Figure 1.--s.

American boys' fashions basically followed European fashions. Most boys' clothing looked to Europe for inspiration, but often developed along different lines. One of the first true American boys' fashions was the Little Lord Fauntlerou suit, but it was inspired by European styles. After World War I, American boys fashions began to develop very differently than European fashions. American boys never wore short pants to the extent thast they were worn in Europe. nAmerican boys forst wore knickerscand later long pants instead of shorts. Eventually after World War II, it was American boys' fashiions that began to indluence European and other countries.

Colonial/Revolutionary Era (1609-1800)

Fashion in colonial America was of course set by the mother country, England. Only the colonial elite, however, could import expensive imported cloth. (Generally cloth material was imported rather than actual garments.) The Americans carving out farms on the western frontier by the 18th Century were esentially self sufficient, generating only limited cash income. These families often produced their own cloth, apply named homespun. The overall fashion trends wre still influenced by England, but the practical exingencies of the frontier had a powerful influence of its own. Thus long before long trousers appeared in Europe, they made their appearance on the American frontier. Fashions in the bustling colonial urban centers (Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and Charleston), however, were still largely English--although French and other European fashions were also followed.

Early 19th Century (1800-1840)

American boys dressed up in styles reflecting the latest European styles. The idea of specialized styles for children was beginning to become widely accepted. Many of the popular stylesfor boys were empire styles originating in France, although many were passed on through Ebgland. Little boys wore dresses, often the long dresses popular at the time. Older boys might wear skeleton suits with open ruffled collars. Interestingly at the turn of the century men wore knee breeches, the typical costume presidents like Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe are in. Boys on the other hand, once breeched, would might wear long pants skeleton suits. Academic sources report that early as the 1830s, social trends like urbanization and industrialization were beginning to change merica from the agrarian and craft-based economy of the 18th century. The impact was far reaching. One result was to create youth who spent more time in school and were thus more dependent on their parents for a longer period. Until the early 19th century, most boys lived on the farm or were apreticed at about age 12. This began to change by the 1830s with more boys continuing their education in schools for longer periods. This development was to give rise to a new phemomenon--youth culture that was to have a great impact on fashion and dress. adults.

Mid-19th Century (1840-70)

Boys' fashions at mid-19th Century were in a fluid state. The only styles such as tunics and skeleton suits were now less commonly worn. The new styles introduced, mostly originating in England, like kilts, sailor suits, and knee pants had appeared, but were still being accepted. Some major styles like Fauntleroy and Buster Brown suits had not yet appeared. Boys tended to wear rather non-discript, plain suits with short jackets and long pants. Their collars and bows were generaly small. One important development was photography, which was perfected at mid-century and increasing numbers of images were soon availabe, revealing fashion trends in increasing details. The fashion magazines also appeared at mid-century, providing even more information.

Figure 2.--Boys and girls both commonly dressed in sailor suits by the late 19th century. These boys wear reefer style jackets and caps modeled on the caps worn by American sailors. The boy on the right is will become one of the most important leaders of the 20th century--Franklin Roosevelt. He is visiting his cousins at their English house, I think about 1890.

Late 19th Century (1870-1900)

Little American boys from 3 to 6 years, still wore dresses, although now dresses especially designed for boys appeared. Older boys wore kilts, sailor suits, Norfolk suits and other English fashions. Smocks were used for both boys and girls to protect expensive clothes. Easy to care for fabrics were generations away. One new fashion appearing in America in the the 1880s was the Fauntleroy suit. It was the sailor suit, however, that proved to be most enduring of these fashions. It was popular with both mothers and boys, unlike some of the alternatives like Fauntleroy suits and kilts. Even girls in the 1880s began wearing sailor suits, middy blouses with skirts. The most recognizable style of the late 19th century is of course the Little Lord Fauntleroy suit made famous by Francis Hobson Bennett's classic novel, Little Lord Fauntleroy. The velvet suit, lace collar, and of corse ringlet curls became the bane of American boyhood. The style was not created in a vaccume. Mothers had begun to dress little boys in fancy velvet suits, but the publication of the book created a Fauntleroy craze and soon increasibgly fancy outfits for small boys. Some mothers even dressed older boys in the elaborate outfits.

Figure 3.--Country boys in American wore overalls, but they were hardly stylish at the time. This barefoot boy was pictured on a 1910s postcard.

