Figure 1.--This unidentified portrait is undated. We would guess it was taken in the 1880s. We do know it was taken in Naugatuck, Connecticut. The boy wears a plaid skirt. It seems to be done in very large pleats. What we are not real sure about is the top gaement. Is it a blouse or is it sewn on to the kilt. Note that the top does not blouse out at the waist. This suggests tus either that the kilt does not have a nodice or the top is sewn onto the kilt. It was very rare to see boys wearing dark blouses with skirts. We are also not sure about the color of the top.

Boys wore skirts and kilts, both with and without jackets. We have less information about skirts than other skirted garments. This is in part because the great bulk of the images we have acquired show boys either wearing dresses are kilt-skirts with jackets as part of a suit. We have found, however, a number of portraits showing bows wearing skirts with just a blouse. We are not sure about the conventions here. This may have been an acceptable style or perhaps primarily a concession to the hot summer weather. We do not yet have sufficient information to build a meaningful chronology. Many of these images show boys wearing skirts done in a plaid or a plaid-like pattern. We think many of these portraits were taken during the summer and that the boys were just not wearing the matching jacket with the kilt-suit. We note many images of boys wearing blouses with kneepants during this period for similar reasons. We note some images, however, with boys wearing skirts that do not seem to be part of a suit. Either the boy is not wearing a suit jacket or the skirt is a pattern that seems unlikely to be done in a jacket. The convention was that a skirt could ve a loud pattern, but this was much less likely for the jacket. How common this convention was we are not sure. Also we have not noted boys in Europe wearing skirts, but this may be a reflection of our larger archive of American images. Again our assessment of this topic is complicated by the fact that the children in many available portraits are not identified.

Popularity

We have less information about skirts than other skirted garments. This is in part because the great bulk of the images we have acquired show boys either wearing dresses are kilt-skirts with jackets as part of a suit. We have found, however, a number of portraits showing bows wearing skirts with just a blouse or jackets that don't match the skirt. A factor with the popularity of skirts for younger boys may have been the simple construction making them easier to sew than pants.

Conventions

We are not sure about the conventions here. This may have been an acceptable style or perhaps primarily a concession to the hot summer weather. Adults of course were expected to wear jackets. This convention was relaxed for children, at least during the summer. We think many of these portraits were taken during the summer and that the boys were just not wearing the matching jacket with the kilt-suit. We note many images of boys wearing blouses with kneepants during this period for similar reasons. Wether mothers just bought or sewed a skirt or the boy just did not wear the jacket we do not know. Of course skirts wee relatively easy to sew at home while jackets were much more complicated. We note many skirts without kilt features, but we note them being worn with suit jackets as well as without jackets.

Design

Kilts and skirts are different, but similar garments. A kilt is in fact a type of skirt. As we are just beginning to assess this topic we have treated together here, but as we acquire more information we will separate our discussion. It is not always easy to tell from available portraits. The most obvious feature is a front pannel. Note the front panneland wide pleats on the kilt here (figure 1). Kilts are also pleated garments. Kilts are often easy to identify, at least in Scoltland because they are worn with Highland regalia. This was much less common in America. While the front pannel is an obvious indicator that the gament is a kilt, pleating is more complicated. All kilts are pleated, although this may include very wide pleats. Skirts may also be pleated, but not all were pleated. Thus if the garment is not pleated it is a skirt, but a pleated garment could be a skirt or kilt. The tpoic is somewhat complicatdby the fact that until the late 19th century, most clothes including children's clothes were made by seamstrisses or sewn at home by mother. This means that garments were not mass manufactured and could vary substantially.

Construction

Both kilts and skirts for boys as well as girls might be done with bodices. We are not sure how common this was, but believe bodice garments for younger children were very common. This affected what kind of blouse was worn which might be an indicator as to whether or not the child is wearing a bodice.

Chronology

We do not yet have sufficient information to build a meaningful chronology of skirts in America. Our information on the early 19th century is very limited. We do note boys wearing skirts in the 1860s. Certainly it must have been common earlier. Notably kilts and kilt suits were not very common in the 60s. This changed in the 1870s when we begin to see more kilts and fewer skirts. Just when skirts first became commonly worn by younger American boys we are not sure. we see boys wearing skirts in the 1880s and to a lesser extent the 1890s, especially the late 1890s. Here the photographic record provides great detail on the late 19th century. Skirts seem to have been an informal style, so they may have been under-represented in the photographic record. Skiers for boys were much less common after the turn-of-the 20th century.

Patterns

Many of the portraits we have found show boys wearing skirts done in a plaid or a plaid-like pattern. We note some solid color skirts, but they are not nearly as common as the plaid one. Here we use the term plaid loosely. Some seem more like checks, but the trend is very notable. We believe that this pattern was particularly popular for boys because it suggested a skirt rther than a skirt. we are not entirely sure about the gender conventions. Girls might wear plaid also, but it was not nearly as common as for boys.

Pleats

We notice boys wearing both pleated and unpleated skirts. Many of the skirts we have noted were pleate. The pleats were done in various widths and numbers of pleats. We also notice skirts done with partoal pleating, a plain front with pleats at the sides and back. Pleats of course were a characteristic of kilts and we suspect that many mothers referred to these skirts as kilts. It is a little unclear to us at what point pleated skirts should be called kilts.

Garments

An important subject is the garments worn with a skirt. The principal garment worn with skirt was a blouse. Here we are not including suit jackets or coats as this would be a kilt suit. We note many types and colors of blouses. We are not yet sure how this compared to kilt suits. Commonly the shirt or blouse worn with kilt suits is covered up by the coat or vest. In addition to the skirt and blouse we note a wide ange of accompanying garments, including headwear, neckwear, hosiery and footwear. Period portraits provide some information on these garments. The headwear was quite varied abd as far as we can tell was essentially the same as worn with kilt suits. The hosiery and footwear was also similar o that worn with kilt suits. Most boys wore long stockings and high-top shoes. One garment we do not notice American boys wearing with a skirt is a sweater. This contrasts with kilts because Scottish boys did wear kilts with sweaters.

County Trends

We have not noted boys in Europe wearing skirts. We have of course noted Scottosh boys wearing kilts. But skirts do bot seem very common in Europe. This may, however, be a reflection of our larger archive of American images.

Photographic Evidence

Again our assessment of this topic is complicated by the fact that the children in many available portraits are not identified. We do not know whether they wee boys or girls. Another problem is that childre were commonly posed sitting down in early portraits (1840s-50s) and the Daguerreotypist normally centered on the head and torso. So often we are not sure about skirts and pants. Also skirts without matching jackets were a kind of casual dress for younger boys. More formal outfits may have been worn for formal portraits.

Created: 11:49 PM 7/28/2006
Last updated: 6:34 PM 6/18/2008