Figure 1.--This photo post card shows an unidentified American boy wearing a dressy white tunic suit with long white stockings and strap shoes. Notice his dark hat on the floor. The portrait is undated, but was probablt taken about 1910. |
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The tunic suit was a basically complete outfit. The primary accompsnying garments was headwar on the top and hosiery and footwear on the bottom. The popular Buster Brown comic strip character has rather set in the public mind what boys wore with tunic suits. But this image while not incorrect was not what most boys wore when dressing up in a tunic suit. The photographic record suggests that actual garments worn by American boys with tunic suits were much more varied. The tunic suit was the primary garment and there was not much else that a boy needed along with the suit. In fact many boys went barefoot and wore nothing else. But there were other garments worn with tunic suits. Some boys wore headwear, but most based on the photographic record did not. There is an association with broad-brimmed sailor hats because of Buster Brown, but most images we have found show boys withour headwear. A few boys wore these broad-brimmed sailor hats, but this was not common--Buster Brown not withstanding. We do not note matching headwear made in the same material. Some mothers did match colors. Hosiery varied. We see boys going barefoot. There were two basic options for hosiery. Most boys wore either three-quater socks or long stockings. Knee socks were not commoln. Footwear also varied. We see quite a few boys wearing strap shoes when wearing dressy tunic suits. A range of other shoe types were also worn, especially when the boys were not dressing up.
The tunic suit was a basically complete outfit. The primary accompsnying garments was headwar on the top and hosiery and footwear on the bottom. The popular Buster Brown comic strip character has rather set in the public mind what boys wore with tunic suits. He was often shown with wide brimmed hats or saucer-style sailor caps. And he normally wore three-quarter white socks with strap shoes. Wide-brimmed hats were but one of the headwear styles. Three-quater sovks were worn with tunuc suits, but long stockings seem mor common. Strap shoes do seem quite common. But this image while not incorrect was not what most boys wore when dressing up in a tunic suit. The photographic record suggests that actual garments worn by American boys with tunic suits were much more varied.
The tunic suit was the primary garment and there was not much else that a boy needed along with the suit. In fact many boys went barefoot and wore nothing else. But there were other garments worn with tunic suits. Some boys wore headwear, but most based on the photographic record did not. There is an association with broad-brimmed sailor hats because of Buster Brown, but most images we have found show boys withour headwear. A few boys wore these broad-brimmed sailor hats, but this was not common--Buster Brown not withstanding. We do not note matching headwear made in the same material. Some mothers did match colors. Hosiery varied. We see boys going barefoot. There were two basic options for hosiery. Most boys wore either three-quater socks or long stockings. Knee socks were not common. Footwear also varied. We see quite a few boys wearing strap shoes when wearing dressy tunic suits. A range of other shoe types were also worn, especially when the boys were not dressing up.
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