Steps in Getting Dressed--Carl's Outerwear, 1910s


Figure 1.-- Younger school age boys like Carl wore more mature styles. Boys still commonly wore suits to school. Sailor suits were still popular, although only worn by a minority of boys to school. Younger boys up to 10 years wore blouses without suit jackets with knee pants during the summer. Another favourite was the sailor suit. Put your cursor on the image to see a back view.

Younger school age boys like Carl wore more mature styles. Boys still commonly wore suits to school. Sailor suits were still popular, although only worn by a minority of boys to school. Younger boys up to 10 years wore blouses without suit jackets with knee pants during the summer. Another favourite was the sailor suit. Yonger school-age boys wore variously styled suits, oten with straight-leg knee pants. Here we see Carl in a white blouse and matching bloomer knickers. It is a white suit with red trim. There is a detachable dickey with an embroidered red anchor--a popular nautical motif. The blouse is worn with a matching red sailor scarve. The long sleeves have a button cuff. Often the stripe detailing of the collar were repeated on the cuff, but not here. The bloomer knickers were the same pants worn with tunic suits at the time. We are not entirely sure how bloomer knickers were suspended. Some for tunic suits had bodices, but we do not We think this was common for sailor suits. The blousing at the leg was done by drawstrings in the leg hem. Older boys were mostly wearing proper knickers, but we note that younger boys were wearing both knee pants and bloomer knickers. Short pants were not yet common. I am not entirely sure why this difference existed, but knee pants whuch had been so common were now increasingly being seen as only appropriate for younger boys. This would have been a style worn during the summer. Carl is wearing black long stockings. He might have also worn white socks during the summer. Buring the winter he would have worn long stockings. Boys Carl's age also commonly wore blouses. Large collars were still popular, but not as popular as in the 1900s. They were not as large or as fancy as in the 1900s. Often they were done in a modified sailor style and with a very simple loose tie.

Popular Styles

Younger school age boys like Carl wore more mature styles. Boys still commonly wore suits to school. Sailor suits were still popular, although only worn by a minority of boys to school. Younger boys up to 10 years wore blouses without suit jackets with knee pants during the summer. Another favourite was the sailor suit. Yonger school-age boys wore variously styled suits, oten with straight-leg knee pants. Boys Carl's age also commonly wore blouses. Large collars were still popular, but not as popular as in the 1900s. They were not as large or as fancy as in the 1900s. Often they were done in a modified sailor style and with a very simple loose tie.

Mature Clothing

A readerasks what we meant by "more maure styles". Carl at a age 7 was going to school, but he would have been among the youngest children at school. Age 7 was a kind of in-between age. Boys at age 7 might wear both styles younger boys wore and older boys wore. Younger boys no longer commonly wore dresses, although they were not unknown. They might wear rompers, Oliver Twist suits, or tunic suit. Older boys would weak knicker suits with proper knickers. Boys at ge 7 might wear tunic suits, although they were more common for younger boys. We see realtively few boys wearing tunic suits to school in the 1910s, even though they were a populr style. boys wearing tunic suits at age 7 and 8 commonly wore sailor styles. Carl could have also worn a kncker suit like his older brother. This is astyle a younger boy wold not have worn.

Carl's Sailor Outfit

Here we see Carl in a white blouse and matching bloomer knickers. It is a white suit with red trim. The sailor suit was still a popular style for younger school-age boys. Sailor outfits were also popular for girls.

Headwear

Carl probably would have worn a white sailor cap with this outfit.

Blouse

The blouse is white with red stripe detailing. The long sleeves have a button cuff. Often the stripe detailing of the collar were repeated on the cuff, but not here. The blouse had a draw string at the waistlinr which when pulled and tied at the back gave the blousing effect.

Dickey

There is a detachable dickey, sometimes called a shield, with an embroidered red anchor--a popular nautical motif. On a hot day, Carl mightbnot hae wirn the dickey, but when dressing up he would have worn it.

Scarfe

The blouse is worn with a matching red sailor scarfe. Usually the sacarves worn with sailor suits were black, but with the red trim, Carl has a matching red scarfe.

Bloomer knickers

The bloomer knickers were the same pants worn with tunic suits at the time. We are not entirely sure how bloomer knickers were suspended. Some for tunic suits had bodices, but we do not We think this was common for sailor suits. The blousing at the leg was done by drawstrings in the leg hem. Older boys were mostly wearing proper knickers, but we note that younger boys were wearing both knee pants and bloomer knickers. Short pants were not yet common. I am not entirely sure why this difference existed, but knee pants which had been so common were now increasingly being seen as only appropriate for younger boys. This would have been a style worn during the summer.

Long stockings

Carl is wearing black long stockings. He might have also worn white socks during the summer. Buring the winter he would have worn long stockings. Black was a very common color, even with white or other light-colored outfits. A boy carl's age might have worn white stockings for a formal even, but black stockings were nuch more common.

Shoes

High-top shoes were still very common in the 1910s. Most boys would have worn black shoes with black long stockings.







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Created: 2:13 AM 9/7/2007
Last updated: 2:13 AM 9/7/2007