Figure 1.--This CDV portrait shows a boy who looks to be about 11 years old posing with a wonderful toy boat. Note that it is an elaborate sailboat, but with steam boiler stacks showing the state of naval engineering at the time. (A reader tells us, "This could be 'SS Breat Britain' or a model of the 'Great Eastern'.") The boy wears a cut-away jacket with knickers. He has an Eton collar and what looks like a bow tie. One interwsting aspect of the portrait is the sailor hat he wears with the suit. I am not sure if this was a popular hat style, or the boy is just wearing it to go with his boat. Note the streamer hanging down from the back of the hat. There is something written on the cap tally (presumably a ship name), but we can't make it out. The portrait is undated, but we would guess was taken in the late 1860s or early 70s. Notice how the drape is swept over to one side, perhaps covering a posing support stand. The portrait was taken by: W & AH Fry of Brighton.

English boys have worn a wide variety of suits, in fact originating many of the basic suit styles. Here by suit types we are referring to primarily to the coat or 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. The blazer was also an English creation, although it was a coat without matching trousers. Sailor suits used naval middy blouses. The Eton suit had a small, short jacket. The Norfolk suit had a jacket with strap-like belts and strap vertical vent-like 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 and single-breasted jacket in school uniforms were probably a major factor.

Blazers

The blazer was an English creation. Although it was a coat without matching trousers, we include it here because the most important part of a suit is the jacket and the conventions for wearing it are similar to that of a suit. The blazer was developed as smart summer wear for affluent Britons as was soon adopted by the country's elite Public Schools. It is today primarily associated with school uniforms. The developing preparatory schools also adopted the blazer. They were viewed as somewhat informal wear. More formal atire would be an Eton suit and hard collar. Blazers were worn with soft collars and the school tie. School blazers added great variety to the sometimes dowdy school uniform. State secondary schools like the private schools had highly varied and colorful blazers through the 1950s. Most have, however, for reasons of economy shifted to a plain blaack blazer with the school crest. Private schools, both primary and secondary, continue to have uniforms with coloful blazers--although less varied than in the 1950s and 60s. The school crest is worn on the left chest pocket. Often it is the initials of the school, but some schools have logos or elaborate crests. Assesing English schools can be quite complicated because of the many different types of schools. Most schools, except for primary schools, adopted blazers as part of the school uniform. There were even some primary schools, especially Anglican primary schools that had blazers. There were, however, many variations among schools and over time concerning blazers. The blazer is worn somewhat differently in England than America. A blue blazer was a standard item for American boys, but less so for English boys because it was seen primarily as a school garment.

Collar-buttoning Jacket

We also see suits that button at the collar.

Cut-away Jackets

Suits with cut-away jackets were popular in the mid-19th century for younger boys. We ee them being commonly worn in the 1860s and 70s by younger school-age boys.

Double-breasted Jacket

Eton Suits

The Eton suit had a small, short jacket. The Norfolk suit had a jacket with strap-like belts and strap vertical vent-like elements. It was in England that the Eton suit was created in the late 19th century and it was in England that the Eton suit reached its greatest popularity. For two generations a well dressed English boy was expected to wear an Eton suit for formal occasions. Many boys also wore them as a school uniform. The haracterisyically short jackets have been worn with a variety of pants.

Fauntleroy Suits

Fauntleroy suits were widely worn in England, but I believe the style was less popular for working-class families than was the case of America. In adiition, the convention of sending boys off to boarding prep schools at about 8 years of age was becoming established in the 1880s--the same time of the Fauntkleroy craze. Few boys after they left for their prep schools would condescend to wear Fauntleroy suits when they came home. There also were some stylistic differences. Wide brimmed sailor hats were less common as were ringlet curls. Also we have noted many English boys wearing bloomer knickers rather than kneepants as were most common in America. One major difference is that English boys less commonly wore the huge bow tied in elegant classic bows. English suits often had knicker pants and the boys did not often wear the boot-like high button shoes. Rather English boys more commonly wore patent leather shoes like pumps, strap shoes, and buckle shoes even before the turn of the century.

Norfolk Suits

The Norfolk suit was created in England and no where was it so widely worn as is England. Here we have less access to clothing catalogs than in America, but we note many avialable British photographs showing boys commonly wearing Norfolk jackets. HBC has noted it being commonly worn in Britain during the late 19th century. It was initially an adult style for country wear, but became a popular styles for boys.

Rugby Suits

HBC believes that Rugby suits were being marketed in England at the turn of the century. No information, however, has yet been obtained on this style in England. We believe te term was used more in America and Australia.

Sailor Suit

Sailor suits used naval middy blouses. Few garments are more associated with boyswear than the sailor suit. While no longer commonly worn, the sailor suit was worn by boys in Europe and America for a century. The origins of the boys' sailor suit or vague. Apparently it was in England during the first quarter of the 19th century when someone had the inspiration that boys should wear sailors' trousers. (Some sources suggest an even earlier appearance of the sailor suit as boys' atire, but as yet I cannot confirm that.) It is not known who first conceived of the idea. It is known with certainty, however, who popularized it--Queen Victoria. It was a clevely designed effort to associate the monarchy which had declined in popularity with the most popular institution in Britain--The Royal Navy. The result was a stunning success for the monarchy and a fashion that dominted boyswear like no other style for a century. The English styles have influenced naval uniforms around the world. Most of the sailor suits worn by boys have been influenced diretly or indirectly by British uniforms. Despite the popularity of the sailor suit with the Royal Navy, as a boys outfit, it was more popular in America, France, Germany, and other countries than in England.

Single-breasted Jacket

Older boys wore sack suits and these gradually became the sandard style. 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 and single-breasted jacket in school uniforms were probably a major factor.

Created: 5:15 PM 9/16/2007
Last updated: 5:27 PM 4/16/2008