Figure 1.--This American brother and sister were photographed in 1914. Tey wear popular dress-up clothing for younger vchildren. The girl wears a white dress and large white hair bow. The boy wears a classic Oliver Twist suit with knee pants. Note the large white buttons on his outfit. While the children are dressed very differently, note that they wear identical socks and shoes--white three-quarter socks and ankle strap shoes.

Buttons, often large white buttons, were the dominant stylistic feature of Oliver Twist suits. The size of the buttons was both stylistic and practical. Large buttons were also easier for small hands to manipulate as younger children began learning to dress themselves. Not all Oliver Twist suits had large buttons, but virtually all did have buttons as an important stylistic element. Large collars were popular and included with many of the suits, but not all. Other common features were collar string ties and tassles. They were often used because large floppy bows were not as commonly used for boys as had been the case earlier. A good example is a vintage Oliver Twist suit with the Tom Sawyer brand. We suspect uit dates from the late-1910s or early-20s. We note Wards' outfits they describe as Oliver Twist suits in their Winter 1927-28 catalog. Note that the outfits have button-on styling abd cin some cases tassels, but basically look like regular shirts and pants.

Created: 11:06 PM 12/2/2007
Last updated: 2:09 AM 6/18/2010