Figure 1.--This cabinet card shows an unidentified British boy wears a velvet sailor suit with a lace "V"-collar. He has a necklace which may have a star or cross on it. The studio is Chas. P. Richards, Barrow in Furness. That is a coastal town in northern England (Cumbria). We do not know when this portrait was taken. The company was established in 1872, but this looks more like the 1890s to us. Notice his hat on the ground. It is a wide brimmed sailor hat with a rather flat crown. Notice the wide, colored streamers.

We see English boys wearing a wide range of hats commonly called sailor hats. They vary wih both the width of the brim and shape of the crown. There wee also features like hat bands, chinstraps, and streamers. Wide-brimmed sailor hats are probably the headwear most associated with the Victorian sailor suit, but the sailor suits were worn with other headwear, especially saiklor caps. And the wide-brimmed hats were worn with with many other outfits besides sailor suits. We see many examples in the photogaohic record. A good example is an unidentified well-to-do boy about 1895. We see these wide-brimmed hats in various styles. Variations appeared in both the crown and brim. We notice both flat and rounded crowns. There were also brims of different widths and configuration. Here we note great variety. The classic sailor hat is probably the wide-brimmed hat. These seem to have been mostly worn by younger boys. The brims were often done straight out. Others were done turned up, rather like a bowl. After the turn of the 20th century, especially in the 1910s, some of these hats were worn with turned-down brims or at least part of the brim turned down. We also note in the 19th century a sailor hat with a narrow brim. It was usdually dark and shiny. It seems to have been an early Royal Navy style that was not very popular for boyswear. We have found very few images of boys wearing this hat in the photographic record. One classic example is Ernest Bartlett in 1904. Wide-brimmed hats were not verry practical for boys. Perhaps a little more practical for girls who were not as active. But these hats were not just for formal events in which the children were not very active. A good example is William Steggall out on a family outing.

Boaters

Boaters are now seen as an adult hst, but some boys did wear them, mostly in the 19th century. Some older boys wore them at school. We note some younger boys wearing boaters with sailor suits. Royal Navy ratings (enlisted men) did not wear uniforms in the early-19 century. Even at mid century the Royal Naby was just beginning to estanlisj what is now the stabdard sailor unifirm. Boaters is ine style wirn by sailors. The boaters varied somewhat, espdecially in the 19th century. We see much higher tops that we generally think of with boaters. We only see boys wearing boaters with sailor suits in the 19th century. They were not nearly as common as wide-brimmed hats, but we do see some. Boaters were still worn in the early-20th century, but not very commonly by the younger boys wearing sailor suits.

Broad-brimmed Hats

We see English boys wearing a wide range of hats commonly called sailor hats. They vary wih both the width of the brim and shape of the crown. There wee also features like hat bands, chinstraps, and streamers. Wide-brimmed sailor hats are probably the headwear most associated with the Victorian sailor suit, but the sailor suits were worn with other headwear, especially saiklor caps. And the wide-brimmed hats were worn with with many other outfits besides sailor suits. We see many examples in the photogaohic record. A good example is an unidentified well-to-do boy about 1895. We see these wide-brimmed hats in various styles. Variations appeared in both the crown and brim. We notice both flat and rounded crowns. There were also brims of different widths and configuration. Here we note great variety. The classic sailor hat is probably the wide-brimmed hat. These seem to have been mostly worn by younger boys. The brims were often done straight out. Others were done turned up, rather like a bowl. After the turn of the 20th century, especially in the 1910s, some of these hats were worn with turned-down brims or at least part of the brim turned down. Wide-brimmed hats were not very practical for boys. Perhaps a little more practical for girls who were not as active. But these hats were not just for formal events in which the children were not very active. A good example is William Steggall out on a family outing. One classic example of a classic broad-brimmed hat is Ernest Bartlett in 1904.

Narrow-brimmed Hats

We also note in the 19th century a sailor hat with a narrow brim. It was usdually dark and shiny. It seems to have been an early Royal Navy style that was not very popular for boyswear. We have found very few images of boys wearing this hat in the photographic record.

Created: 7:11 PM 6/16/2010
Last updated: 5:53 PM 7/10/2023