Figure 1.--Here we have a unidentified London family in 1898 that decided to dress their boys in matching sailor suits, white blouses and dark long pants. Mothers at the time generally chose the clothes for boys this age. In his case fathers generally approved. We only know the boys' first names. Kenneth was 8 years old, Henry 6 years and and Arthur 4 years. They look like a very substantial Victorian famly. Age 8 years was generally the age boys began attending preparatory boarding schools and wearing school uniforms. The studio was Skillman with three London locations.

We mostly see younger boys wearing them. We see much older boys wearing sailor suits on the continent. A good example is the boy on the previous page. Another good example is an unidentified Weymouth boy, we believe about 1895. While very popular in Britain we note a substantial difference from other European countries, especially for older boys. English boys from affluent families tended to go to private boarding schools. By the 1890s preparatory schools for the younger children were well established. And many of these schools by the 1890s were requiring uniforms. And in the 19th century it was the affluent that set fashion trends even for boys. The schools varied but by the 1890s, age 8 years was becoming increasingly common as the entry age. As a result, we see fewer English boys older than 8 years wearing sailor suits as was the case in France, Germany, and Italy. And the boys attending these schools were from substantial middle-class families where the sailor suit was popular. Most of the images we have found are younger boys. We see only a few boys even in their early teens wearing sailor suits. One example of a boy who looks to be apprtoachin or in his early teens wearing a sailor suit during the 1890s comes from a Surbiton family in 1890. The two older boys wear marching sailor outfits with Eton collars. This appears to be their formal outfit. We wonder if the boys also had a regular suit and if so what determined which suit they wore for what occasion. Here we see a substantial, but unidentified London family that has outfitted their three boys (4-8 years old) in matching sailor suits (figure 1).

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Created: 8:37 PM 7/8/2025
Last updated: 8:38 PM 7/8/2025