Figure 1.--This bright blue sailor tunic was worn by a boy about 5 years old. The sailor collar had black braid tatherthan white stripes. Note the button at the back. This secured the dickey in place. It was the Sears Ucanttear brand.

Here we have a sailor tunic. The items here are nearly complete outfit. The only item missing is the belt worn with the tunic suit. We know there was a belt because there are belt loops on the back of the tunic. The belts were made in both identical or contrasting material. The various items of the tunic suit give us a good look at what the outfits were like. There was even a matching cap which often was not the case. The bloomer knickers match the tunic. The suits were commonly worn with bloomer knickers. There were draw strings an the knee hem that gave the bloomer effect. Some may have had elastic. They are 17 inches long. The dickey that goes around the neck has button holes that match up to the jacket. The matching sailors tam is 12 inches across the top, 7 inches across the part that goes on the head. There is also a black sailor scarfe.

Cap

The various items of the tunic suit give us a good look at what the outfits were like. Caps were not always worn with tunic suits, but this was common when the boys were dressing up for some occassion. Of course wih a sailor tunic some kind of sailor cap or cap with sailor styling as chosen. They also matched the suit, sometimes in the samne color and material. The sailor tunic here came with a matching tam. This was usually not the case with these suits. Usually these suits came without the headwear. The matching blue tam here is 12 inches across the top, 7 inches across the part that goes on the head. It has a white embroidered device which looks like the healm of a ship. It is not the sme, however, as the embroidered design on the dickey.

Dickey

The tunic suit had a dickey that filled in the area between the sailor "V" collar. This gave the outfit a dressier more formal look. Sailor outfits had a variety of dickeies. Sometimes a kind of striped "T" shirt was worn. Some sailor blouses had sewn-in dickies. The dickey here was removable. Some dickies were plain. Others had embroider designs. The designs were qyuite varied. This sailor tunic had a blue dickey with an embroidered white design. I'm not sure just what the design was. The dickey around the neck and buttons to the back of the jacket. There is a button in the hack of the jacket to hold it into place. The tunic could be worn with or without the dickey. On warm days or when not dressing up for special occassions, the boy might not have worn the dickey.

Scarfe

There is also a black sailor scarfe. Boys wore tunic suits and sailor blouses both with and without these scarves. Black was the nmost important color, but there were other colors, including white.

Tunic

The principal garment for a tunic suit was of course the tunic. This was normally a farment that came down to just above the knee. It was designed just long enough so the bottom of the bloomer knickers showed. Many were closed-front garments, but some were front buttoning. Others buttoned at the side. These tunics wee done in manty different stules and were widely worn by boys. By far the most popular style was the sailor tunic like this one here. This one was a bright blue tunic, but they came in many different colors and color combinations. Some were fancier than the one here. Almost all came with ornamental belts. I'm nit sure why these belts were deemed important for tunics, but it was an almost universal convention. The tunic here is decorated with black braid rather than white stripes. There was also arank emblem on the sleeve. This one, however, was not an authentic naval rank badge.

Belt

The items here are nearly complete outfit. The only item missing is the belt worn with the tunic suit. We know there was a belt because there are belt loops on the back of the tunic. The belts were made in both identical or contrasting material.

Bloomer Knickers

Tunic suits were normally worn with bloomer knickers. Some tunic suits were made as knee pants. Some tunic suits for younger boys we have found had bloomer knickers done with bodicies to hold them up. Most of the suits we have found did nit have the bodicies. We are not sure how a boy would have held the bloomer knickers like the ones here. The pants did not have a fly, but buttoned at the sude with a front piece that came down. We do not see any provision for suspension. The tunic suit here were worn with matching blue bloomer knickers. While the were commonly worn with bloomer knickers, we have seen straight-leg knee pants as well. Some were made that way. Others simply did not have the drawstrings pulled. There were draw strings at the knee hem that when pulled gave the bloomer effect. Some may have had elastic. The bloomer knickers here are 17 inches long. They were usually worn so that they were closed just above the knee. Somne boys wore them with long stockings. Others wore three-quarter socks.