Figure 1.--This cabinent card had no studio marks. It was probably taken in the early-20th century, we think the 1900s. The unidentified boy looks who to be about 9 years old wears a regular suit, we think a double-breasted suit jacket with his collar.

We do not have a great deal of age information concerning the age of American boys wearing Eton collars. We think it was primarily a school-age style. We see quite a number of boys wearing Eton collars in school portraits, especially in the late-19th and early 20th centuruy. This was especially true in city schools were the boys wore suits. Boys did not dress up as much in rural schools. It was, however, not just school-age boys that wore Eton collars. We do note, however, quite young boys wearing Eton collrs in the 19th century with outfits like kilt suits. We are less sure about the upper range for wearing these collars. Our initial assessment is that they were also worn by younger teeenagers. This needs to be confirmed. We have begun to collect assess our archive to determine the age trens. We are also not sure as at just what ahe the Eton collar was most popular. We for the most part have to estimate the ages. Do let us know if you think we are off on our age estimates.

Age 4

Boys of a wide age range wore Eton collars in the 19th and early-20th century. We are not sure yet when pre-school boys began wearing Eton collars. Eton collars appered in America in the mid-19th century. This was about the ane time that the detachable collar appeared. We are not sure yet about the age convention at the time. We see them being worn with suit as well as outfits for younger boys like kilts, kilts suits, and tunics. After World War I we see mostly younger boys wearing Eton collars. At first this was classic Eton collars. Gradually we see younger boys wearing collars shaped like Eton collars, but not large stiff collars and not done as detachable collars. By the 1920s we begin to see bloues with Eton collars for younger boys. And they were often worn as part of junior Eton suits with jackets that did not have lapels.

Age 6

We see the Tucker boys in 1937 wearing matching Eton jackets and classic detachable Eton collars. Sam Tucker looks to be about 6 years old.

Age 7

We notice numerous images of school age boys wearing Eton collars. This began in the mid-19th century, although collars were relatively small at mid-century. Age 7 years was a very common age to wear Eton collars. We see quite a few at mid-century. We note two brothers with Eton collars in a Tiffin, Ohio family portrait. The portrait is undated, but looks like the 1890s. The unidentified boys look to be about 6-8 years old. And we see these collars through the 1930s. There were many collar choices, so Eton collars were just one of many styles worn. We also see Eton collars with the junior Eton suits that became popular in the 1920s. These were suits that 7 years olds could wear through the 1960s.

Age 8

We note Harrby B. Decker wearing a cut-away jacket with a large, gleaming white Eton collar during the 1880s. We note an unidentified American boy who looks to be about 8-9 years old, wearing a classic Eton collar with a loud check suit during the 1890s. We see the Tucker boys in 1937 wearing matching Eton jackets and classic detachable Eton collars. Richard Tucker looks to be about 8-9 years old.

Age 9

Here we see an unidentified boy wearing an Eton collar with a knee pants suit (figure 1). He looks about 9 years old. The image is undated, but looks to have been taken in the 1900s.

Age 10

We see American boys continuing to wear Eton collars at age 10 years. There are numerous such omages archived on HBC. This of course varied chronologically. We note a cabinet card with three Illinois boys, presumably brothers. The cninet card mount looks like the 1890s. The youngr boys look to be about 8-10 years old, they may even be twins. They wear their double-breasted suit with Eton collars and large white bows. Their slightly older brother looks to be about 12 years old. Mother clearly thought that the Eton collar was for boys up to about 10 years of age. He wears a regular collar and modest-sized colored bow. All three boys wear knee pants and black long stockings.

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Created: 11:20 PM 10/29/2008
Last updated: 1:43 PM 1/29/2017