Figure 1.--This CDV portrait shows an unidentified English boy wearing a velvet sailor suit. Notice all the stripes. The CDV is undatd, but we would guess was taken about 1870. The studio was Parker Pitville in Cheltenham. |
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Sailor suits continued to be done in a wide variety of ways. The original boys' sailor suit worn by Prince Albert Edward (Bertie) was a plain white suit like those enlisted sailors (ratings) had begun to wear (1840s). As the sailor suit became popular for boys, most boys do not seem to have worn suits based on these actual Royal Navy uniforms. Rather we see a range of fashion inspired creationsthat ppenly appeale to mothers. These blouses are notable for the lack of any standard design conventions other than the increasing popularity of a V-front and back flap. We also see boys wearing sailor blouses with knee pants which were becoming increasingly popular for younger boys by the 1870s. We do not see the traditional suits with three-striped styling in the early-1870s, but we do see see the increasing use of stripes. And not just on he collar. We see stripes all over the place. This varied from suit to suit. We see stripes down the front of the blouse, on the sleeve cuffs, highlighting pockets, at the blouse waist, at the sides of the pants, at the hem of the knee pants, as well as other places. This may in part be a reflection on Royal Navy uniforms which had not yet adopted what we call today traditional suits with the standard three-stripe detailing although we do see more and more stripes as the decade progressed. Notice that the boy has lace up high-top shoes. In America throughout the late-19th century we mostly see button high-top shoes.
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[Return to the Main English early-Victorian sailor suit chroonolgy page]
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