Figure 1.--Here we see some of the tunic suits offered by Wards in 1914. Wards called them "Russian blouses" which was a common term at the time. The illustration shows them as a boy's outfit. They were sized for children 2 1/2 to 7 years of age, |
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American mail order catalogs offer a very useful time line on changing fashion trends. American mail order catalogs in 1914 featured increasingly simple casual styles for younger children.
World War I began in Europe during 1914. The War would have a major impact on fashions. America did not enter the War until 1917. We do not yet have many catalog or advertising entries for 1914.
We still see boy dresses advertized in 1914, but such offerings are becoming increasinly rare. We have some information from a Ward's catalog. Styles for younger children were increasingly gender specific. Tunics were featured for younger boys. Ward's calls them Russian blouses which was a widely used term at the time. We also note rompers. There were also a varietyu of shoes and sandals offered. High-top shoes were still a standard for boys. Sandals were available, but they were mostly for girls and younger boys. We do note a 1914 page which has children's shoes and sandals.
They styles were also increasingly gender specific.
Wards featured a variety of sailor caps and g=hats for younger boys and flat caps for older boys.
Boys in the 19th century commonly wore dresses. This began to change in the late 19th century, especially the mid-1890s. By the 1910s it was much less common for boys to wear dresses, but not unknown. We still see boy dresses advertized in 1914, but such offerings are becoming increasinly rare. We note a 1914-15 Carson Pirie Scott & Co. wholesalers catalog offering boy dresses in sizes 2-4 years. They seem styles rather like tunics,
A variety of toddler styles with simple casual styles appear. Styles for younger children were increasingly gender specific. The button-on style appears to have been very popular for boys. We note tunic suits which had various names. Wards calls them Russian blouses. There were also rompers.
Here we see some of the tunic suits offered by Wards in 1914. Wards called them "Russian blouses" which was a common term at the time. Wards included in a category of wash suits which also included sailor blouses and French blouses. The illustrations shows them as a boy's outfit (figure 1). We have seen girls wearing similar outfits, but here boys tunics are depicted. The suggestion was that this was a play outfit, but some of the styules shown are clearly dressy suits. Some of the outfits had short pants/kneepants while others had bloomer (elasticised) knickers. It is difficult to tell for some of the suits. We refer to these as tunnic suits because the tunic jacket and pants match or were coordinated.
We note Wards offering sailor blouse suits. These were sailor suits worn with middy blouses. They were one of the styles of wash suits shown with the Russian blouse outfits. They were offered in only a very slight older range of sizes. The top was a blouse wjhich blouced at the waist with a drawstring. The pants were the same bloomer knickers worn with the tunic suits (Russian blouses) and French blouses. The Wards illustrations show them being worn by older boys who are wearing dark long stockings rather than short socks.
We note Ward's offering French blouse outfist. Most of the wash suits were tunic suits called Russian blouse suits. We are not precisely sure what Wards meant by a French blouse. Apparently the blouse or top did not extend beyond the waistlinbe like the tunic suit. We are not sure to what extent this was a common term in the trade or just a term used by Wards. They were sizedT for children 2 1/2 to 7 years of age, just like the tunic suits.
Boys still wore sailor suits in the 1910s, although they had declined somewhat in popularity. Sears offered a variety of sailor suit outfits for school age boys. These were more or less comparable to the popular tunic suits, but they were done with middy blouses rather than tunics. They seem to have the same bloomer knickers. The age range was only slightly higher. We have one example of these sailor outfits.
Long stockings were still very common for children in 1914. Note that the younger boys here in summer outfits are all pictured wearing short socks. We have noted photographic portraits showing boys wearing these outfits with long stockings.
A Sears page for underwaists (Fall catalog, 1914) has some implications for gender. Many underwaists were unisex and could be worn by either boys or girls. But other waists were designed specifically for girls or for boys individually. We also notice a Ladies Home Journal (October 1914) offering H & W corset waists for children. Another of the several manufacturers of children's hose supporters--less well known than the famous Hickory and Velvet Grip brands that dominated the market during most of the 20th century was Kabo Garters.
High-top shoes were still a standard for boys. Sandals were available, but they were mostly for girls and younger boys. We do note a 1914 page which has children's shoes and sandals.
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