Early 20th Century (1900-19)

Late 19th century stules continued after the turn of the century. Little boys continued to wears dress, although not with as elaborate trim. The age of boys wearing dresses began to decline, especially in the 1910s. Little Lord Fauntleroy suits were still popular. After the turn of the century Fauntleroy suits with short pants (rather than kneepants) began to appear and were increasingky worn with white stockings or white kneesocks. The size of the jackets increased to cover the blouse entirely. In addition large lace collars began to be replaced with ruffled collars and smaller bows. Some ruffled collars were wore with open necks. Increasinly kneepants and long stockings were replaced with either shortpants or knickers worn with kneesocks. Shortpants became particularly popular in Britain and Europe while knickers became more popular in America. America was a much more rural society in the late 19th and early 20th century tha it is now. Many Americans live on the farm or in small rural towns. When they dressed up they followed the same dressy styles as boys in the cuties wore--although the latest styles probably took a little longer to reach rural America in the days before television. Fashion magazines and mail order catalogs made sure that rural America was never to far removed from the latest fashions. Most of the time rural boys would be likely to wear work clothes like overalls. They would often wear such clothes to school--at least elementary school. They were not called jeans at the time, and of course the idea of designer jeans could not even be conceived in the early 20th century, but Levi Straus dungaree overalls were widely worn by men and boys.

Figure 4.--A fashion magazine in 1929 published these drawings showing fashionable boys' clothes seen in the New York City area. Notice the Eton suit which became a standard for younger American boys.

Inter-War Era (1920-41)

A dramatic change occurred in the clothes worn by America boys after the First World War (1914-18). Dresses and kilt suits for younger boys disaapeared as did Fauntleroy suits and kilts. Sailor suits were still worn, but most by younger boys. Knee panrs disappeared. Some boys wore the new short pants with kneesocks imported from England, but knickers proved much more popular in America. Boys continued to dress more formally than is common today. American boys mostly wore knicker suits. Suits and jackets were still more commonly worn than today. Double breasted styles were popular, but single breasted jackets the most common. Parents generally purchased patterned kneesocks for boys, although some boys wore ankle socks during the summer. What Americans now refer to as Eton suits for little boys appeared for the first time in the 1920s. Youner boys were the most likely to wear short pants. They were most common with affluent families which were more apt to follow and other European styles. In the early 1920s knickers were worn with long stockings or kneesocks, but by the 1930s it became common to wear them with ankle socks--especially during the summer. Overalls were commonly worn by rural boys, but city boys had not yet begun to wear what we now call jeans. Caps and hats were commonly worn by both men and boys. One of the most popular style of cap was the flat cap. During the winter stocking caps were widely worn. Boys from affluent families might wear berets when younger or British-style peaked caps with suits. A popular event during this era were beautiful baby contests when young children were dressed in their best outfits.

Figure 5.--American Scouts in the 1930s mostly wore knickers, but would frequently wear a short pants uniform at camps, like the first American Jamboree in 1937.

World War II and the Post War Era (1941-69)

Suits were less commonly worn as casual styles became increasingly accepted when families moved to the suburbs. One casual style popular in the 1940s and early 50s was an openecked shirt worn with a wide collar that did not button at the neck. Suits changed from large lapels in the 1940s to very narrow lapels in the 1960s. Flashy sports jackets with contrasting fabrics in the 40s and early 50s changed to more conservative styles in the 60s. Madras and searsuckets jackets were popular. Even by the 60s, some younger boys were still wearing them with short pants. Knickers began to become less common by the early 1940s and were not commonly worn by 1945. Little boys commonly wore shorts, but by the early 1950s most America boys wore long pants, often jeans. Jeans for pre-teen boys might be lined in red plaid flannel. Jeans were not considered fashionable, however, and many secondary schools did not allow them, although his had begun to change by the late 1960s. The move toward casual clothes was accentuated by the Beatnicks of the 1950s and the Hippies of the 1960s. Both adopted jeans as a kind of uniform of the movement. Shorts were more common in some areas such as the South and California. Also more affluent boys would often have a short pants suit for dress occasions, but rarely for boys over 11 or 12, and even this became increasingly less common in the 1960s. Older boys did generally not wear shorts, even for casual wear in the 1940s-50s, although they began to become more popular for older boys in the 1960s. College boys began wearing Beruda shorts as casual wear in the 1950s and by the 1960s shorts were being worn by some younger boys as casual wear as well.

