Figure 1.--'Harper's Bazar' illustrated a group of boys suits in 1869. They showed boys wearing cut-away jackets as well as tunics looking like long shirts. We note Scottish influences, including plaid fabric and Glengary caps with streamers. The boys are shown wearing mostly bloomer knickers and white long stockings. One boy has wide knee pants. It should be noted that these seem more like styles for bioys from fashionable city families than the larger part of the population which was stillm ovewheamingly rural. We are not sure about the age range, although one of the suits is for a boy 6-8 years old..

'Harper's Bazar' illustrated a group of boys suits in 1869. Mail order was still limited in the 1860s, but many publications attracted readers by including patterns for home sewing. Mail order will become moreb imprtant, but through the 1860s, patterns were more important. The illustration showed boys wearing cut-away jacketrs as well as tunics looking like long shirts. One boy wears just a blouse without a jacket. We note Scotish influences, including plaid fabric and Glengary caps with streamers. Another boy wears a straw hat with a narrow brim. The boys are shown wearing mostly bloomer knickers and white long stockings. One boy has wide knee pants. It should be noted that these seem more like styles for boys from fashionable city families than the larger part of the population which was still ovewheamingly rural. We are not sure about the age range, although one of the suits is for a boy 6-8 years old. In the 1860s only younger boys wore shortened length pants. The photographic record shows some of these styles, but long pants and knee pants were more common. After the 1860s we seen fewer boys wearing bloomer knickers, with long pants and straight-leg knee pants predominasting. A reader has provided more 1869 illustrations. We believe that these were advertisements for patterns, but unfortunately we don't know what company made the patterns offered here yet. We note children's drawers. We also note night shirts which were worn by children as well as adults. Pajamas were not yet available.

Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing Web Site:
[About Us]
[Introduction] [Activities] [Biographies] [Chronology] [Cloth and textiles] [Garments] [Countries] [Topics]
[Bibliographies] [Contributions] [FAQs] [Glossaries] [Images] [Links] [Registration] [Search] [Tools]
[Boys' Clothing Home]

Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing Web Site:
[Headwear] [Sailor hats] [Glengary bonnet] [Dresses] [Kilts] [Buster Brown suits]
[Eton suits] [Sailor suits] [Rompers] [Tunics] [Smocks] [Pinafores] [Coats] [Long stockings] [Leggings] [Underwear]

Created: 7:50 PM 8/26/2005
Last updated: 7:51 PM 8/26/2005