Figure 1.--These English brothers wear matching grey short pants suits in 1958. Suits like this were also used for school uniforms. The sweaters and patterened top knee socks were, howeve,r not school styles. Note the school sandals. Click on the image for comments from a British reader.

English boys in the early 20th century still commonly wore suits. Boys wore both sack suits eith lapels and collar buttoning suits. We note the Rugby suit at the turn of the 20th century. We also see specialized suits like Fauntleroy suits and sailor suits. Gradually sack suits became more popular after the turn of the 20th century. Norfolk styling was popular in the early 20th century. We no longer see Fauntleroy suits for younger boys after World War I, except for formal occasions. Sailor suits continued to be worn, but mostly by younger boys. We see older boys wearing sailor suits on the Continent. The single breasted suit became standard after World War I. Short pants suits were very common. Grey was a populr color. Many boys wore their school uniforms rather than a suit. This was often a blazer uniform. Gradually more informal dress strandards prevailed. This began after World War I, but became more prounounced after World War II. We no longer see boys wearing suits for everyday wear or to school. Boys wore suits much less than before the War. We still see short pants suits in the 1950s, but they become much less common in the 1960s. We see suits in clothing catalogs being offered with long pants even for younger boys. Boys at private schools still wore short pants schoo uniforms, but short pants suits declined in popularity. There was also a notable decline in the wearing of suits as informal dress standards became increasongly common. By the end of the century, boys did not wear suits, exceot as part of school uniforms. Many boys did not even hve suits.

Created: 5:20 AM 11/18/2008
Last updated: 5:20 AM 11/18/2008