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The basic tunic suit had two garments, the prominant tunic and a bottom, usually pants or trousers which were usully mostly covered up. We a few boys wearing a skirted garment under theiur tunics, but this was very rare. The vast pajority of boys wore pnts under yunics. Younger boys might wear pantalettes, nut most wore pants. We note boys wearing long pants, knee pants, and bloomer knickers. The types of pants worn were primarily a chronological matter as to what types of pants were popular at the time. We do not have much information about the pants worn with tunics during the early- and mid-19th century. We think boys at the time mostly wore long pants with tunics. We know much more about the tunic suits worn at the mid-19th century and the turn of the 20th century. For some reason we don't note many tunic outfits in the late 19th century, although we see some in the 1870s. By the mid-19th century we notice tunics being worn with knickers, commonly above-the-knee bloomer knickers. Different terms were used for these pants. Tunics were also worn with kneepants, but to a lesser extent. Here the knee pants seem different than standard knee pants. They seem to have used the lighter-weifgt material used for tinics rather than the heavier weight material commonly used for trousers. A related style, the Russian blouse suit was occasionally worn with long pants--mostly in the long pants variant. We notice tunics in the earlky 19th century being worn with both pants or pantalettes. When tunics became popular again at the turn-of-the-20th century, they were commonly worn with above-the-knee bloomer knickers. Less common were knee pants. While tunics were almost always worn with pants, we see a few boys wearing them with what look like skirts.
We notice some tunics in the early-19th century being worn with pantalettes. While argubly foirm of pants, they ere normally a form of underwear. Pantalettes were highly variable. Somne were very fancy and others quite plain. They also varied in length. They were also usually, but mot always white. Early-19th century pntalettes tended to be long. It is a little dificult in some instances to differentiate between pantalettes and long pants because some pantalettes were so plain and done in colors matching the tunic. Pantalettes might be called drawers. We believe this was especially common with the plain psntaledttes. Photographic images becomed available in the 1840s, but the poses often make it difficult to tell what kind of pants the boys are weating. The photography is much more informative with the 1860s, both because of the poses and the number of images. But by the 1860s it was much less common to see boys wearing pantalettes with tunics. We have found some images, but not very many.
The tunic was a kind of midway garment for boys in the 19th century. Theu were commonly worn by boiys after breeching. many boyswore their first pbts after reeching as part of tunicsyit, this was outwardly still a skirted garment, but pants underneath. In the final interation of tunic suits (1900-1920) as the convention of outfitting boys in dresses and other skirted garments finally disappeared, we see tunics becomng very popular. We believe this was in part because mother stopped dressing boys in dresses. The tunic was the last skirted garment they could tunn because it wasworn wuth pants. And we see all the various types of pants being worn with tunic suits. This vaied chromplogically as the popularity of long pants, knee pants, and bloomer knickers varied over time, depending on the evolving conventions and fashion changes. We do not see proper knickers being worn with tunic suits, but bloomer knickers were very common, especilly in the final era in which tunic suits were worn. When tunics became popular again at the turn-of-the-20th century, they were commonly worn with above-the-knee bloomer knickers. Less common were knee pants, but both were worn. What was not worn with tunics in the early-20th century was long pants. This was presumbly because boys at the time, including many teen agers, almost all wore straight-leg knee pant and knickers.
The types of pants worn were primarily a chronological matter as to what types of pants were popular at the time. We do not have much information about the pants worn with tunics during the early- and mid-19th century. We think boys at the time mostly wore long pants with tunics. We know relatively little about this because photography was not yet developed. There are many Daguerreotypes showing boys wearing tunics in the 1840s and 50s. Unfortunately, it is often difficult to tell what kind of trousers they are wearing because of the pose and framing. As far as we can tell, the boys mostly wore long pants. We begin to see knee pants and bloomer knickers at this time, but believe that they were mosdtly limited to boys from fashionable, big-city familirs/ The photographic record suggests that long pants seen to be much more common. After the civil War this changed and we no longer see boys commonly wearing tunics with long pants.
Tunics were also worn with kneepants. We are not sure at this time just how common they were. Knee pants appeared in the 1840s, but were not very common for some time, being worn mostly by boys from fashionable families in the big cities. We know nuch more about this in the 1860s when we have a much more extensive photographic record to draw from. We see quite a few boys in the 1860s and 70s wearing tunics. The knee pants here were made in the same material as the tunic. Many of these boys are wearing them with knee pants which varies in length and cut. We also notice knee pants worn with the tunics which became popular at the turn of the 20th century. Here bloomer knickers were more common, but we do see some knee pants. Here the knee pants seem different than standard knee pants. They seem to have used the lighter-weight material used for tinics rather than the heavier weight material commonly used for trousers. Here it is not quite clear if the pants were made as knee pants or the drawstring used to close bloomer knickers was not drawn.
We know much more about the tunic suits worn at the mid-19th century and the turn of the 20th century. For some reason we don't note many tunic outfits in the late 19th century, although we see some in the 1870s. By the mid-19th century we notice tunics being worn with bloomer knickers, commonly above-the-knee bloomer knickers. Tunics were popular at the time and the snapshot added hugely to the number of images. This last interation of tunics isht stands out in the photographic record. Different terms were used for these pants. As tunics had become so popular at the turn-of-the-20th century, it is these garments that dominte the image of tunic suits in the popular mind. They were commonly worn with above-the-knee bloomer knickers. Less common were straight-leg knee pants, but both were worn. What was not worn with tunics in the early-20th century was long pants.
Most boys wore various types of pants with tunic suits. We note, however, a few photograhic portraits in whivcj boys see, to be weaing skirts under their tunics. We have not found mny examplesm, but we have found a a few. The images are not rel clear as to what the boys were wearing, but they certainly lkook like a skirt under the tunic. The examples we have found so far from the 1870s and we think the early-80s. We do not know how common these outfits were, nut there rarity in the photograohic record suggest that they not very common at all. We suspect that they were not mass produced, limiting gthe numbers ctually worn. .
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