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The salor suit became a standard boys' fashion by the 1890s. Even through the Fauntleroy craze of the late 1880s and 1890s, it was the sailor suit that most boys wore. A good example is Percy Brown in 1891. Clothing catlogs by the 1890s had whole pages devoted to different styles of sailor suits that could be selected. We note mostly colored suits, but we do see some white summer suits. Unfirtunately we can not tell what colors were used because of the black-and-white photography of the day. The traditional suits haf become increaingly popular by the end of the decade. We still see non-traditional suits, but styling was beginiining to become increasingly standardized. We not only the suits with blouses and pants, but there was also a jacket suit. Many sailor blouses had dickies and nautical sumbols. The jacket sailor suits seem most common in the 1890s. An example is the Wards 1895 catalog. Most boys wore knee pants sailor suits. We see older boys wearing knee pants and the knee pants tended to be cut shorter. We see some long pants sailor suits, but rarely sailor suits with knickers.Almost all Americn boys except the very youngest wore long stockings. Some boys diring the summer might wear white socks or stockings. The photographic record suggests this was not very common. We note varied footwear. We mostly see high-top shoes.
The salor suit became a standard boys' fashion by the 1890s. We see this clearly in the photographic record. Even through the Fauntleroy craze of the late 1880s and 1890s, it was the sailor suit that most boys wore. A good example is Percy Brown in 1891. Clothing catlogs by the 1890s had whole pages devoted to different styles of sailor suits that could be selected.
The sailor suit was popular in America for primary-age boys. We do not see many teenagers wearing them. Thus the age cinventions were more like Britain than chan continental Europe. We note the Illinois Scott boys who were 5 and 7 years old. The boy here looks ti be about 8 years old (figure 1).
We note mostly colored suits, but we do see some white summer suits. Unfirtunately we can not tell what colors were used because of the black-and-white photography of the day. We can tell that there were both light and dark colored suits. We suspect thast many were blue, especially the dark suits. We know from catalogs that there were other colors used. We note in addition to blue and white, colors like grey and brown and a few colors that were much less common. This is our primary source of color information in addition to a few vintage garments. We note a 1892 pattern that suggested blue serge. Wards offered 1895 reefer suits in colors like black, blue, brown, cream, and grey somme of which were used in checks.
We notice some American sailor suits done as patterns. This was motly stripes. The ones we notice are summer suits. From a distance they look like light-colored suits. They seem to be white suits with thin colored stripes. Blue stripes were the most common, but they were not the only stripe color. This can not be determined from the photographic record, but we can find color information in the mail-order catalogs that had become very popular by the 1890s. These stripe suits were very popular for summerwear in the 1890s. There were other patterns, but none were nearly as common as the stripe suits. The stripes were done on both the blouse and pants. The 'V' sailor collar was often not striped, but a solid color for contrast. The dickey also was not done in the striped material. We notice the striped suits worn without the scarves. We are not sure if this was very common.
There was a range of sailor headwear, but the hats and caps werevusully purchased separatrely and not part of the suit. As the suits were usually blue and white, they could match even of purchased separately. Notice the moderate brim straw sailor hat the boy here has (figure 1).
The sailor suit consisted of two basic garments, tops and bottoms. Other garments like headweat and vests might be worn as part of ailor suits, but the tops and bottoms were the two basic garments. The tops included blouses and jackets. The bottoms were pants, modtly knee pants, but also somr long pants. Long pants were generally worn with the more traditional suits that mirrored actual uniforms.
The traditional suits had become increaingly popular in America by the end of the decade. We still see non-traditional suits, but styling was beginiining to become increasingly standardized. The style of the suit and the name basically comes from the top. We see two basic types of sailor suit jackets. We not only the blouse suits which are probanly what is in the popular mind. There were were also a jacket suit. Blouses were often done with front buttons rather than pullover styling. Thev blouse might be worn with some kind of undershort, but suring the simmer the boy might just wer the blouse. The jacket sailor suits seem most common in the 1890s. They were more of a dressy outfit.The jackets were styled variously. Some were made to be worn open. They were worn with shirt waists or other kind of shirt;-like garmrnts. Some were done with double button styling and called reefer suits, the same named used for heavy coats. And some had vests which were common with regular suits as well. An example is the Wards 1895 catalog.
Many sailor blouses had dickies and nautical symbols. Sailor blouses in the 1890s commonly had dickies. Many had embroidered symbols wih natical themes. We do not see many of the the stripped dickies that wereso popular in several European countries. We see some, but not very many. A eample od a striped dickie is an unidentified Dakota boy in the 1890s. The stripes weredone differetly than what we see in Eyrope. The dickey might be thought of as part of the blouse, but many in the 1890s were detachable.
Detailing
Almost all of the detailing was on the top garments.
Pants
Most merican boys boys wore knee pants sailor suits in the 1980s. In Europe bloomer knicker pants were more common. Knee pants by the 1890s had become the standard type of pants worn by American boys. And we even see teenagers wearing the, althouhgh not with sailor suits. We see older boys wearing knee pants and the knee pants tended to be cut shorter. We see some long pants sailor suits, but rarely sailor suits with knickers. These long pants sailor suits were some of the few suits made with long pants for younger boys.
There were also coats done in sailor style, The most common was the pea or reffer javket. . Thiswas ahavy woold dounlr breasted coat. It was a cold weather garment worn with both sailor suits and non-sailor outfits.
Almost all Americn boys except the very youngest wore long stockings. Some boys diring the summer might wear white socks or stockings. The photographic record suggests this was not very common.
We note varied footwear. We mostly see high-top shoes. Some younger boys or boys from affluent families wore strap shoes, but the photographic record suggests that this was not very common, even with Fauntleroy suits. And it even less cimmon with sailor suits.
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