Figure 1.-- This American boy wears a dark sailor suit and cap. The suit does not have stripe detailing. We see quite a few of these suits. The portrait is undated, but is a CYKO post card, meaning it was taken in 1904 or later. It looks to us about 1905-10. The unidentified boy looks to be abnout 8-9 years old.

Many American boys wore sailor suits in the early-20th century. They seem most common for younger primary-age boys. Many catalogs offered sailor suits and sailot blouses from about 2 to 8/10 years of age. We do not see teenagers wearing them. We note a Best sailor blouse for boys in sizes 2 1/2 to 8 years of age. We note Sears sailor suits in 1902 offered a wide range of styles. They were for boys 3-10 years of age. We note pre-school and school-age boys wearing sailor suits in this general age range during the 1900s and 10s. The photographic record is very extensive so we have a very good idea as to the popularity among age groups. The photographs generally confirm the catalog offerings. A good example of a younger boy is Japper Barnes about 1910. Younger boys might wear sailor styled tunics while older boys wore middy blouses with matching pants. After about 1910 and especially after World War I (1914-18), the sailor suit was seen as a style for a younger boy. The age of boys wearing sailor suits started to decline, especially in the 1910s. They were still commonly worn by primary-age boys to school and for dress-up occasions.

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Created: 8:41 AM 3/2/2011
Last updated: 6:25 AM 2/8/2018