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American boys unlike many European boys did not commonly wear skirted garments (kilts, smocks, pinafores, and tunics. There were some exceptions. We do not see boys wearing kilts to schools. Smocks were very rare, but we do see some. This was almost entirely at nursery school, but even at nursery school thery were not very common. More common was to have smocks for messy activities such as art classes. Pinafores were a widely worn school garment, but only by girls. While American boys did not commonly wear kilts, pinafores, and smocks -- tunics were a garment that was widely worn. Unfortunately, the photographic record does not cover the early-19th century when we think boys did wear tunics to school, at least city boys. Of course in the early-19th century, American was a largely rural country an people outside the cities commonky did not dress fashioanably. Tunics wiould have been seen as fashionable. The popularity of tunics varied over time. And we do see quite a number of boys wearing tunics in the early-20th century. This was mostly younger boys after the mid-19th century, but the age range included the younger primary years. Even so we do not see many American boys in the photographic record wearing tunics to school. We see many American boys wearing tunics in the photographic record, only we do not see many at school.
American boys did not wear dresses to school. American children began school at 6 years of age. And by that time virtully all boys had been breeched, certainly boys attending school. A few older boys had not yet been breaching, but mostly boys from wealhy families being educated at home by tutors. Yhe only exception is we suspet that is some of the very young children showing up a rural one-room schools wearing dress, some with pinafiors mat hve been boys. These were children not really intended to nbegin chool, but may have been tolerated by the teacher.
We do not see American boys wearing kilts to schools. Although interestingly, the plais skirt is a popular school style for giorls, in some cases a school inifirm style.
Smocks were very rare, but we do see some. This was almost entirely at nursety school, but even at nursery school thery were not very common. More common was to have smocks for messy activities such as art classes.
Pinafores were a widely worn school garment, but only by girls. We see a huge numbr of girls wearing pinafores in the late-20th century. Of course the photographic record often does no identify all of the children we see wearing pinafores. And nursety schools were not common at the time that pinsores were popuilar. We suspet that some of the very young children showing up a rural one-room school wearing dress, some with pinafors mat hve been boys. These were children not really intended to begin school, but may have been tolerated by the teacher.
While American boys did not commonly wear kilts, pinafores, and smocks-- tunics were a garment that was widely worn. Unfortunately, the photographic record does not cover the early-19th century when we think boys did wear tunics to school, at least city boys. Of course in the early-19th century, America was a largely rural country and people outside the cities commonly did not dress fashionably. Tunics woukd have been seen as fashionable. The popularity of tunics varied over time. And we do see quite a number of boys wearing tunics in the early-20th century. This was mostly younger boys after the mid-19th century, but the age range included the younger primary years. Even so we do not see many American boys in the photographic record wearing tunics to school. We see many American boys wearing tunics in the photographic record, only we do not see many at school.
We do have a large collection of American school photogaphics, both chronological and individual school images. And we see almost no boys wearing tunics, in sharp contast to the porttaits we have found in photograophic record.
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