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Most English boys had black Eton suits, both the jacket and the pants ortrousers as the British prefer. Eton schoolboys wore stripped pants, but that was an exception. We mostly see all black suits in the photographic record. Boys at other schools or as a regular suit wore solid colored pants. Most of the Eton suits we have seen had black trousers to match the black jacket, but we beleve that grey pants were also worn with black jackets. Eton suits were primarily worn with long pants a worn at Etomn school. HBC has not Eton suits with knee pants, but less commonly knickers. [HBC note: The British refer to knee pants and later short pants as knickers, so some care needs to be given in assessing contemporary sources.] The basic difference in the pants with eton collars is the length. We see long pants, knee oants, knickers, and short pants. HBC is not yet sure how the different styles of pants varied beyond length. This assessment is further complicated by changing fashions over time. HBC is making a preliminary assessment, but invites reader comments.
HBC believes that Eton suits were mostly worn with long pants. HBC an not yet confirm this, but the great bulk of the available images show boys wearing long pants with Eton suits. HBC believes that the relative availability of images is one indicator of thr popularity of the fashion. Admitedly HBC has few British Eton suit images from the late 19th century, so long pants with Etons may not have been as common in the late 19th as they were in the early 20th century. HBC also believes that wheen an Eton suit was purchases for a stand along Eton suit, long pants were more likely than when purchasesd as a school uniform. But again this requires comfirmation. HBC's English consultant confirms HBC assessment. He reports, "Long trousers were much more the norm, judging from all the pictures I have seen--and I've looked at a lot of them."
Eton suits were worn with knee pants during the late 19th century. HBC is not, however, positive how popular kneepants were. Our initial assessment is that they were less common than long pants. This may have varied over time. Also younger boys would have been more likely wear the kneepants version. HBC believes that a boys formal Eton suit was more likely to have been long pants than the Eton suits worn as part of a school uniform. Eton School alwayd had a long pants school uniform. Many other schools adopted variations of the Eton suit as part of their school uniform. HBC had thought that some of these schools may have had knee pants uniforms. HBC English consultant, however, reports that, "It would have been long trousers only for school: that was the formal Eton suit. I expect the knicker suit was worn by younger boys, but at home rather than at school." Many of these wealthy boys were teribbly spoiled and HBC had thought that when a uniform did not require knee pants, that once they were about 12 or 13 years old that they would begin to get their way about their clothes. However, HBC's has only limited information about Eton suits and defers to the expertise of its English consultant.
HBC has not noted Eton suits worn with knickers (in the American sence). In the British usage, 'knickers' were any type of short trousers. Hence the use of that terminology in the attached picture. Many schools had knicker uniforms in the late 19th century. While these uniforms often had Eton collars, they were not Eton suits. HBC has not noted any formal Eton suit made with knickers. We have noted, however, Eton-like suits worn with knickers. Probably some Eton suits were worn with knickers, but HBC believes they were not very common.
Some English boys did wear short pants with Eton jackets, but I believe this was more likely to be a prep school uniform than a regular suit. Short pants did not become popular until the 1910s which was the last decade that Eton suits were commonly worn outside of a school uniform. By this time, however, Eton suits (but not Eton collars) had been dropped as school uniforms at most schools. HBC does not know of any proper Eton suits made with short pants. Some schools, however, did employ Eton collars with their school uniforms. The suits themselves were not Dton suits. Some of these schools did employ short pants. We contunue to see Eton collars into the 1930s, but they basically disappeared during the war years (19390-45)
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