Figure 1.--This is a light-blue tunic with a lace colar and beautifully embroidered blue bird. It would have been worn by an American boy 3-5 years old after the turn of the 20h century. Click on the image to see the back of the suit.

This is a light blue boy's tunic with a large scalloped white collar made for an American boy. An auction seller describes this boy's tunic as, "A simply heavenly circa 1900 hand made boy's powder blue linen tunic that was lovingly hand embroidered with four bluebirds. A contrasting white cotton embroidered collar with a matching buttonhole embroidered side of front 7 shell button closure. Turned white cotton cuffs, an attached belt, and an inverted back pleat accent. 11" from shoulder to shoulder and 24" from shoulder to hem. In excellent clean sound condition, with only a few pin dot age flaws if you look real hard for them. A darling Edwardian boy's embroidered tunic." We have noinformation as to when this tunic was made, but would guess that about 1905-10 would be a reasonable estimate. These tunics were very popular for boys ain the 1900s and 1910s, but declined in popularity after World War I.

Boys' Early 20th Century Tunics

Tunics were one of the more enduring 19th century styles for boys and they endured into the early 20th Century. Tunics were commonly worn by little boys during the first 2 decades of the 20th Century. They were particularly popular in the 1900s. Tunics disappeared after the First World War. Some wealthy European children, however, continued to be dressed in tunic-like smocks at home into the 1920s and even the 1930s. We note that some of the later tunics were shorter and the boys more clearly wear knickers rather than bloomer knickers that are mostly covered by the tunics.

Descrition

This is a light blue boy's tunic with a large scalloped white collar made for an American boy. An auction seller describes this boy's tunic as, "A simply heavenly circa 1900 hand made boy's powder blue linen tunic that was lovingly hand embroidered with four bluebirds. A contrasting white cotton embroidered collar with a matching buttonhole embroidered side of front 7 shell button closure. Turned white cotton cuffs, an attached belt, and an inverted back pleat accent. The garment meadures 11" from shoulder to shoulder and 24" from shoulder to hem. In excellent clean sound condition, with only a few pin dot age flaws if you look real hard for them. A darling Edwardian boy's embroidered tunic."

Age

It would have been worn by an American boy 3-5 years old. The precise age of the noy who wore this tunic may be derived from the sizes specified above. We are a little unsure how to apply this informtion.

Chronology

We have noinformation as to when this tunic was made, but would guess that about 1905-10 would be a reasonable estimate. These tunics were very popular for boys ain the 1900s and 1910s, but declined in popularity after World War I.

Figure 2.--The embridered blue can be more clearly seen in this image. Also notice the side buttoning and scalloped edging with piping. Click on the image for an enlargement showing the emroidery in even greater detail.

Garment

The tunic worn by American boys at the turn of the 20th century. I many ways it was similar to smocks worn by boys in France. The tunic was, however, worn by younger boys than was the case for smocks with France. Generally American boys stopped weasring tunics once he began school. There may, however, be boys up to anbout 7 years wearing a dressy btunic suit. The principal difference between a tunic and smock is that tunics were made as suits with matching pants, modt commonly bloomer knee-length knickes. Smocks on the other hand were made to cover a child's clothing and there was no attemp to match a smock with the cloths being covered. This particular tunic was being offered for sale without the matching bloomer knickers. We assume that they once existed, but have since beren lost.

Buttoning

This was a side buttoning garment. The button are place on the left side of the garment and incoportated in a kind of scalloping detail.

Home Sewing

The tunic was a realitively simple garment to sew and thus perfectly suitable for home sewing. Wjhile a basicallyh simple garment, it also allowed for considerable elaboration if the mpother designed to produce a fancier garment as this mother clearly did.

Hand Embroidery

More or grandmother herehave lovingly embroidered this tunic. There is not one,but three beautifully embroidered bluebirds. The embroidery is done in blue thread only slightly darker than the tunic itself, so you have to look carefully at the image here to see the three embroidered blue birds (figure 2). They are arranged vertically down the front of the garment. There is also some beauriful wmbroidery in white on the collar.