Figure 1.--This English boy riding a carosel wears comfortable looking summer clothes, as casual shirt and short pants with ankle socks and school sandals. The photograph looks to be taken about 1970. |
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England has had a greater impact on boys' garments than any other country. Important boys' garments and styles developed in England. The prestige and importance of the English monarchy may well have played a major role here. An English monarch, Queen Victoria, popularized the Scottish kilt for boys. She also made the sailor suit into a boys' staple throughout Europe and North America. Other major boys' suit types like the Eton and Norfolk suit developed in England. English boys have worn kneepants, short pants, knickers, and long pants, although the chronology is somewhat different than in America. Some garments like short pants became almost associated with English boys--although they are not now commonly worn in England except during the summer and at a few schools. Boys coats around the world have been grearly influenced by English styles. Sweaters have been very popular in the often chilly English climate. Many important sweater types first appeared in England. Knee socks were commonly worn year round for school, play, leasure events, and formal wear. Sandals were more popular in England than any county and became a school staple.
Engish boys have worn a wide range of headwear. There were many popular styles of sailor hats and caps. These were notable in that sailor headwear was often worn by boys and girls. There were also a variety of school headwear, including both peaked caps and boaters. Here girls began wearing boaters, but never peaked caps. There were many other school headwear styles for girls, including berets and other styles. Flat caps were also worn by English boys, normally working-class boys. We also note boys wearing stocking caps. School caps went out of style in the 1050s, but were retained at many private schools. Boys began wearing American baseball caps in the 1980s.
English boys, as did boys in other European countries and America, wore dresses when they were little until breched. The age of breaching varied from family to family and over time. The dresses for boys through much of the 19th century were indestinguisable from those worn by the boys' sisters. The styles were basically the same as those worn by English girls at the time. This did not change until the late 19th century when boy dresses became plainer than those worn by girls. Plaid was a popular fabric for boys' dresses, in part because it related to a boy's garment--the kilt. We do not know of any specifically English styles here. We do not know if the English pattern differed in any way with the general European pattern.
Pantalettes were worn by English children for about a century. Pantalettes were extensively worn by English children, both boys and girls in the 19th century. The pattern described for America above appears to have been similar in England. Quite a few available images show English children, including boys wearing pantalettes. They were worn with both dresses, tunics, and skeleton suits. Pantalettes appear to have been more common in England as American travelers to England have commented on the fashion for boys to wear them. Apparently older boys wore them in England than in America. They were worn with a variety of hosiery types.
The pinafore is commonly assiciated with girls. Large number of images show English girls wearing imacuklate white pinnies to school. They were by both affluent and working class girls, although the better off girls normally had fancier pinnies. Other girls might have both pinnies for play and for more formal occassions. Some younger boys in England also are known to have been dressed in pinafores. Boys except for the very youngest would normally only wear pinnies around the home and not go to school in them like the girls. Also of course quite old girls might wear pinnies while only younger boys wore them. Pinnies were not, however, reserved only for the boys still in dresses or wearing smocks--although such boys were especially likely to also wear pinnies. Water colorist Helen Allingham outfitted her son in dresses and pinafores during the 1880s. We believe that this was realtively common, especially for affluent families, until the turn of the 20th century. It is not we documented in the photgraphic record, in part, because the children were normally dressed up for their portraits. There are, however, a few such images. We believe that these pinafores were much more common than is suggested by the photographic record.
I have seen relatively few images of English boys in turn of the 20th century tunic suits. Tunics were a common style in the early 19th Century and were still being
worn at mid-century. We note the Tennyson boys wearing tunics in the 1860s, but are unsure how common that was. The tunics suits worn by American and French
boys in the early 20th Century seem much less common in England. English boys seem to have worn short pants suits without the long tunics worn in France and
America and were much more plain than the French suits. Both the sailor style amd Russian blouse style were worn.
We do not note English boys wearing ethnic clothing go any extent. One of the few exceptions is Scottish Highlands dress. Scotish-style clothing was not only worn in Scotland. Scottish clothes were made and worn in England. This began in the 19th century as the cult of Scotland grew in England. Sctland had been looked doen by most English, especially in the 18th century after the suppression of the '45 Jacobite Rising at Culloden. This changed only gradually. The Scottish regiments in the Napoleonic Wars brought great credit on Scotland. Romantic novels and poems about Scotland also affected public thinking. Even the Hanovarians which had replaced the Stuarts gradually were swept up with the public enthusiasm over Scotland. The last Hanlvarian, Princess Victoria loved to read about Scotland. Affter becoming queen, she and Prince Albert began dressing the boys in Highland outfits. This was both a political statement and a relection of her love of Scotland. Other well to do English families also dressed their boys in Highland outfits. As far as we know this affectatiin was served for the affluent class, but this meant well to do middle-class families.
