***
English boy clothes -- suits chronology 19th century 1860s
English Boys Suits: Chronology--The 1860s
Figure 1.--Here we see four unidentified English boys in 1867. We are unsure abiut their relstionship. They are too close in age to be brothers. Notice how popular the cut-away jackers were for younger boys. There are differences, but all seem to be different versions of the cut-away jacket. Two of the boys wear classic cut-away jackets. The other two wear partially cut-away jackets. The boys wear bloomer knickers, althouh one boy wears very full-cut knee pants. Source: Victoria and Albert Museum.
Suits primarily consist of two garments but in the 1860s vests were also very common. We do not begin to see large numbers of English photographs until the development of the CDV. Thus we begin to see large numbers of portraits for the first time in the 1860s with detailed fashion information. Cabinet cards also appeared about 1866, but CDVs were much more common. Younger boys wore suits with cut-away jackets in the mid-19th century. A good example is an unidentified English boy, probably in the 1860s. Some of these cut-away jacket suits were plain, others had elaborate styling and detailing. We also see collar-buttoning jackets, but cut-away jackets seem to be the most poplar style for the younger boys. We note some older boys wearing suits with cut-away jackets, although with long jackets. A good example is an English boy, Edward Larrer in 1861. The Eton suit became very popular after mid-century. It originated of course at Eton College and was adopted at other public schools, but was worn as a basic suit style outside of school as well. Many period portraits show boys wear vests with their suits. The CDV using the albumen process significantly reduced the price of photographic portraits, buy it was still pricey for working class families. So we do not know if working =-class boys also wore vests. Styles in the 19th century were set by the well-to-do and that low-income families adopted the same fashion to the extent that they could afford it. We see boys wearing both long and shortened-length pants. We see shortened-length pants beginning to become standard in the 60s, but were still mostly worn by pre-school and the younger school-age boys. English boys were bloomer knickers, knee pants and long pants. Bloomer knickers seem very common for the younger boys. Knee pants were often cut with very full legs. Here age was a factor. Most boys wore long pants, especially boys over about 10-years of age. There were also social class factors.
Photography
We do not begin to see large numbers of English photographs until the development of the CDV. Thus we begin to see large numbers of portraits for the first time in the 1860s with detailed fashion information. Cabinet cards also appeared about 1866, but CDVs were much more common. Thus for the first time we begin to have the imagery we need to assess fashion trends.
Suits primarily consist of two garments but in the 1860s, jackets and pants, vests were also very common. Younger boys wore suits with cut-away jackets in the mid-19th century. A good example is an unidentified English boy, probably in the 1860s. Some of these cut-away jacket suits were plain, others had elaborate styling and detailing. We also see collar-buttoning jackets, but cut-away jackets seem to be the most poplar style for the younger boys. We note some older boys wearing suits with cut-away jackets, although with long jackets. A good example is an English boy, Edward Larrer in 1861. The Eton suit became very popular after mid-century. It originated of course at Eton College and was adopted at other public schools, but was worn as a basic suit style outside of school as well. Many period portraits show boys wear vests with their suits. The CDV using the albumen process significantly reduced the price of photographic portraits, buy it was still pricey for working class families. So we do not know if working-class boys also wore vests. Styles in the 19th century were set by the well-to-do and that low-income families adopted the same fashion to the extent that they could afford it. Vests were much more common throughout the 19th century than was the case in the 20th century. We are not sure why, but we suspect it was not just fashion. We see boys wearing both long and shortened-length pants. In the first half of the 19th century, boys of all ages after breeching mostly wore long pants. We see shortened-length pants beginning to become standard in the 60s. There were also social class factors involved. Shortened-length pants seem especially true of well-to do boys from fashionable families. Long pants, however, were still common. Shortened-length boys were still mostly worn by pre-school and the younger school-age boys. English boys were bloomer knickers, knee pants and long pants.
