Figure 1.--We see Canadian boys wearing the same sailor suits that were popular in America and Britain. This portrait was taken in Moncton, New Brunswick, probably about 1905.

Canadian boys as in America and Europe also wore sailor suits. We have little information about this fashion specifically related to Canada. A far as we can tell, Canadian boys wore the same style of sailor suits as worn in the United States and Britain. Of course as a British dominion, the Royal Navy traditions are particularly important in Canada. There were no complicating factors such as in France with different uniform items. The Canadian Navy uses the same uniform as the British Royal Navy. The Royal Canadian Navy was a very small orgamization until World war II when it expanded to one of the largest navies in the War. It played a major role in the campaign against U-Boats in the Nkrth Atlantic. Fashion influences from America and the major catalog companies were also a factor.

A reader writes, "One of the interesting features here is the wearing of long underwear under the long stockings. You can clearly see the lumpy effect that long underwear and long stockings produce in combinaation. Children often complained of this problem. Note this Americam cartoon depicting a boy with long underwear under his stockings.

Created: 3:12 AM 1/7/2007
Last updated: 5:04 AM 1/8/2007