Figure 1.--This CDV portrait shows a boy wearing a fashionable sailor suit. The children's sailor suits were based on naval unifiorms, but the styles were still not standardized in the 1870s. We note mothers adding an extra collar. commonly a kind of ruff. The sailor suit was basically a comfortable style for boys to wear in an era in which formality was the rule. The portrait was taken by Crockett Photographer in Rockland, Maine. The boy wears striped long stockings that seem to match the suit.

The standard sailor suit had a V-collar. There were other styles such as a standard spread tip collars, but the V-collars were by far the most common. The children's sailor suits were based on naval unifiorms, but the styles were still not standardized in the 1870s. We note mothers adding an extra collar. commonly a kind of ruff. The sailor suit was basically a comfortable style for boys to wear in an era in which formality was the rule. Many mothers were not satisfied with simplicity of a basic sailor sxuit and added ectra bows and ruffles. These ruffs are a good example. We are nit sure how common this was, but we have found several examples in the photographic record. Most of the examples we have found look to be from the 1870s.

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Created: 7:40 AM 11/20/2010
Last updated: 7:40 AM 11/20/2010