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Boys' fashions at mid-19th Century were in a fluid state. The 1860s appears to have been something of a dividing line betwwern the old styles of the first half of the century amd the very different stles worn in the latter decades of the century. Fashion trends in the mid-19th Century did not move nearly as rapidly as trends move today. Clothes were still largely hand made and as a result still very expensive. The old styles such as tunics and skeleton suits disappeared in the 1860s. The new styles introduced, mostly originating in England, like kilts, sailor suits, knickers, and knee pants had appeared, but were still being accepted. Some major styles like Fauntleroy and Buster brown suits had not yet appeared. The major outfits worn by boys wwre blouses with pants, one-puece button-on outfits, and cut-away jacket suits. The blouse and pants was a commonly-worn outfit from the 1850s, the one-piece outfit and the cut-sawy jacket became very popular in the 60s. Somewhat-older bioys mught wear collar-buttobing hjackets, a yule populr in the 40s and-espcially the 50s. And older boys might wear suits with lapels. The major stylistic shift was the increased wearing of suits. The new styles had begun to appear by the mid-1860s, but for the most part were not widely accepted until the 1870s. This was in part a function of social class. The more home-spun families of agrarian America were less influenced by the new fashions while the wealthier more European families were. A good example is comparing the Lincolm and Davis families, the two rival presidents of North and South, during the 1860s. President Lincoln's boys mostly wore long pants as was prevalent in America. President Davis was a wealthy planter. His boys worn knicker outfits as was popular in France. The new European fashions would not becpme widely accepted in America until the 1870s.
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