Scottish Boys' Clothes: Sidney Harvey Burnett, 1872


Figure 1.--This Scottish boy wears a velvet suit with detailing influenced by sailor styling. The boy is Sidney Harvey Burnett who was photographed during March 1872 in Aberdeen, Scotland. He looks to be about 4 or 5 years old. Image courtesy of the MD collction.

The boy seen here is Sidney Harvey Burnett who was photographed during March 1872 in Aberdeen, Scotland. He looks to be about 4 or 5 years old. His kneepants suit looks to be an expensive velvet outfit with a hint of sailor trim. This and the fact that he had an individual portrait taken in the 1870s suggest that he came from an affluent family. The portraits the kneepants outfits had become fashionable for boys by the 1870s.

The Boy

The boy seen here is Sidney Harvey Burnett who was photographed during March 1872. The phortrait was taken in Aberdeen, Scotland. Presumably that means that he was from Aberdeen, a city located along the eastern coast of northern Scotland. We know nothing about Sidney and his family at this time. The name, however, sounds more English than Scottish--at least the firsrt names The last name Burnett a British reader tells us is Scottish. He looks to be about 4 or 5 years old. His kneepants suit looks to be an expensive velvet outfit with a hint of sailor trim. This and the fact that he had an individual portrait taken in the 1870s suggest that he came from an affluent family. The portraits the kneepants outfits had become fashionable for boys by the 1870s.

Clothing

Bow

Note the lack of a bow. An American boy in the 1870s would have likely worn a bow with a suit--especially in the late 1870s.

Suit

Sidney wears an elegant knepants suit. It looks to be velvet. Detailing with stripes was very common on boys' suits in the 1860s and 70s and is an influence of the popular sailor suit styling. Th suit has very larg lapels. We are not sure about the color of the suit.

Kneepants

The uit has kneepants, notice the buttons t he hem. The detailing on the jacket is continued on th kneepants. They would have presumably been called "trews" in Scotland. The portrit is a good example of how popular the style has become for boy--especially boys from affluent families in the 1870s. We are less sure about working-class boys.

Pantalettes

The image is alittle indestinct, but Sidney appears to be wearing very plain white pantalettes.

Hosiery

He appears to be wearing light-colored long stockings. We are unsure about the color.

Hair Style

Sidney wears a short, very modern-looking hair cut. As a result we do not know when his hir was first cut and if he wore longer hair as younger boy.






Christopher Wagner




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Created: April 22, 2002
Last updated: April 22, 2002