An English monarch, Queen Victoria, popularized the Scottish kilt for boys. We have noted a number of English boys wearing highland kilts. We are unsure to what extent this mean Scotish ancestry as opposed to simply a fashion statement. We also have noted a few English boys wearing kiltsuits. The kilt is generally associated today with Scotland or the Gaelic peoples of the British Isles and Normandy. The kilts use as a style of boys' clothing is much more recent in origin. In the British Isles, the kilt is mostly associated with Scotland and to a lesser extent Ireland. Boys in England itself, however, also occasuinally wore kilts, especially after Queen Victorian began dressing
the princes in Highland kilts during the 1840s. The full extent to which boys wore kilts is somewhat difficult to determine. Available photographs often do not indicate who the boy is or where he is from. Thus it is difficilt to determine if it is an English or Scottish boy involved.
Queen Victoria also made the sailor suit into a boys' staple throughout Europe and North America. The origins of the boys' sailor suit or vague. Apparently it was in England during the first quarter of the 19th century when someone had the inspiration that boys should wear sailors' trousers. (Some sources suggest an even earlier appearance of the sailor suit as boys' atire, but as yet I cannot confirm that.) It is not known who first coceived of the idea. It is known with certainty, however, who popularized it. It was Queen Victoria who began to dress the young princes in sailor suits during the 1840s. The 5-year old Prince of Wales (the future Edward VII) was not the first English boy to wear a sailor suit. It was, however, when in 1846 the prince's portrait was painted onboard the royal yacht during the Queen's visit to Ireland that the sailor suit began to attract the interest of English mothers and eventually mothers around the world. The prince wore a scaled down version of a real Royal Navy uniform. The uniform was arefully chosen to be an enlisted man's sailor suit. This can not have been an acident. It was almost certainly a carefully chosen decision calculated to give a favorable impression of the monarchy to the British people. Unfortunately HBC does not yet have details on precisely how the uniform was selected.
English children have worn a variety of knitted garments, especially during the winter. The mosimportant was sweaters. Many important sweater types first appeared in England. Some English boys during the 1920s began wearing sweaters, which tended to to be made longer than now, over their pants--usuallly short pants. This fashion was, however, not as pronounced as on the Continent. We have observed this same convention in other countries--including Belgium, France, Germany, and the Netherlands. We do not know why this convention developed. Later the swearters becam more shorter and were cut at the waist and often tucked inside the pants. We also note important coat styles, especially sailor styles such as such as sailor styles, including reefer jackets, pea jackets as well as duffle coats. One cold weather garment that does not seem very common are leggings. Other garments include gloves, mufflers, and scarves. An especially destinctive cold weather garment is the balaclava.
English boys have worn a wide variety of suits. The suit used to be a much more important par of a boy's wardrobe than is the case today when suits are not commonly worn. Many suit styles originated in England, including the sailor suit, the Eton and Norfolk suits as well as several other lesser known styles. Suits with cut-away jackets were popular in the mid-19th century. Sack suits gradually became the sandard style. Single-breasted coats have been the major style worn by boys in England. Suits were worn with different types of trousers. Engish boys have worn long lants, kneepants, knicker, and short pamts suits. We see boys in the 19th century wearing both kneepants and knicker suits. Many English boys after World War I wore short pants suits. The popularity of short pants suits began to decline in the late 1950s. They were still available for younger boys in the 70s, but rarely seen since except as part of school uniforms.
Rompers do not appear to have been as popular in England as they were in France and many continental countries. An English reader confirms that as in America, the garments were called rompers. While we have not noted many examples of English boys wearing rompers in the photogrphic record, we do notice a few. As we have so few inafes and no catalog information at this time, we have no idea about the conventiins involved. We are not ure if they were a boys' garment as in France or also worn by girls as in America. They do seem to have been a kind of plsy suit. We have not noted the more formal rompers as sometimes seen in France. After the 1950s they seem to have been basically an infant outfit.
Smocks appeared in England, France, and other European countries as a kind of work uniform, much as farmers use to wear overalls. HBC begins noting them in the early 19th century, but they may appeared earlier. Initially there was no association with childhood. I am not sure precisely when busy mothers realized they would also be practical garments for
children, helping to keep their clothes clean. By the late 19th century, the smock appears to have evolved into a child's garment, although it was not unknown in shops. Unlike the Continent, the smock was never an important school garment, although pinafores were extensively worn by English school children. Home and school smocks for boys were never as
popular in the English speaking countries as they proved to be on the Continent. They were, however, worn in England in the 19th Century, but declined in popularity in the 20th Century.
HBC has not yet been able to access English shirts and blouses. We have, however, done some work on collars, in particular Eton and lace collars. The Etpn collar ws a major style worn by English boys during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, but rapidly declined until after World War I. We notice younger boys wearing fancy blouses, but not nearly as common as in France. British boys commonly wore standard pointed collars. We do not notice boys in the post-World War II era wearing colorful shirts, perhas because school uniforms became so common. Also button-down collars were mnot nearly as popular as in the United States.
