*** Eton collars -- country trends








Eton Collars: Country Trends

The Eton collar is of course most associated with England where it first appeared. We are still collectging information on the chronological trends in England. It appears to be an example of a style set by the upper class, in this case boys at an elite public (private) school that was adopted by middle class and wiorking class boys. It was also widely worn in other parts of the British isles such as Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. Eton collars were worn in several different countries, although chronological trends and social image varied from country to country. The Eton collar was also very popular in America, but we have noticed far fewer examples in other countries which appears to suggest that was less popularin other European countries. In England it was worn by boys of widely varying social circumstances. In most other countries it had more of an upper-class appeal. We note several accounts of boys who got inro trouble with their peers for wearing Eton collars which were considered rather hoity-toity by the other boys.

Eton collars
Figure 1.--This New York City boy had his portrait taken in a suit and Eron collar. Note the necktie. The portrait is undated, but was probably taken in the 1920s.

America

The Eton collar was worn by a wide range of American boys on many different styles of clothes. The Eton suit is th most common, but it was just one of many styles. I'm not sure when Eton collars first worn in America. Based on available paintings and photographs, it looks like collars with an Eton look were being worn by the 1840s, but the more formal Eton collars appear to have been worn somewhat later, about the 1870s. This chronology is, however, just a guess on my part at this point. The Eton collar is generally considered a dressy collar for formal clothes. American boys about the 1920s began to wear some Eton collars on play clothes and a variety of informal ouitfits.

Belgium


Canada

We have no actual information about Eton collars in Canada. Given the fact that Canada was an Ebglish colony, we assume that clothing styles were quite similar to England, especially as Canada was England's cloest colony. We are not sure if there were differences between English and Sprench speaking Canadians concerning the Eton collar. We assume that the style was most common among English speaking Canadians. Eton collars were worn in France, but by the 19th century there seems to have been little cultural contact between Canada and France. We do see affluent French Canadian boys wearing Eton collars, we are less sure about middle-class and working-class boys.

Chile

We note Chilean boys wearing Eton collars in the late 19th century. A representative image is posted on the main Chilean page. This would have been mostly boys from very affluent families which was porioably the pattern in many other Latin American countries.

Denmark

We have no information yet as to what extent Eton collars were worn in Denmark. We suspect that German fashin trends may habe been influential in Denmark. We do note a portrai by Otto Haslund painted in 1904 of a unidentified Danish boy wearing what looks like an Eton collar and large white bow.

English Eton collar
Figure 2.--This London boy in the 19th century wears an Eton collar. I'm not sure if this is some kind of school uniform. The portrait is not dates, but we would guess the 1870s.

England

No where was the Eton collar more commony worn than in England. We assume that theese broad, stiff white collars were first worn at Eton College, but we are not yet sure just when they were first adopted. Part of the trouble here is that many of the historical references we have found refer to the Eton suit and not specifically the Eton collar. We do know that Eton collars were being worn at Eton College in the early 19th century. As the 19th century progressed, they became increasingly popular and were adopted by other schools as part of the school uniform. It appears to be an example of a style set by the upper class, in this case boys at an elite public (private) school that was adopted by middle class and wiorking class boys. By the late 19th century they were very common as boys wear. Few English boys grew up in the late 19th and early 20th century without wearing an Eton collar. A typical example would be John Christopher Bradshaw Falleglove. The collar is of course most associated with Eton School, but in fact boys all over England, including most boys that could never dream of attending Eton, wore Eton collars. The Eton collar today has a rather stoggy upper-class look to it, but in fact at the turn of the 20th century, working class boys often wore Eton collars when they dressed up. After World War I (1914-18), the Eton collar rapidly declined in popularity and perhaps acquired its upper-class image at this time because a few exclusive private schools still required it as part of the school uniform into the 1930s.

France

We have noted French boys wearing Eton collars, but the style was not nearly as common in France as it was in England. We have not yet acquired any written assessments of the Eton collar in Francem but note French boys wearing them by the late 19th century. We are not sure when the style first appeared in France or how common it was. It was probably seen as an English style. We suspect that it was a fashion most common with boys from affluent families. As in England, Eton collars were worn both with and without neckwear. A variety of neckwear was used.

Germany

German boys did wear Eton collars. We have noted, however, relatively few German boys wearing Eton collars. This may be a reflection of the small number of historical German images. We are increasingly being draw to the comclussion as might have been expected that far fewer German boys wore Eton collars than English boys. Many of the German boys that we notice wearing Eton collars come from affluent families which may have been trying to adopt an English look--considerd vety fashionable among some German circles. I'm not sure what the collars were alled in German.

Ireland

Eton collars were very commonly worn in Ireland. The fashion is nearly identical to that in England as English fashions were adopted in Ireland as until the 1920s the entire island was part of the United Kingdom. We are unsure when Eton collars began to be worn in Ireland, but suspect that it was about the sane time as England. We have few actual images at this time, but one 1889 drawing shows that the Eton collar was a part of smart boys' attire in the 1880s. The only signicant difference in Ireland was probably that the poverty thaere probably prevented many boys from wearing Eton collars and other fashionable clothes.

Italy

No information availble at this time. We believe Eton collars were worn in Italy. We do not see them any longer by the 1930s.

Monaco

Monaco is a small principality in southern France and bows' fashions tend to follow French fashions. One report indicates that Prince Ranier occassionaly wore Eton collars as a boy in the early 1930s, but HBC does not yet have any inmages to confirm this.

(The) Netherlands


Peru

A fashionalble Peruvian boy from an affluent family of Eiropean origin in the late 19th and early 20th century might wear a suit with an Eton collar. I believe that tghsi was common throughout Latin America at the time. Most Peruvian boys at the time, however, were very poor and still not wearing European fashions.

Scotland

The Eton collar was worn in Scotland much the same as it was in England. One Scotsman reports, however, that he ran into trouble when he moved from Edinburgh in 1926 because of his Eton collar. He writes, " At my school in Glasgow, I wore a neat, three-piece suit with an Eton collar and bowtie. Polished shoes and the school cap and badge completed the ensemble. My books were carried in an attach� case and I was one of 15 or 16 kids in my class who all dressed alike. The first day at Dalmuir School, I found I was the only kid in school dressed up that way. Dalmuir was a rather rough-and-ready place, compared to Dennistoun, with no finesse and certainly no gentility. I was ragged unmercifully that first day and had to fight my way home. Needless to say, I went to school the next day with a sweater and old pants and boots the same as the rest!" [Author unidentified, "DALMUIR SCHOOL".]

Spain

We notice an unidebtified Spanish bpy painted by Joaquin Sorolla y Bastida about 1910.

Wales

We suspect that the trends in Wales were identical to England, but have no specific information at this time.






HBC





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Created: March 20, 1998
Last updated: 7:25 PM 5/1/2020