Figure 1.--These are the younger boys at a public school, they look o be about 13 years old. The portrait is undated, but we think in the early-20th century. The boys wear classic Eton suits. We are not sure about the school. It may be Harrow. Notice the school was very strict about the uniform. The only difference in how the boys are dressed is that apparently neckwear was not mandatory with the Eton collar.

English boys have worn several different types of suits. The type of suit normally comes from the type of coat or jcket. We notice cut-away jackets without lapels worn by younger boys in the mid-19th century. Older boys also wore short jacket, but without the cut-away styling and with lapels. The boy on the previous page is a good example. The most famous suit type is the Eton suit. The school portait here wear classic Eton suits (figure 1). Here there were differences from school to school. The Eton suit had a short jacket, but with lapels, but not notably cut away. Older boys wore single-breasted suits for school. We rarely see boys wearing double-breasted jackets for school. This included both boys at state schools and private schools, although we do not see state-funded chools until the second half of the 19th century. State schools did not require uniforms. I think this was because single-breasted suits or blazers were worn at private schools and the tradition caried over for state schools. We note Norfolk suits being worn at schools during the late-19th century. Even better known are the Eton suits which appeared in the early-19th century, but seem most common in the late-19th and early-20th centuries. Blazers appeaared in the mid-19th century, but were at first sports wear. In the 20th century, especially after World War I we see mostly standard single-breasted suits. Grey suits became almost universal when suits were selected for the school uniform. Many schools in the 20th century had uniforms with blazers raher than suits. This becane a standard at the state secondary schools that were greatly expahded after World War II. A few private schools had blazers for everyday wear abd suits for special occassions.