Figure 1.--This tin-type shows an unidentified boy with a vest, we think in the 1870s. Note how the vest matches the trousers and not the jacket. Unfortunately we have not idea about the actual color although it is unlikely to have been a grey shade. Also note how the boy wears his jacket, open at the bottom to show off the vest.

A popular suit component was the vest or waistcoat as it is called in Britain. The vest was an otional suit component. Three-piece suits were common in the 19th century and even early 20th century. Normally vests in the mid-19th century contrasted with the vest. At the time it was also not common for jackets and trousers to match. Color informtion is difficult top obtain for the 19th century. We do, however, notice some bright colors. Later in the decade it was more common for the vest to match the suit, especially after suits became matching jackets and trousers. Many suits were three-piece suits meaning that a vest was included. This has become much less common since World War II. We know less about vests than the other suit components for the obvious reason that they were normally covered by the boys' coat and it became very common by the late 19th century to buton up jackets so the vests were not vissible. We see very few examples of boys wearing vests without suit jackets in the 19th century. This began to change in the md-20th century. We see many boys wearing vests instead of a suit jacket as a kind of alternate outfit for younger boys.

Terminology

An important suit component was the vest or waistcoat as it is called in Britain. We are not sure when these different usages became fixed or why this difference developed. Americans will generally understand waistcoat meaning vest. The British, however, will interpret vest to mean an undershirt. Vest was apparently used in the sence of undershirt in America. Ny father who was born in 1903 did call his undrshirt a vest. EWaistcoat in America is a term only used by individuals in the clothing trade and even there not very commonly.

Popularity

The vest was an optional suit component. They were, however, very common in the 19th century. A substantial number of the suits made in the 19th century had vests, especially the well-made suits for boys from affluent families. This began to change in the 20th century. Gradually by the 20th century, vests began to decline in popularity. Three-piece sui\ts began to be seen as more formal than two-piece suits. As more casual styles became popular, many boiys began to see the vest as as an iunecessary garment.

Chronology

Three-piece suits were common in the 19th century and even early 20th century. Normally vests in the mid-19th century contrasted with the vest. At the time it was also not common for jackets and trousers to match. We also see boys wearing vests without jackets. Later in the decade it was more common for the vest to match the suit, especially after suits became matching jackets and trousers. We note boys wearing their vests without jackets less commonly. We know less about vests than the other suit components for the obvious reason that they were normally covered by the boys' coat and it became very common by the late 19th century to buton up jackets so the vests were not vissible, although you sometimes can tell there was a vest. Many suits in the late 19th century were three-piece suits meaning that a vest was included. This continued into the early 20s, but three-pieces suits with vests gradually become less common. Three-piece suits become much less common since World War II. We do begin seeing boys wearing vests rather than jackets as a kind of informal dress outfit.

Types

We note two different types of vests. There were both collar buttoning and "V" front vests. We believe that the collar-buttoning blouse was essentially a boy's garment. We don't see men wearing these blouses. They were worn mostly in the mid-19th century. The examples we have found are vests with matched the suit itself. We only note these vests being worn with suit jackets. We are not yet entirely sure how common these vests were. The "V"-front blouse in contrast was designed to be worn with a lapel sack suit so as to show the necktie worn with these suits. It was worn by both boys and adults and eventually became the standard style for the vest. These vests were worn from the mid-19th century on. We note these vests which both contrasted and matched the suits.

Color

Color informtion is difficult to obtain for the 19th century. We note cotrasting shades in the black and wight photograpg of the mid 19th century, but it is difficult to determine actul colors. We do, however, notice some bright colors in the limited color images we can find. We also see bright patterns. Many are colorized portraits. This is not as valid as an actual color photograph, but we believe are strong indications of actual colors. By the late 19th century we no longer see light or brightly colored vest. This did not change until the nid-20th century when boys began wearing the vest as an alternative to a suit jacket. We note teenagers wearing black vests with the somber frock coats that were a fashion stapel for established Victorin gentlemen. A good example is Clarence E. Summer, we believe in the 1840s.

Patterns

The earliest vests we see are patterened vests. We first notice vests in the mid-19th century. We are notsure about the 1830s, but we see them in 1840s Daguerreotypes. At the timer boys did not commonly wear suits with mtching jackets and pants. The same was true of the vests. We see boys wearing vests with a range of bold patterns including checks and plaids as well as florid patterns. We believe that bright colors were commonly chosen, but this can not be determinned by thge black-and-white pgotogrphy of the day. Boys may have worn vests without jackets, but this is not very common in the photographic record. This was not a boy's style. Men wore the same outfits. A good example is a younger teenager, we think in the 1840s. We also see the bright vests in the 1850s, but here are assessment is complicated by the difficulty in differentiating 1840s from 1850s Dags. By the 60s, vests were being sone in the same color and masterial as the suit. Three piece sits were often done in dark colors and muted patterns. We see boys wearing vests in the 1970s. These were vests made to be worn instread of suit jackets and were often doine in bold colors and patterns, although not as florid of the 1840s-50s vests.

Buttons

We do not yet have a lot of information about the buttons. Here there are several issues. Most of the buttons were te same or a similar color to the vest. A major variation was the number of buttons. This seems to have varied chronologically, although we do not yet know just how the number of buttons varied. This is difficult to estimate when the boy has his jacket buttoned. Vests durung te mod-19th century had quite a large number of buttons. We nore Albert Stabler with a vest that looks to have five buttons in 1897. WE are also unsure just how buttining conventions varied.

Suit Types

We see boys wearing suits with all kinds of different suits. We are just beginning to develop pages on the different suit typs. We see many boys wearing vests with kilt suits. We hve a page on cut-away jackets. We see many boys wearing cut-away jackets both with and without vests. They seem most common for the older boys wearing cut-away jackets.

Wearing Conventions

Boys varied as to how they wore their vests. Boys wore their jackets in the mid-19th century so that the vests showed. This was in part because the vests often were done in bright material and contrasted with the jacket. They were mde to be seen. This changed by the late-19th century when the vest commonly matched the suit. The jacket was commonly worn closed so that the vest could barely be seen. Most of our 19th century images come from studio portraits. Here the vest is an optional item. Some boys wear then others do not. We do not see, however, boys wearing their vests alone without their jackets, at least in the formal studio portraits. Actual outdoor photographs are much less common. But here we see boys wearing their vests without jackets. A good example is a rural tintype of two unidebtified boys in the 1870s or 80s. One boy is wearing a vest without a jacket.

Alternative to Jacket

We see very few examples of boys wearing vests without suit jackets in the 19th century. This began to change in the md-20th century. We see many boys wearing vests instead of a suit jacket as a kind of alternate outfit for younger boys.

Created: 5:49 AM 3/25/2008
Last updated: 12:40 AM 9/6/2010