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We note English boys wearing a range of kilt outfits. They seem to be mostly dressy outfits, including Higland kilts and kilt suits. English boys somrtimes wore kilts with full Higlands regalia. Almost always these were boys from wealthy families. The kilts were worn as dress outfits for formal events. This became fashionable beginning in the mid-19th Century after Queen Victotia and her decendents began dressing the princes in kilts. Few English boys in the 19th Century wore proper Scottish kilts with Highland regalia. Another kilt fashion was the kilt suit. I know that the kilt suit was very commonly worn by American boys in the late 19th Century. American mothers used the kilt suit as an intermediate step between dresses and outfits with kneepants, such as Fauntleroy suits and sailor suits. These mothers were not yet ready to fully breech their sons, but felt that they were becoming to old to still wear dresses. I am not sure if this fashion was as common in England as it was in America. Some English mothers bought kilts for their sons for casual wear. Again this was mostly boys in affluent families. This was most common for English families which spent time in Scotland or the north of England.
English boys sometimes wore Scottish tartan kilts. We notice a variety of these kilt outfits. Some boys wore kilts with full Highland regalia. We also see boys wearing kilts without the Highland regalia. We note some boys wearing cut-away jackets. This depended on chronological trends as well as actual association with Scotland. Almost always these English were boys from wealthy families. There were also Scottish boys living in England. This is very difficult to assess. The kilts were worn as dress outfits for formal events. This became fashionable beginning in the mid-19th Century after Queen Victotia and her decendents began dressing the princes in kilts. Of course there were political reasons for the royal family to do this, but some English mothers chose the kilts costumes for their children because the style appealed to them. We note quite a few such portraits in the photographic record.
We notice some kilt outfits that seem to be midway between Highland Kilts and plainer kilt suits that were more common in Engand. This primarily involved outfits that has Highland regalia, but kilts that were no done in tartans This is notabable becuause tartan plaids were such an important part of the Highland kilt. Of course English families did not have their own tartans. That may have been the reason, but we are not sure. The regalia involved inclue caps (primarily glengaries), tartans (overhiulder sashes), jackets with millitarty styling and other kilt styling, sporans, and argyle knee socks. Eton collars and bow ties were common, but these werevaksi wirn with plain kilt suits. We see these semi- or partial- kilt suits mostly in the 1860s and 70s. We are not sure about earlier decades (1840s and 50s) becaue before the CDVs became popular, the number of phtographic images were very limited. By the 1880s wee see fewer Highland kilt outfits and while we do continue to seekilt suits, they are much less likely to be worn with Highland regalia.
Few English boys in the 19th Century wore proper Scottish kilts with Highland regalia. Another kilt fashion was the kilt suit. I know that the kilt suit was very commonly worn by American boys in the late 19th Century. American mothers used the kilt suit as an intermediate step between dresses and outfits with kneepants, such as Fauntleroy suits and sailor suits. These mothers were not yet ready to fully breech their sons, but felt that they were becoming to old to still wear dresses. I am not sure if this fashion was as common in England
as it was in America. Most of the images I have seen are American, but this could be simply a reflection of my greater access to American images. Social and economic factors may have affected the popularity of kilt suits. Americans less aware of social, nation and class sentiment in Britain, probably viewed the kilt suit as fashionably British. Americans in the 19th Century were very influenced by European fashion. Some English mothers, like Queen Victoria, may have been smitted with the allure of Scotland. Other English mothers probably viewed Scotland as a bleak, poverty stricken region of Britian and the kilt suit fashion may not have appealed to them.
Some English mothers bought kilts for their sons for casual wear. This was part of the convntion of dressing younger boys in skirted garments. It had been a convention persisting for centuries and continued throughout the 19th century, although began to decline by the end of the century. This inclided several skirted garments including dresses, skirts, kilts, and tunics. We see English boys wearing kilts like skirts with blouses. We suspect that these kilts were seen by many mothers as just a plaid skirt. Some may have liked the Scottish connection. They may have been part of an outfit like a kilt suit or Highland kilt outfit, but just the kilt worn for everday or in the summer in warm weather. This is a little difficult to tell as casual kilts, especially in England, were mostly worn in the 19th century before the the family snapshot became tecnologically possible. This meant that most of the photographic record was studio portraits. And usually mothers dressed the children up in their beat outfits to go to the photographic studio. Thus casual clothing is under repesented in the photographic record. Again this was mostly boys in affluent families. This may have been most common for English families which spent time in Scotland or the north of England.
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