Figure 1.--Note how the stripes on the front "V" of this French boy's collar are continued on to the back flap. Also note that two shades of blue were used on this collar. |
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The collars on middy blouses and other sailor outfits hand many standard features. There were, however, many variations. Most were minor changes in the stripes or colors. The "V" front and back flap were standard although the precise shape could vary. The sailor collar as part of a suit was popularized by Queen Victoria in
the 1840s for the young princes was accurately based on the actual uniform worn by a British enlisted seaman--the fabeled Jack Tar. Boys blouses and collar styles could be quite fancy during the late 19th century could be quite fancy with both lace and ruffled collars. Less fancy blouses were also popular. Basic middy blouses were worn with sailor suits. While most were plain, there were also fancier styles made with lace and ruffles for little girls and boys. The trim of the "V" front and square back collar was often repeated on the cuffs. Most commonly the trim included three stripes. The white collars had blue stripes and the blue and black collars white stripes. There were several different types of garments made with sailor collars. Sailor outfits were most commonly made in both blue and white, depending on the season. They were, however, made in several other colors as well. Even the blue and white collars sometimes had other colors worked in, especially red. Sailor collars were made in a variety of other colors. HBC at this time does not have adequate information to sketch out very much in terms of specific national styles, but we have begun to collect information.
The collar was usually worn on a middy blouse or tunic suit. It was shaped with a "V" shaped sailor collar in front and usually large square flap extension in the back.
The sailor collar as part of a suit was popularized by Queen Victoria in
the 1840s for the young princes was accurately based on the actual uniform worn by a British enlisted seaman--Jack Tar. The classic middy bloses is modeled on the uniform of the British Royal Navy. It was developed as a practical measure. The common rounded collars at the time were too difficult to sew. Authentic ones had three white stripes at the cuff and neck, reprtedly
to honor Horatio Lord Nelson, the famed British admiral, and his three great victories. This appears, however, to have been an after thought. The three rows of tape on the collar of the British blue jacket's jumper was authorized by the British Admiralty in 1857. Originally, it was suggested two rows of white, but for no reason the Admiralty decided on three. The idea of commemorating Nelson's three victories was never mentioned at the time. Therefore, the three lines on the collar of a bluejacket's blouse are selected for decorative effect and have no special significance.
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Boys blouses and collar styles could be quite fancy during the late 19th century could be quite fancy with both lace and ruffled collars. Less fancy blouses were also popular. Basic middy blouses were worn with sailor suits. While most were plain, there were also fancier styles made with lace and ruffles for little girls and boys. There were many different syles of sailor collars. They were worn on both pull-over middy blouses and front buttoning jackets as well as other garments like tunics.
The standard sailor collar was done with a front "V: cut out and a back flap. There were many ways of detailing these collars, but the basic style was a front "V" and back flap. A variety of suits and blouses were made with "V" fronts and square back collars. They were embellished with different styles other than the sailor theme of the middy blouse. Some collars had salloped "V" fronts and back flap. In some cases there was even lace or ruffled trim.Some had more than three stripes. One popular variant was a solid colored collar, usually blue or white. The solid colored collar invluded both the front "V" and back flap. It was worn both as part of a matching colored blouse or contrasting colored blouse. There were no stripes on the white collars. There were usually no stripes on the blue collars, but some suits had dark colored emroidered stripes. This style was popular in the 1880s and 90s, but never approached the popularity of the classic middy blouse. The traditional sailor collar was white or blue with three contrasting white or blue stripes. The stripes were on the front "V" and the continued on to the back flap.
There were many other shapes in a addition to the standard-V front. Often there were different geometric shapes with varied edging. A good example is an Austrian German boy in 1911.
These were non-traditional styles because unlike the standard V-front, they were never worn as part of naval uniforms. The fashion desigbers were free to use what ever styling they wanted. White the front could vary substantially, nost of these different styles also had back flaps, although again the shape of the back flap could vary.
The basic elements of the sailor collar was the front "V" and the back flap. But there were also some elents that went with the sailor collar, the dickey and sailor kerchief.
The front "V" was cut at different angles and to varying lengths. Some were not straight cut, but were scalloped or had lace and ruffled trim.
The bacl flap was of varying size. The back flap was usually the same color as the front "V" or the whole suit. A few blue suits had the cenntral part of the back flap a different shade of blue then the rest of the blouse. There were also solid colored back flaps the same color or contrasting with the rest of the suit. Some back flaps had design features such as stats or anchors at the corners of the back flap. It was usually, but not always, rectangular. Some were not straight cut, but were scalloped or had lace and ruffled trim.
