Figure 1.-- We think this boy weearing a vested kilt suit with a lapel jacket was photographed in the early-1870s. this was a popular style at the time. The large white collar was unusual at the time. His last name may be Cauffman, as Ella Cauffman is written on the back. The studio is W.O. Bell in Philadelphia.

The jackets were done in various styles. There were collar buttoning jackets, cut-away jackets, and lapel jackets. Some look like jackets purpose made for kilt suits. Others look like they could have also been worn with pants. The styling seems to have been primarily lapel sack suit jackers with skirt-kilts. The boy's suit here is a good example (figutre 1). The jackets were especially designed for kilt suits. This often meant that the jacket was cut off in the front amd did not fall as low as a stand,ard jacket. This meant that the kilt skirt was better displayed. We also see some boys wearing cut-away jackets, like the boy on the previous page. There are also collar-buttoning jackets. Collar buttoning jackets were still popular in the 1870s, but not as common for kilt suits as the other options. This had been a popular suit jacket style for boys in the 1860s. These jackets were done in the same material as the kilt-skirt. We do not note many of the cut-away jackets being worn with kilt suits during the decade. The cut-away jacket with pants was a very popular outfit for boys in the 1860s. There was a major change in suits during the 1860s. The popular trend was for suits to have matching jackets and pants. This was not the case in the 1850s. This trend for matching suits continued in the 1860s. And it caried over to kilt suits where the trend was for the jacket to match the kilt skirt. In addition to using the same material, the jackets and kilt skirts were coordinated through matching detailing like embroidery or even frogging. Some of the jackets were dome with extensive embroidery. This was more common in the 1870s than any other decade.

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Created: 5:58 AM 8/22/2024
Last updated: 5:58 AM 8/22/2024