Figure 1.--Here we see an English boy wearing a single-breasted three-piece knickers suit with vest. Notice the Eton collar and Windsor knot necktie. While he wears an Eton collar, this is not an Eton suit. His little brother wears a Scottish outfit, but with short psnts rather than a kilt. Click on the image for a fuller discussion of this. Notice his tam complete with eagle feather. The portrait is undated, we might guess the 1890s. A reader tells us, "The elder boy does not have a Windsor knot in his tie, hence the right side of the knot is nearer to vertical than the left. This confirms that he is right-handed, starting the process by taking the wide end of the tie over the other from a position to the right of the neck. Left-handers tie their ties in such a way that they produce a mirror-image of what you see in this picture." Another reader writes, "The small boy is in fact wearing a kilt, you can just see the top of his sporran above his balmoral hat." HBC see all sorts of Scottish items, a Balmoral cap with eagle featger, a nilitary-style jacket often wirn with a kilt, and a plaid. What we do not see is a kilt. As far as we can tell, the boy looks to be wearing short pants.

English boys have worn a wide variety of suits. The suit used to be a much more important part of a boy's wardrobe than is the case today when suits are not commonly worn. The basic suit garments were the jacket or coat and matching trousers. Some three-piece suits came with vests. There were also suits with matching caps, but this was not very common. 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. English boys have worn long pants, 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.

Importance

The suit was one the most important part of a boy's wardrobe. Over time the importance has declined. Clothing became much more informal after World War I. Gradually the suit became less important. Today boys do not commonly wear suits. Many boys do not even have a suit.

English Influence

English boys have worn a wide variety of suits. England actually had a major role in shapeing men and boys fashions. In much the same way that France was more influential in setting women's fashions. It is easy to see why Britain was a style setter. Britain in the 19th century when these fashions developed was the center of a huge empire with a large textile industry and vast commercial power. It is less obvious why it was men's fashions that Britain most influenced.

Chronology

Younger boys wore suits with cut-away jackets in the mid-19th century. Some of these suits were plain, others had elaborate styling and detailing. 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. The standard sack suit became common in the late 19th century. Many came with vests. Lapels were often set higher on the coat than was common in the 20th century. The single-breasted jacket was the most common. Other styles like Norfolk jackets appeared at this time. So did blazers, but they became more popular ater the turn of the 20th century. We note the Rugby suit at the turn of the 20th century.

Garments

A suit is a set of clothing intended to be worn together. Normally suit garments are made of the same material, but there there are some exceptions. The basic suit garments were the jacket or coat and matching trousers. While this was the basic compnents of the suit, they were of course done in many different styles. There were also three-piece suits. The three-piece suits came with vests (waistcoats). The vests were normally made of the same material as the jacket and trousers, bit some 19th century vests were made to contrast with the rest of the suit. There were also suits with matching caps, but this was much less common. These caps were primarily see in the 20th century and were done as peaked caps in the style of English school caps.

Types

English boys have worn a wide variety of suits. England had a major role in shapeing men and boys fashions. Here by suit types we are referring to jacket styles. Many if not most boys' suit styles originated in England, including the sailor suit, the Eton, and Norfolk suits as well as several other lesser known styles. Sailor suits used naval middy blouses. The Eton suit had a small, short jacket. The Norfolk suit had a jacket with belts and strap-like vertical elements. Suits with cut-away jackets were popular in the mid-19th century for younger boys. Older boys wore sack suits and these gradually became the sandard style. We also see suits that button at the collar. Boys wore both single and double breasted suit jackets. Single-breasted coats have been the major style worn by boys in England. Here the prevalence of the blazer ans single-breasted jacket in schoolmuniforms were probably a major factor.

Trousers

Suits were worn with several different types of trousers. This varied substantially over time. English boys have worn knee breeches, long pants, kneepants, bloomer knickers, knickers, and short pants suits. We see boys in the 19th century wearing both long pants, bloomer knickers, knee pants and knicker suits. Various factors affected the type of trousers, including chronological fashion trebnds, age, social class and others. Long trouses were mostly worn at the beginning of the decade, but several different types of trousrs were common in the second hlf of the century. 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. By the 1960s suits except for very little boys were generally made with long pants.

Created: 10:51 PM 7/15/20053
Last updated: 7:04 PM 8/12/2008