Figure 1.--This cabinet card comes with no accompanying information. It looks like a small private school which it is why it is mixed gender. We think the portait was taken in the early-1870s. The boys are wearing cut-away jacket and lapel jacket suits with knicckrs and knee pants. We don't see any Eton collars, but this is a very samll group.

The clothing list at private schools schools could be amazingly extensive. State schhols did not haveb uniforms, but schoolwear trends were influenced by the private schools. As school portaits became an established convention we have a substanial photograpic record to work with. Caps were almost always worn. The peaked cap was a standard. Boys at some schools wore the rather unpractical boater. Jackets varied. Eton and Norfolk jackets were the most common. Some of the younger boys might wear their sailor suits which were very popular at the time. Some schools, primarily the private schools, required the boys to wear knickers and long stockings or kneesocks. Perhaps more imprtantly such trousers were the ordinary boys' style and thus schools did not have to require that they be worn to achieve uniformity. Most boys wore their suit suits with white stiffly starched Eton collars. Many schools did insist on Eton collars, but again this was not always necessary. Many parents simply saw the Eton collar as a necessary element of good dress and would have not thought about sending their sons off to school without a crisp white Eton collar. At private boarding schools the Eton collars were provided the boys and they were expected to wear them. There was often an extensive list of sports clothing. Blazers were still primarily worn for games (sports).

Related Style Pages in the Boys' Historical Web Site
[Return to the Main English school late-19th century chronological page]
[Return to the Main English school chronological page]
[Return to the Main school uniform page]
[Long pants suits] [Short pants suits] [Socks] [Eton suits]
[Jacket and trousers] [Blazer [School sandals]

Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing School Uniform Pages
[Main School Uniform Page]
[Australia] [England] [France] [Germany]
[Italy] [Japan] [New Zealand] [Scotland]
[United States]

Navigate the HBC School Section:
[Activities] [Chronology] [Clothing styles] [Countries] [Debate] [Economics] [Garment] [Gender] [Hair] [History] [Home trends] [Literary characters]
[School types] [Significance] [Transport and travel [Uniform regulations] [Year level] [Other topics]
[Images] [Links] [Registration] [Tools]
[Return to the Historic Boys' School Home]

Created: 1:53 PM 11/15/2019
Last updated: 1:54 PM 11/15/2019