Figure 1.--Here we see a CDV portrait shiowing an unidentufied boy. While his age is not inficated, he looks to be about 5 years old. He wears a cut-away jacket anf king knee pants wuth striped stockings. Notice his straw hat, somewhat like a boater but with a semi-conical style. The portrait was probably taken in the 1870s. The studio bmne is difficult to read, but looks like the Laighton Briothers in Norwich Connecticut.

The pants boys wore with suits largely depnded ion the time period. We see many 5-year olds wearing knee pants suits. This varied, however, because when suits like cut-awat jackets first appeared, boys mostly wore long pants. It was not until the 1870s that shortened-length pants began to become widespread. Earlier it was very common for younger boys to wear skirted garments. Unil about 3-4 years of age. And even when shortened-length became common, they were mostly worn by younger boys about 4-8 years of age. Age 5 was the last year before most children began school. And boys at first wore primarily with long pants. But by the 1870s most 5 year olds were wearing shortened-length pants. Another factor is the length of the pants. The first straight-leg knee pants were mostly calf level. Only in the 1880s do we seev actual knee-lngth pants, but interestingly this has nothing to do with ages.

Created: 4:52 PM 7/13/2023
Last updated: 4:52 PM 7/13/2023