A dickey (also spelled "dickie") is a garment that
resembles the front or collar of a shirt and is worn as
a separate piece under a jacket, dress, or in the case
of the sailor suit under the middy blouse. The dickie
is soimetimes refeered to as a vest. In some cases the
dickey was a small piece just covering the "v" of the
middy blouse. Other alternatives were to actually
attach the dickey to the middy blouse. In other cases
a kind of "t" shirt was worn under the middy blouse.
This was the case for the French-style horizonal
stripe shirts that served as dickies.
The sailor kerchief is almost always black. It is commonly a silk scarf tied in several different styles of bows.
The trim of the "V" front and square back collar was often repeated on the cuffs. Most commonly the trim included three stripes. The white collars had blue stripes and the blue and black collars white stripes. These stripes commonly appeaerd on the collar "V" front and back flap. Various designs such as stars or anchors were sometimes added to the corners of the back flap. Such designs might also appear on the dockies that showed at the front "V". As the sailor suit grew in poularity, many variatins f the classic collar appeared. Especially in the 1880s and 90s, many mothers wanted collars that were fancier than the traditiinally styled collar.
Lace trim: At the turn of the century some sailor suits for younger boys had lace trim. This style appeared in the 1890s, mirroring the success of the Fauntleroy suit and Fauntleroy blouse. These were generally sailor tunics rather than proper middy blouses and sailor suits.
Ruffle trim: At the turn of the century some sailor suits for younger boys also had ruffled trim. Some middy blouses combined both lace and ruffles. lace trim. This became popular at the turn of the century when fewer boys were being outfitted in dresses and breeched earlier. Often it was used with sailor tunics rather than plain middy blouses.
There were several different types of garments made with sailor collars.
Many mothers chose sailor dresses for their todlers as well as older boys. These were one-piece dresses in
most ways identical to the dresses worn by a boy's sister. In fact if he was a younger brother he might actually
wear his sister's hand-me-down dresses. Some of these dresses looked much like middy blouses, but the
designers took more liberties with the classic middy blouse than when producing actual middy blouses. Some of
these dresses had lace or ruffles around the collar--giving a decidely non-sailor look.
One of the styles in which boys kilts were available
was the popular sailor suit style. These had become
particularly popular by the 1870s. They were often called kilt-suits, but they were not really plaid as the skirt, almost always white or blue, usually
matching the middy blouse. Proper plaid kilts were never worn with middy blouses. As a result, it was not quite accurate to refer to the skirts as kilts, but it was generally done as the term kilt was considered
more appropriate for boys. One advantage of this style was that after the boy was breeched, he could continue
wearing his middy blouse, simply replacing the kilt skirt with kneepants.
Middy blouses were first worn by boys, but gradually
middy blouses were also made for girls. This in part explains the gradual shift to younger and younger boys wearing them. Now only the youngest of boys will be seen wearing a middy blouse, but they are still used as girls' school uniforms in countries like Japan and Korea.
Tunics or blouse suits worn with bloomer-style knickers were one of the most popular styles for turn of the century boys, both in Europe and America. One of the
most popular style of tunics were sailor tunics. Boys
almost always wore their tunics, even sailor tunics with
belts which were purely stylistic adornments.
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Sailor outfits were most commonly made in both blue and white, depending on the season. They were, however, made in several other colors as well. Even the blue and white collars sometimes had other colors worked in, especially red. Sailor collars were made in a variety of other colors. Off white or grey middy collars were popular after the turn of the 20th century. These collars were part of sailor suits made for play during the summer. They did not show the dirt like the white summer suits. Complete inforation on the collar colors is not available as most of the available photographic images are black and white. Fashion magazines and advertisements often do not have complete information. Sometimes colors can be deduced from the shades of grey. Generally the sailor collars were two shades, one for the materail color the other for the stripes and or desigsns. Some collars, especially French sailor collars had a third color, perhaps red added into the striping or a second shade of blue.
HBC at this time does not have adequate information to sketch out very much in terms of specific national styles, but we have begun to collect information.
American collars with stripes almost always had three stripes. Tunics with sailor collars were especially popular in America.
French sailor collars, as in most countries, generally had thrre stripes. Some French suits, however, had more three stripes in the detailing. Some also had red worked into the design. The French had quite a variety of non-traditional styles.
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No information available.
No information available.
British boys were the most likely to wear traditional styled sailor collars.
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