Figure 6.--After World War II, American boys wanted to wear jeans. In the 1950s, cowboy hats and Davt Crockett Coon Skin Hats were the headgear of choice.

Late 20th Century (1970s-90s)

Major changed occurred in boys clothing beginning in the 1970s. The move has been to casual clothing. All kinds of jeans were worn and they emerged as fashion statements. The full impact of the Hippies began to filter down to the average child. Children eventually demanded jeans, but not just any jeans--it was designer jeans in the 1970s. Other insisted on buying jeans that looked worn or even torn. The "T" shirt emerged as a major fashion, especially ones with statesments, logos, or athletic or music group images. Boys no longer dressed up in short pants and kneesocks, except for the very youngest and even younger boys wanted lo ngs by the 1980s. While boys didn't want to dress up in short p ants, they i ncreasingly wanted to wear shorts for casual wear. Many boys started wearing short pants which in the 1970s and early 80s were cut quite short. All kinds of new styles appeared, including running shorts, OPs, camp sorts, cutoffs, and others. Many boys wore cutoffs that would not wear any other type of shorts. The style of shorts changed dramatically in the 1990s to longer, baggier styles to match the oversized hip-hop jeans that had become popular.

Early 21st Century (2000-30s)

As far as a prediction of changes in the coming new year, there is not much to look forward to, except the slimmer styles reemerging perhaps. I have noticed that more pro basketball players are wearing knee socks, at least one on every team, but not sure if this will grow or be picked up by the boys. A few years ago, during the crew sock boom, I was watching local high school basketball championships and the best players were wearing white knee socks with their uniforms, and I thought they might continued to carry it through their college years and perhaps pro level, but that really hasn't occured. I doubt if the media will beocme so conservative again to allow a proliferation of "proper boys attire." In my opinion, it would take decades to achive the traditional look again, after the proliferation of casualness that has occured. Too many people don't care how they look anymore, sad to say, and it shows. And I seriously doubt that a movie like Angela's Ashes will bring back the short pant fashion, even with the year 2000 retrospectives. Yet, if a streak of conservatism is affecting the scouting movement, there is the chance that the "outside" world might be next.

Personal Accounts and Articles

We have collected many accounts about individual boys. Some are published accounts from biographies and memoirs. Some are journalistic accounts. Others are collections of photographs. Some HBC readers have provided us accounts of their boyhood experiences.
The 1870s: Joseph Breckinridge
The 1880s: Breeching
The 1880s: Dresses (Frank Schoonover)
The 1880s: A Virginia boyhood
The 1890s: The hated Fauntleroy suit
The 1890s: Heywould Broun
The 1890s: Dresses and Fauntleroy suits (Sammy Morrison)
The 1900s: Brother/sister outfits (Ernest Hemmingway)
The 1900s: An Ohio boyhood
The 1920s: First long pants suit
1925: First long pants suit--Eddie
The 1930s: Kindergarten
The 1940s: Short snipits
The late 1930s: Knickers and shorts
The 1940s: My Brother and I
The 1940s: A Philadelphia boyhood
The 1940s: A Catholic boyhood
The 1940s: A sailor suit
The 1940s-50s: Sneakers and jeans
The 1950s: Beaver Goes Shopping
The 1950s: Short pants
The 1950s: Jeans, Jeans, Jeans
The 1950s-60s: Classic American Styles
The 1950s-60s: Texas memories
The 1950s-60s: Northeast memories
The 1960s: Traveling in Europe
The 1960s: Shorts, jeans, and France
The 1960s: The Beautiful People
The 1960s: John's Long Hair
The 1960s: Personal Experiences in the 1960s
The 1960s: Mothers Buy Clothes
The 1960s: Parochial school in Chicago and California
The 1960s: Private school
The 1960s: A California boy
The 1970s: Jeans-A Minority View
The 1970s: The Disco Era
The 1970s: A South African friend and church
The 1980s: Smart Clothes/Mother's efforts
The 1980s: Catholic School--Tony
The 1990s: A Girl's view
The 1990s: Buying a coat

Created: March 12, 1998
Last updated: September 17, 2003