Figure 1.--Here we see four boys from an unidentified family. The boys look to be about 2-9 years old. The youngest boy wears a Fauntleroy kilt suit with a ruffled collar. His slightly older brother a sailor suit with an Eton collar. The two oldest boys wear marching Norfolkn suiys with Eton collars. The studio was Edwin Lott in Bridgend.

There continued to be major differences in the suits English boys wore in the 1890s. But by the 1890s we see fewer younger boys wearing dresses, but we do still mostly pre-school boys wearing kilt suits, an imprtant style since the 1860s. Other Scottish styles introduced by Queen Victoria were also worn. We continue to see younger boys wering Fauntleroy suits in the 1890s, but these outfits were not nearly as popular as in America. We see quite a number of younger boys wearing sailor suits, including some younger school-age boys. We see older boys wearing sailor suits on the Continent. We note a range of regular suits along with collar-buttoning and a range of sack suits worn by school-age boys. Norfolk suits were especially popular, but we see other styles like single- and doubkle-breasted jackets. Many boys wore their suits with Eton collars. Boys of all classes wore suits. Photographer Francis Meadow Sutcliffe left us a wonderful record from the Yorkshire port town of Whitby which includes images of how ordinary working class children dressed. Working-class boys did not have substatual wadrobes. Their suits were the primary outfit they wore. The boys are almost always seen wearing suits. We continue to see alot of suits with vests. We suspect this reflected both the climate abd lackn of cebtral heafring at home. We see knee pants, knickers, and long pants being worn with suits. Except for the youngest boys, they were mostly worn with long stockings.

Created: 6:28 AM 12/1/2023
Last updated: 6:29 AM 12/1/2023