Figure 1.--Here we see a wealthy American family, we think in the late-1890s. Notice the boys Fauntleroy lace collar. The white beret was, however, unusual for the 19th century.

Younger boys still wore dresses in the 1890s. There seems to be more of a trend to differentiate boys and girls clothing. We note boy dresses bing advertized. The conventionof boys wearing drsses which has existed for centuries seemed to decline in popular in the later part of the decade. We are not entirely sure why. We think the popularity of the kilt suit and Fauntleroy suit were factors here. Smocks were not common in America except in rather affluent families. The styles of the 1880s, such as kilt suits, Fauntleroy suits, and sailors suits continued to be popular. The sailor suit was especiallly popular and was now also worn by girls, but with skirts rather than kneepants. Fancy styles such as Fauntleroy suits reached their peak of popularity in the 1890s as were sailor suits. Boys commonly wore blouses, often with large collars, with knee pants and long stockings, mostly black long stockings. Kneepants were now widely worn by boys of all ages. We see even older teenagers wearing knee pants by the end of the decade. Most boys wore kneepants, mostly with long stockings. Some boys might wear long hair, in some cases in ringlet curls. By the end of the decade many boys were weraing tunic suits. The new style of tunic or blouse suits, made in various styles (sailor, Russian, and Buster Brown) were enormously popular and began to replace the kilt suit. Boys mostly wore short hair in the 1890s. Some boys, however, wore ringlet curls. While worn by a minority of boys, we see many portraits of boys wearig long ringlet curls, especially with fauntleroy suits, but also with sailor suits. The fashion of ringlets was more popular in America than in other countries.

Decade Overview

The 1890s was a decade of emense industrial growth in the United States. This was the decade that the frontier closed and America made the shift from a primarily agricultural to a primarily undustrial country. Industrial expansion brought unparalleled prosperity to American and the growth of the middle class. America emerged in the 1890s as the preeminent world industrial power. An expresion of America's growing industrial economy was the Colombian Exhibition (1893). America's industrial growth was a development duly noted in Britain, but not so widely in Germany. This had a significant impact on fashions and the garment idustry as the American consumer had money for a wide range of consumer goods and one of these was certainly fashion. American children were better dressed in the 1890s than ever before because parents had the money to spend. The United States began its own imperial outreach in the 1890s with the Spanish American war (1898-99). And there was a huge inflow of mostly European immigrants thoughout the decade. These immigrants played a major role in building an industrial work force.

Garments

Younger boys still wore dresses in the 1890s. There seems to be more of a trend to differentiate boys and girls clothing. We note boy dresses bing advertized. The conventionof boys wearing drsses which has existed for centuries seemed to decline in popular in the later part of the decade. We are not entirely sure why. We think the popularity of the kilt suit and Fauntleroy suit were factors here. Smocks were not common in America except in rather affluent families. The styles of the 1880s, such as kilt suits, Fauntleroy suits, and sailors suits continued to be popular. The sailor suit was especiallly popular and was now also worn by girls, but with skirts rather than kneepants. Fancy styles such as Fauntleroy suits reached their peak of popularity in the 1890s as were sailor suits. Boys commonly wore blouses, often with large collars, with knee pants and long stockings, mostly black long stockings. A good example is Harold Wilson in 1897. Kneepants were now widely worn by boys of all ages. We see even older teenagers wearing knee pants by the end of the decade. Most boys wore kneepants, mostly with long stockings. Some boys might wear long hair, in some cases in ringlet curls. By the end of the decade many boys were weraing tunic suits. The new style of tunic or blouse suits, made in various styles (sailor, Russian, and Buster Brown) were enormously popular and began to replace the kilt suit.

Hair Styles

Boys mostly wore short hair in the 1890s. Some boys, however, wore ringlet curls. While worn by a minority of boys, we see many portraits of boys wearig long ringlet curls, especially with fauntleroy suits, but also with sailor suits. The fashion of ringlets was more popular in America than in other countries.

Families

We see a range of 1890s outfits in family portraits archived on HBC. Many mothers used age grading on outfits. Younger boys wore dresses. Some were done in boy styles. Plaid was popular for boys' dresses. After breeching boys might wear Fauntlroy suits, sometimes with ringlet curls. Boys very commonly wore sailor suits. There were a range of different suit styles. Boys often wore suit jackets that buttobed at the collar rather than more adult sack suits with lapels. Boys might just wear blouses during the summer. It was common to add lace or ruffled collars. The ruffled collars gradually replaced the lace collars as the decade progressed. Some mothers added large floppy bows. Kneepants became almost universal for boys and by the end of the decade quite old boys were wearing them. Boys commonly wire long stockings, although rural boys would go barefoot during the summer.A popular convention was to dress all the children alire or to coordinate their outfits. There were importnt regionzal and class differences.

Homes

Most photographs in the 19th century were formal studio portraits. We dee very few home interior photographs. We get something of the feel for homes with the studio set ups, but that is not the same as actual photographs. We see a few interior photographs during the 1890s. A good example is Harold Wilson in 1897. Harold was from a well-to-do family with a Cape Cod summer house.

Individual Boys

Younger boys still commonly wore dresses in the 1890s, although kilt suits were also very popular. At about mid-decade dresses behin to become less commom, although we are not entorely sure why. Tunics begin to become especially popular for younger boys by the end of the decade. The Fauntleroy suit was very popular for boys, especially in America. Ruffled collars begin to replace lace collars. The sailor suit was popular just about every where. Sailor hats were worn with both sailor and other outfits. Many boys wore collar buttoning suits, often with touches like large fancy collsrs and floppy bows. Most boys wore knee pans, both in Europe and America. American boys mostly wore long stockings, especially black stockings. Both socks and stockings were common in Europe. Most boys had short hair, but we seen some mostly younger boys with long hair. Americans boys often had long hair done in bangs.

Schools

School portraits in the 1890s became very common photogrphy improved and became incerasingly affordable. We see class portraits from all over the country, includuing one-room schools on the rapidly shrinking western frontier. We see boys commonly wearing suits to school, even in country schools, although there boys in warm weather commonly just wore blouses and knee pants. Many boys wore straight-leg knee pants. Knickers were not very common, but we see them at some private schools. The type of pants did vary. We see boys at some schools wearing long pants. We are not entirely sure why there were such variations. Age of course was a factor. Boyys and girls commonly wore long stockings. Black long stokings were especially common. Many younger boys wore blouses with large collars, sometimes ruffled Fauntleroy collars. We also see sailor suits, especially in urban schools. Girls wore dresses, often with pinafores. Many children came to school barefoot, especially in rural areas.

Catalogs and Advertisements

Mail order catalogs in the 1890s provide a valuable record of the sshions worn as the age of the boys wearing them as well as other details such as finishing and materials. Mail order catalogs offered a variety of clothes for boys in the 1890s, including dresses, kilt suits, Fauntleroy suits and blouses, sailor suits, and kneepats and long pants suits as well as a wide range of accessories.

Created: 5:08 PM 6/10/2008
Last updated: 5:08 PM 6/10/2008