Figure 1.--This is a detail from a matted class portrait, probably a 1st grade. We at first thought this was from the early 1920s, but perhaps the late-1910s is more likely. Note the footwear. The children are posing in front of their elementary (primary) school. The girls are holding their dolls. This must have been a special day for the girls to bring their dolls to school. Two of the boys wear sailor suits. Click on the image to see more of this group. A reader writes, "It is hard to tell but the boy's trouser's appears to be shorts and I think he is wearing long stockings with them. But the trousers do not seem to match the sailor top."

Sailor suits were very popular for American boys in the late-19th and early 20th century. And sailor dresses gradually becme very popular for girls. We are not sure how common it was to wear them to school in the late 19th century. We think it was very common in the late-19th century, at least in city schools. This has to be confirmed. We know more about the early 20th century. Here the sailor suit appears to have been very popular with younger boys at primary schools. We usually see at least one boy and often more than one boy wearing sailor suits in class porraits. The prevalemce declines sharply with the older primary boys. We also see girls wearing sailor dresses. Sailor suits wre particularly popular in the early 20th century. After the 1930s they become much less common. These were the children's on clothes and not a uniform. School uniforms were not very common in America ad as far as we can tell sailor suits were rarely used as a school uniform.

Individual Clothes

Sailor suits were very popular for American boys in the late-19th and early 20th century. And sailor dresses gradually becme very popular for girls. We are not sure how common it was to wear them to school in the late 19th century. We think it was very common in the late-19th century, at least in city schools. This has to be confirmed. We know more about the early 20th century. Here the sailor suit appears to have been very popular with younger boys at primary schools. We notice children wearing a wide variety of sailor suits. We usually see at least one boy and often more than one boy wearing sailor suits in class porraits. The prevalemce declines sharply with the older primary boys. We also see girls wearing sailor dresses. Sailor suits wre particularly popular in the early 20th century. After the 1930s they become much less common. These were the children's on clothes and not a uniform. Sailor suits were most commonly worn to school by younger boys. We notice a wider age range for girls.

School Unifoms

School uniforms were not very common in America ad as far as we can tell sailor suits were rarely used as a school uniform. We might have saidcthat sailor schools were never used as a school uniform in America, but we have found one prochial scoool where they may have been worn in the early 1900s. We see both boys and girls wearing mtching sailor suits. We are not sure, however, if this was a uniform or a special costume for specisal events..

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Created: 11:25 PM 2/20/2008
Last updated: 11:09 PM 11/15/2008