English boys have worn kneepants, short pants, knickers, and long pants, although the chronology is somewhat different than in America and other countries. Until the 20th century, the types and styles of trousers appear similar in both England and the Continent and America. Modern trousers appeared in the 17th century. Knee breeches were standard thrrought the 18th century. An exception here were the long pants skeleton suits that boys began wearing in the late 18th century. Long trousers were sandard in the early 19th century. Various style of shortened-length trousers became popular for boys beginning in the nid-19th century. At first only little boys wire them, but they gradually became popular for older boys as well. Some garments like short pants wgich became popular after World War I became almost associated with English boys--although they are not now commonly worn in England except during the summer and at a few schools. After World War II, especially by the 1960s, long trousers became increasingly popular for boys. Short trousers continued to be worn at school for a while. Graddually shorts became more casual, summer wear.
Boys coats around the world have been grearly influenced by English styles.
Perhaps the best known is the gabardine overcoat. This was adopted as the official uniform item by many schools. A HBC reader recalls the rubberized raincoat he wore as a boy. There are significant climatic differences between England and America. England never gets as cold as it does in the northern states or as warm as it does in the southern states. Sweaters have been very popular in the often chilly English but rarely bitter cold climate. We note some terms common in Britain that are not used in America. Cagoule is a British term. I do not think many Americans will recognize it. It means a lightweight anorak. This would be a lightweight hooded waterproof top or jacket. It is made of such a light-weifgt material that it can even be folded up and easily. We have noted brightly colored ones (often red or yellow) being carried by Cubs on their belt as a compact bundle at the back. It is useful in England and Scotland where rain showers can come up quickly. So boys can carry this garment instead of a heavy raincoat. The term appears to have appeared in the mid-20th century, adopted ffrom French. The term reltes to “cowl,” from Latin cucullus “cap, hood” which is the source of the English word cowl. All cagoules have hoods for rain protection.
English boys have wore a range of hosiery over time. British boys became rather associated with short pants and knee socks during the early and mid-20th century, but they are no longer very common. Boys have also worn ankle socks, three-quarter socks, and loing stockings. Unlike some European countries, Wnglish boys have never commonly wore tight, although they are worn by girls. Boys and their fathers in the 18th century wore stockings with knee breeches. Long pants became popular at the turn of the 19th century, first for boys and later for men. We see boys wearing white socks. More information becomes available at the mid-19th century because styles of shortened length pants began to become popular at the same time photography appeared. Boys wore long stockings, but we see some younger boys wearing socks, commonly before being breeched. Long stockings were very common in the late 19th century as knee pants became increasingly standard for boys. Barefeeet were generally seen as a sign of poverty. Knee ocks at the turn of the 20th century were also common, but not always apparent because knee pants wre so long. Baden Powell when he created the uniform for the new Scout movement helped popularize short pants and knee socks for boys. Knee socks were standfard boys wear during the inter-War era and early post-War era. During the summer boys might wear sandals or sneakers without socks. By the 1960s short pants and knee socks began to become less popular. Even the Scouts dropped short pants, but the Cubs continued to wear short pants and knee socks. English boys in the late 20th century continued to wear short pants, but mostly as casual summer wear without knee socks, The exception was school uniforms. Some schools continued to require scgool uniforms and this often included knee socks.
We have only limited information on English footwear at thus time. Some footwear is the same styles as worn by boys in many other countries. We note boys at the turn-of-the-20th century wore heavy boot-like shoes. Poor boys might wear wooden shoes or clogs, but they seem less common than is the case of many boys on the Continent. The oxford shoe is a standard boys' style, but notably named for Oxford, England. One of the most destinctive English footwrear style is the school sandal. Another destinctive English style is Wellington boots. Canvas shoes were mkostly worn for school gym classes and called plimsols. Sneakers became popular in the 1970s and were called trainers.
English underwear terms are different than American terms. The common union suits worm in the late 19th and early 20th centuries were called cominations in Britain. Underpants are referred to as just pants. Actual outergarments are referred to as trousers, never pants. Girls underpants are called knickers, a term one used for short pnts as well. Long stocking were not as common in England during the 20th century as in America and several European countries, but they were worn. The common xstocking supporter garment or waist was called a Liberty bodice.
One interested aspect of the garments chosen for boys clothing is the selection of the garments in relationshiop to the age oif the child. One appraoch here was age grading. Here the children in the family have their clothes determined by their ages. As they grow older major changes are made in their clothing such as braeching. Hair styles were also agre graded. Other steps might be more modest such as changing the accessories worn rather than the garment. A younger boy might wear a large bow, but after a year or two the size of the bow or the type of collar might be cahnged while the boy continued to wear the same suit. This approach conflicted with another popular fashion, dressng all the children alike, espcially the like gender appraoch. Her some mothers adopted both appraoches. The children were dressed alike, but minor changes such as with bows and collars were made or an older boy might be allowed to wear long trousers or a watch fob with his suit. The pratice if age greading apopears to have begun in the early Victorian era or just before it and continued through the Edwardian era and World War I.
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