Figure 1.--This Maine boy wears a tunic suit dine in a gingham checked pattern. It was probably a red check, but other colors could have been used. The portrait is undated, but the mount style suggests it was taken about 1900-05. We do know that the studio was W.N. Gough in York Beach, Maine.

The popularity of patterened tunics has varied over time. We are not sure about the early 19th century. We do see many boys wearing brightly patterened tunics in the mid-19th century. Plaid was a popular pattern. We note one 19th century tunic worn by an unidentified American boy in the mid-19th century done in a plaid style. This presumably is related to the growing popularity of the kilt as a boys' style. At the time, ready-made gasrments were still bot common. Many tunics would have been sewed at home or by a local seamstress. We are not sure how common pattern tunics were ast the time, in part because of the limited number of images available from this period. Tunics declined in popularity and we see few patterened tunics in the late-19th century. We begin to note some patterned tunics again after the turn of the 20th century. We see various patterens such as checks after the turn-of-the 20th century in the early-20th century. Plain solid-colored patterns were more common, but we see some boys wearing patterned tunics. A variery of patterns, including checks and polkadots. Here the variation is partly due to the fact that many mothers in the early 19tyh century sewed tunics. (The tunic like aess was easier to dew than many boys' garments.) And of course home sewers could chose whtever fabric they wanted. Ready-made tunics were readily available, but hem sewing was still very common.

Created: 1:40 AM 3/18/2010
Last edited: 1:40 AM 3/18/2010