Ring Bearer Costumes: United States, 1930



Figure 1.--This formal U.S. wedding was held about 1930. The children wear all white outfits. They look to be about 4-5 years old.

HBC has no information about this wedding. We bbelieve that it was an American wedding. We can only make some assumtions based on a visual assessment of the image. The fashions the children are wearing suggest about 1930 to HBC. The facial chracteristics of the people look Italian. The fancy outfits suggest that they were an affluent couple. However as large sums were sometimes spent on weddings by people of modest income, they may not be a rich family.

Wedding Details

This formal wedding probably was held about 1930. The boy wears short pants for his satin ring bearer costume. Fancy outfits were common for these outfits, but boys generally wore kneepants or longer shorts in the 1920s, leading us to believe the wedding took place in the late 1920s or late 1930s. The clothing worn by the adults suggests the early rather than than the later 1930s. Also the little girls long dress suggests the early 1930s, Shirley Temple popularized shorter dresses which were more common in the later 1930s.

Children in the Wedding Party

There are two children in the wedding party. The boy is presumably the ring bearer, notice the satin pillow for the ring that he is holding. The little girl is ceratinly the flower girl. One girl carries the train of the bride's dress. Two more are flower girls. There is, notice the basket of flowers she is carrying. Both wear all white outfits.

Men's Clothes

The men wear tuxedoes with both white and black bow ties. The classic style of tuxedos make it difficult to date them.

Women's and Girls' Clothes

The women wear long dresses which HBC can nlot date. Their hats, however, do look about like 1930 styles, although we would welcome an assesment by milinary experts as to the possible date. The flower girl wears a rather plain, long white sation dress.

Ring Bearer

The ring bearer's costume is rather destinctive. It consists of a white satin beret worn with a white satin cape whoch covers his top. We this do not know whether he is wearing a jacket or blouse, but would guess a blouse. He wears short white satin shorts. The fact that they are short cut shorts suggests to HBC that the wedding took place about 1930. Earlier boys probably would have worn longer shorts. He wears short white socks, but his shoes are not visible.

Beret

There are definite European influences in this wedding portrait. The satin beret the ring bearer is a European style. American boys did not commonly wear berets.

Cape

The ring bearer wears a little cape. We have seen these capes in other American weddings during the 1920s and 30s. Presumably it is also a European style.

Suit

The cape cobers the boy's top. So we do not know if he is wearing a jacket or bloyse. We think that the blouse is the nost likely as a jacket would have shown at the waist. The fact that they are short cut shorts suggests to HBC that the wedding took place about 1930. Earlier boys probably would have worn longer shorts.A HBC reaser writes, "I find it interesting that the little boy is wearing such short short pants, and ankle socks, when most of the ring bearer outfits I've seen are either longer short pants and knee socks, or knickers and long stockings." The boys short pants and girls long dress seem a little strange together.

Sash

The image is unclear, but the boy apparas to be wearing a patterened sash.







Christopher Wagner






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Created: January 4, 2002
Last updated: January 4, 2002