Figure 1.--Here we see an unidentified group of English boys, we think in the 1890s. They look to be brothers, but there is always the possibility a couusine may have been thrown in. The age range looks to be about 2-7 years old. Areader thinks we are little off in our age estimates. The older boy has what looks like a pointed collar shirt added to his sailor blouse. One of the younger boys (but not the youngest) has a large lace collar covering his blouse so we are not sure it is a sailor blouse. This was amounted photograph, a rather unusual size (11 X 8 cm / 4.3 X 3.1 in). There was no studio information. Click on the image for a fuller discussion.

We see large numbers of English boys wearing sailor suits at age 6 years. This was the age that most boys began school. We see 5 year olds in schools, but virtually all 6 year olds by the 1980s were going to school. And we see a lot of 5-6 year old boys wearing sailor suits in the late-19th century. A good example is the Knowle Board School in 1898 wearing sailor suits. A board school was by this time a free state school so clothing at these schools are a good example of what ordinary English children were wearing, both the working-class and lower middle-class children. We are not sure about mid-century because we have so few English Dags and Ambros. But with the appearance of the CDV, we have a very good idea. We do not see many sailor suits in the 1860s, but by the 1870s it had clearly become a major style. And by the end of the century, most middle-class boys had sailor suits. A good example is Douglas Purdy in Maidendtone during 1895. We are assessing how common it was for younger primary boys to wear sailor suits to school. We note them wearing both sailor caps at the turn-of-the century included both broad-brimmed hats and boaters. We note 6-year olds continuing to wear sailor suits after the turn of the 20th century, but not so much after World War (1920s). What we do not see after the mid-19th century is older boys wearing sailor suits as was the case on the Continent. We are not entirely sure why that was given the immense popularity of the Royal Navy in Britain. We think the primary reason was the development of the preparatory school in Britain. Boys from upper-class and well-established middle-class families attended these schools beginning about age 7-8 years. They wore school uniforms and not sailor suits. We think this affected the general popularity of the sailor suit, even for the larger group of boys that did not attend private schools. Thus boys 6-7 years old became the oldest cohort if British boys that commonly wore sailor suits.

School Age

We see large numbers of English boys wearing sailor suits at age 6 years. This was the age that most boys began school. We see 5 year olds in schools, but virtually all 6 year olds by the 1880s were going to school. So age 6 is when boys left hime in a major way and giot o see hiow others biys were dressed and began excahnging uideas with other biys their age and with 6-year olds older boys.

Chronology

We see a lot of 5-6 year old boys wearing sailor suits in the late-19th century. A good example is the Knowle Board School in 1898 wearing sailor suits. A board school was by this time a free state school so clothing at these schools are a good example of what ordinary English children were wearing, both the working-class and lower middle-class children. We are not sure about mid-century because we have so few English Dags and Ambros. But with the appearance of the CDV, we have a very good idea. We do not see many sailor suits in the 1860s, but by the 1870s it had clearly become a major style. And by the end of the century, most middle-class boys had sailor suits. A good example is Douglas Purdy in Maidendtone during 1895. We are assessing how common it was for younger primary boys to wear sailor suits to school. We note them wearing both sailor caps at the turn-of-the century included both broad-brimmed hats and boaters. We note 6-year olds continuing to wear sailor suits after the turn of the 20th century, but not so much after World War (1920s). What we do not see after the mid-19th century is older boys wearing sailor suits as was the case on the Continent. We are not entirely sure why that was given the immense popularity of the Royal Navy in Britain. We think the primary reason was the development of the preparatory school in Britain. Boys from upper-class and well-established middle-class families attended these schools beginning about age 7-8 years. They wore school uniforms and not sailor suits. We think this affected the general popularity of the sailor suit, even for the larger group of boys that did not attend private schools. Thus boys 6-7 years old became the oldest cohort if British boys that commonly wore sailor suits.

Garments

We note a range of headwear fir sailor suits, strongklyb affected by Royal Navy unifiorm styles. Sailor suit blouses varied quite a bit in the 19th century. By the 1890s the styling had become fairly standardized. The pants varied quite a bit. The earliest sailor suits had long pants like Royal Navy ratings (enlisted men), but then the pants mirroring popular styles for 6-year olds of knee pants and knickers. And these shortened-length pants became standard by the late-19th century. Even so, the sailor suit became a rare style for which 6 year olds might werar long pants. After World War II, the sailor suit was increasingkly worn with short pants.

Other Related HBC Pages:
[Sailor suits] [Kilts] [Smocks] [Pinafores] [Sailor Hats] [Blouses]
[Ring Bearers] [Long hair] [Ringlet curls] [Hair bows] [Bangs] [Collars] [Bows]

Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing Web Site:
[Introduction] [Activities] [Biographies] [Chronology] [Clothing styles] [Countries] [Girls]
[Bibliographies] [Contributions] [FAQs] [Glossary] [Images] [Links] [Registration] [Tools]
[Boys' Clothing Home]

Created: 4:33 AM 1/31/2019
Last updated: 12:48 PM 8/20/2024