Figure 1.--

Norfolk jacket suits were a popular English style appearing in the mid-19th century (1860s). It was reportedly created at the behest of the Duke of Norfolk for sporting activities, mostly hunting. It was done with knickers and and worn with heavy woolen stockings. We are not sure just when boys began wearing them, but it must have nearly as soon as it was created because we begin to see boys wearing them in the 1870s. In this case we have full coverage of its evolution because it was also in the 1860s when the CDV became popular and really large numbers of photographic images became available. The Norfolk suit was initially an adult style for country wear, but became a popular styles for boys. And for boys it was not restricted to country wear and might be worn as a dress suit or to school, usually with a gleaming white Eton collar. We have less access to English clothing catalogs than in America, but we note many available English photographs showing boys commonly wearing Norfolk jackets. It was an option for the Fauntleroy and cut-away jacket suit, generally worn by boys a little older than wearing than those two styles. The age levels at the extremes and chronological periods, however, overlapped with the Fauntleroy suit. And it was generally less common to add Fauntleroy touches to these suits. Eton collars were, however, very common with these suits, largely associated. The Norfolk suit was generally seen from the very beginning as a style for school-age boys. HBC has noted Norfolk jackets being commonly worn in Britain during the late-19th century. The CDV on the previous page is undated, but looks like it was taken in the 1870s or early-80s. Early images show vertical pleats. We notice a fabric belt being added a little later, we think the 1880s, although we still have relatively few English images to work with. And for a time we see Norfolk jackets both with and without the belt. The characteristic front pleats, however, are present in most Norfolk jackets.

The 1860s

Norfolk jacket suits were a popular English style appearing in the mid-19th century (1860s). It was reportedly created at the behest of the Duke of Norfolk for sporting activities, mostly hunting. It was done with knickers and and worn with heavy woolen stockings. HBC has noted Norfolk jackets being commonly worn in Britain during the late-19th century. We are not sure precisely when boys began wearing them. We do not yet, however, have archived examples from the 1860s, but that is perhaps because of our limited English archive. It is likely that this began by the late 1860s. In this case we have full coverage of its evolution because it was also in the 1860s when the CDV became popular and really large numbers of photographic images became available. At the time cut-away jackets and collar-buttoning jackets were popular for boys' suits. Collars and neckwear tended to be very small.

The 1870s

We do have examples of English boys wearing Norfolk suits (1870s). We suspect that there may be some examples from the 1860s because because we begin to see boys wearing them in the 1870s. The CDV on the previous page is undated, but looks like it was taken in the 1870s or early-80s. The Norfolk suit was initially an adult style for country wear, but became a popular styles for boys. The Norfolk suit was generally seen from the very beginning as a style for school-age boys. And for boys it was not restricted to country wear and might be worn as a dress suit or to school, usually with a gleaming white Eton collar. Most of the Norfolk jackets we see are collar-buttoning jackets. The earliest Norfolk suits we note are done with knicker pants like the original Norfolk suits for men. And for a time we see Norfolk jackets both with and without the belt. Early images show vertical pleats. We notice a fabric belt being added a little later, we think the 1880s, although we still have relatively few English images to work with. The characteristic front pleats, however, are present in most Norfolk jackets. Collars and neckwear begin to increase in size.

The 1880s

Our assessment is entirely based on the photographic record. We have less access to English clothing catalogs which were becoming popular in the 1880 than in America. hus we are left with thee photographic record to assess. We note many available English photographs showing boys commonly wearing Norfolk jackets. It was an option for the Fauntleroy and cut-away jacket suit, generally worn by boys a little older than wearing than those two styles. The age levels at the extremes and chronological periods, however, overlapped with the Fauntleroy suit. And it was generally less common to add Fauntleroy touches to these suits. Eton collars were, however, very common with Norfolk jackets. These suits became so common with Eton collars that they the two became associated with each other. We see larger collars and bows in the 1880s. Fauntleroy collars and floppy bows could be massive, but for boys wearing Norfolk suits such more modest. Most of the imahes we haber found show the boys still wearing Norfolk jackets with knickers.

The 1890s

Created: 12:09 AM 11/3/2014
Last updated: 7:24 AM 7/15/2023