. Notice that the Oliver Twist suits here look more like ordinary shirts and pants than the suits worn in the 1910s. We also see sports collars and tassles
A tassel is a penddent or hanging ornament for clothing. It is worn with a wide range of clothing including caps, sweaters, and socks. Also used with infant wear garments. Tasseles are also used as a kind of neckwear. The tassles themselves are a bunched grouping of threads, cords, or other fibers and normally done in a kind of roundish knob. We are not sure when tassels were first used. The word tassel appeared in Old English about 1250-1300 from an Old French word. There were Latin roots, but apprently with different meanings. Here we are not sure.
The term "waist" which is no longer a term commonly used in the sence of a garment. HBC notes that "waist" in the late 19th and early 20th century was used to mean a blouse or shirt. The modern term blouse probably captures the sence best as it was a shirt without tails. HBC has generally considered a "waist" to be a garment or part of a garment covering the body from the neck or shoulders to the waistline, which was commonly used in womens' and childrens' clothing. We have discovered, however, that "waist" was also used to mean a child's undergarment to which other items of apparel were attached by buttons or clasps. This appears to be a term also used for stocking supporters. Sometimes mothers used pins to attach stockings to regular underwear rather than a specialized waist.
The pants with these sets varied, but were often short pants.Long pants might be used for the sailor suits. A good example are the little boy outfits offered in the Wards winter 1927-29 catalog. Even for the winter catalog, Wards offered mostly short pants for the boys, age 3-8 years of age. This would include both pre-school and the younger primary-age school boys. American boys in the late-19th century and early-20th century mostly wore knee pants. Knickers became very popula for American boys in the 1910s. Younger boys continued wearing knee pants and in the 1920s short pants became common for younger boys. The page here is a good exmple.
We note short sets with self-belts vin the 1920s. They were made in the same material as the psnts or coordinated with the shirts. They were generally not made to hold up the pnts, but more as a stylistic element andcto hide the buttons associated ith button-on shirts.
American boys have worn a wide range of button-on outfits. Skeleton suits were button-on outfits. They were worn by well-off city boys, but America in the early 19th century was still largely rural so I doubt if very many boys wore them. We see large numbers of boys wearing button-pn outfits in the mid-19th century. A good example is an unidentified boy in the 1850s. Button-on styling was very popular in the United States during the early 20th century. It was especially popular during the inter-War era in the 1920s-40s. We note large numbers of American boys wearing button-on outfits. We see both play and schoolwear outfits. Often this involved short sets, shorts and shorts sold together, There were also long pants sets. It was common to sell the garments as sets as the buttons and buttons holes had to be coordinated. A good example of a playsuit was a sailor outfit worn by Jackie Hardy about 1940. Much of the information in the main button-on page reflects American button-on fashion trends, thus we have noy yet created a separate U.S. section here at this time.
The illustrations all show the boys wearing the shorts with long stockings for warmth. Note that all the illutrations are long stockings, not knee socks. Long stockings were very common for Anerican boys in the 19th century and very early-20th century. Boys of all ages wore them. This began to change in the 1910s. We see fewer older boys wearing long stockings and this trend continued in the 20s. By the lste 20s many boys began wearing knee socks. They continued to be worn by youngwer boys, especially during the winter. The page here is a good example (figure 1). Long sdtockings declined in populrity during the 1930s. Boys wearing knickers generally wore knee socks, but younger boys still wore long stiockings, mostly duting the winter..
Each of the outfits is nicely illustrated on the Ward's page. They are arranged in several groupings. This is often done on catalog pages to show a relationship with the various garments. This usually is done to show garments with similar cuts, but done with differ msterials or slightly different styles. The page has a heading, "Today�s Boy Styles�Very Serviceable 'Too". There is no other text describing the garments here as a group. There is a detailed decription of each garment. Maby of the outfits are Oliver Twist suits which is why you see tassles. Most seem to be button-on outfits, many vwithb self-belts.
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