Figure 1.--It is virtually imposible to identify the gender of many young children in Daguerotypes taken in at mid-century. Boys still in dresses might wear curls like their sisters, but it was rare for a boy to continue wearing them after breeching.

Many American boys upon being, during the 1850s, might wear quite adult-looking clothes. In fact in many ways the boy of the 1850s might wear clothes that look more modern to us than those worn later in the century. The styles commonly worn in the 1850s might be called plain, almost the opposite of the outfits with the elaborate collars and frills that were worn at the end of the century. Some boys' suits while looking relatively dull might have some distinctive features such as military-looking buttons. Collars were small as was neckwear. Large bows were not worn. Neckwear was commonly small bowties, but some small collar bows were worn. Long pants were commonly worn after breeching.

HBC note: Many photographic images obtained by HBC are undated. HBC is able to provide approximate dates within a wide band of accuracy. It is often difficult, for example, to determine if a photograph or Dauerotype, was taken in the 1850s or early 60s. (Daguerotypes become much less common in the late 1860s.) HBC viewers should thus bare in mind possible errors in dating. Almost always HBC will indicate the date of a photograph if that date is available.

Garments

The garments worn by American boys in the 1850s might be characterized for their plainess.

Dresses

Little boys continued to wear dresses like their sisters. We have relatively few precisely dated images. There were not yet any distinctive boy styles. The images we note are show boys wearing esentially the same dresse as thir sisters. We do not know of any contemporary written material on this issue. The images that we have, however, show boys wearing dresses with no distinctive boy styling. Boys wear styles with low necklines as girls did at the time. A good example of this is an unidentified folk art portrait that we believe wss painted in the 1850s. Except for thge short hair and boyish face, we would have assumed it ws a girl.

Tunics

Younger boys judged to old for dresses might wear tunic-like jackets. The jackets looked like tunics and were often worn with the belt over the tunics. They were often cut much shorter then proper tunics worn earlier in the century. They look a lot ike long shirts. A good examole is an unidentified American boy. This style became much less popular in the 1860s.

Suits

Many American boys upon being, during the 1850s, might wear quite adult-looking suits. In fact in many ways the boy of the 1850s might wear clothes that look more modern to us than those worn later in the century. Some boys' suits while looking relatively dull might have some distinctive features such as military-looking buttons. We note many boys not precisely wearing suits with matching jacket and triosers, but rarher the jacket and trousers in contrasting materials. We note different styles of jackets. Some have rather a military look and button at the collar. A goof example here are the boys in an unidentified American family. We also note more modern looking jackets with lapels. A good example here is E.V. Grisen. The use of buttons was highly varoable on these suit jackets.

Collars

The collar styles commonly worn in the 1850s might be called plain and quite small. We note collars, especially Eton collars, with pointed tips. We also notice rounded collars. Almost the opposite of the outfits with the elaborate collars and frills that were worn at the end of the century. We notice boys wearing white collars, but they were generally not elaborately decorated or very large. A good example is an unidentified American family.

Bows

Neckwear was also quite modest. Many boys did not wear neckwear. Large bows were not worn. Neckwear was commonly stocks or small bowties, but some small collar bows were worn. A good example is E.V. Grisen. The images we have noted all show black neckwear.

Pants

Long pants were commonly worn after breeching. The fashion of dressing boys in shorter cut kneepants had not yet appeared.

Figure 2.--The boy in this 1855 family photograph wears a plaid outfit, although it is unclear to determine just what kind of suit he is wearing.

Hair Styles

Short hair for boys was prevalent, especilly after breeching. While most boys rarely had long hair, it was quite common to have hair covering part of a boys erars. The long hair for older boys which was to become common later in he 19th century was still rare. One source suggests that boys mostly parted their hair at the side and that a center part during the 1850s suggests a girl. (I have yet to confirm thuis.) If so, this is one the indicators which could help determine gender in unidentified images. This seems the prevalent style, but we do note boys with center parts as well. We note some children wearing ringlet curls in the 1850s, but most we have noted are girls. A good example of childrens hair styles is an unidentified American family and E.V. Grisen.

Age Trends

As children matured into pre-teen and teen years, their clothing more and more resembled that of adults. Tennage boys in the 19th Century increasingly were dressed in destinctive juvenile fashion, such as knee length pants. This was much less common at mid century. Their duties were adult. They were often aprenticed or went to work by the time they were 12 or 13 years old. There was no "teen culture" as we now know it. Certainly there was no particular fad clothing for youth. Boys often wore hand-me-down clothing of their parents, unless the family was very wealthy. Even wealthy families might pass clothes down. Queen Victoria, for example, reportedly never threw clothes away. In middle class families as well as working class families, it was usual for clothing to be passed down from child to child, even shoes.

Major Development

One monentous development for future generations was the invention of jeans, called overalls at the time. Though the ubiquitous blue jeans of today are worn for comfort, the rugged pants were born out of a necessity for work clothes: young entrepreneur Levi Strauss came out with the first pair made out of canvas and later out of denim for use by miners. Only in the late 1940s did the modern jeans emerge for boys. As for the women of the 1850s, they have yet to acknowledge the merits of trousers over skirts despite the advice of feminist Amelia Bloomer. But 40 years later guess what style women were are sporting on their leisurely bicycle rides? You got it--"bloomers."

Figure 3.--This boy wears a rather adult-looking suit, with an impressive number of buttons. Notice the long pants, small collar, and short hair cut.

America in the 1850s

The 1850s is one of the forgotten decades in American history coning as it does between before the monmentous Civil War and Reconstruction of the 1860s. America was still a very rural country, but industrial development in the North was already well underway. Yet America stood alone in the 1850s as the only real republic. The rest of the world was governed by monarchies which with a few exceptions, notably Britain, had not yet fully accepted democratic government. Fashion in America was still largely deterrmined by European fasion, primarily British and French fashions. We will link here i ternet sites that describe America in the 1850s.

Created: February 24, 1999
Last updated: 12:29 AM 6/27/2006