Waist Sashes on Boys' Clothing

Waist sashes were the most commonly worn sashes by boys. Boys wore waist sashes with many clothing styles. They were usually added to fancy clothes like velvet Fauntleroy suits and white party dresses. They were most common for boys during the late 19th and early 20th century with the fancy outfits for boys that were poopular during that period. Sashes were worn when a mother wanted a boy in his best party suit. They were usually only added for special occasions of course and not an everyday style. The common name for a waist sash sash is "Cummerbund", a term of Indian origins. Some waist sashes simplu wrapped around the waist, like the cummerbund. Others had a knot with a length of materail falling vertically at the side from the waist sash. Some authors speculated that the color of the sashes, such as blue for boys, could have inicated the gender of the child. This was, however, not always the case as color conventions were not yet well established during the era in which boys wore sashes. The sash was generaly made of a somewhat stiffer material with a finer finish from that of the dress or velvet Fauntleroy suit.

Chronology

Sashes were most commonly utilized with boys clothes in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries, primarily from about 1870-1910. They were based on the sashes worn by English Caviliers as well as the gentry of Europe in the 17th Century. Their elaborate outfits included sashes as well as lace collars and luxurious materials. Their elaborate outfits were depicted by Van Dyck and other artists of the day. They were of course a very dressy touch to a boys suit. A nunber of such outfits are archived on HBC. One good exampel is two unidentified brothers in 1864. A good example is a Syracuse boy in the 1870s.

Terminology

A sash is a long band of silk or satin worn over the shoulder or around the waist. "Cummerbund" is a Hindi and Persian word meaning a shawl or sash worn as a belt. Presumably it entered the English language during the British colonial era in England beginning in the 18th century. A realted Arabic word "shash" means "turban" which is heeadwar formed by winding a long band of cloth.


Figure 2.--This boy wears a pink sash with a white summer suit. I'm not quite sure though how to describe the suit. Pink does not seem to have the gender conotations it has today. Note the tassles on the sash.

Garments

Boys wore waist sashes with many clothing styles. The most common was of course the Fauntleroy suit, but they were also worn with dresses and kilt suits as well. Waist sashes in the 19th century were commonly employed as ornamental devices on both dresses and Fautleroy suits. They were generally worn for formal occasions such as parties. They were also used on dresses for the boys that had not yet been breeched. A colored sash was a common feature to set off a white party dress. They were less commonly employed in less dressy outfits like kiltsuits--but some mothers did use them.

Usage

Sashes or normally worn by military officers as part of a dress military costume. They are also worn by women and children for ornamentation. The cummerbund is also someimes worn by men with formal wear such as a tuxedo.


Figure 3.--This boy's white dress contrast with the colorful plaid of his sash.

Conventions

Sashes were worn when a mother wanted a boy in his best party suit. They were not worn for everday. They might be worn, for example, with a Fauntleroy suit during the classic Fauntleroy era. Boys might often wear their Fauntleroy suit without a sash. Mothers would add a fancy sash for special formal occasions. It allowed the mother to change the boy's look by varying different sashes. Thus a single sit could be given different looks. As the sash was a bright color, it stood out and significantly affected the boy's look.

Colors and Patterns

Some dresses for boys were more plain than those designed for girls. Thus a sash was often a important design element adding a bit of color or embellishment to the dress. White dresses were popular for both younger boys and girls. Sashes were used to add a little color. Blue was one of the most popular colors. Pink less so. Sashes could add contrast to colored dresses. Thus a wide range of colors could be used with with the color of colored dresses. Other sashes might be the same color as the dress. I'm unsure as to what extent colored sashes were worn with colored dresses and what specific colors were the most popular during different periods. By the same token, a brightly colored sah might be worn with a blacvk or other dark colored Fauntleroy suit. A good example is a Syracuse boy in the 1870s. Some authors speculated that the color of the sashes, such as blue for boys, could have inicated the gender of the child. This was, however, not always the case as color conventions were not yet well established during the era in which boys wore sashes. Girls for example not uncommonly wore blue sashes. Remember The Sound of Music, "Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes." Actually modern gender conventions for color appear to have been became relkatively recent fashions. Mothers in the 19th Century did not have the modern conventions, in fact the conventions may have been different. Fauntleroy suits were generally black or dark blues, greens, or burgandies. The sash was often the one bright spash of color. The colors varies, but were sometimes a bright red. Others may have been the same color as the belvet suit or perhaps a different shade. I do not know of white sashes worn with the dark-colored velvet suits to any extent before the turn of the century. Fauntleroy sashes at the turn of the 20th century became more varied. Some mothers replaced the colored sashes with elegant white sashes. Boys also wore plaid sashes. These were mostly worn with white dresses. It was unusual to see a plaid sash with a Fauntleroy suit.

Material

The sash was generaly made of a somewhat stiffer material with a finer finish from that of the dress or velvet Fauntleroy suit. Thus the most common material for sashes were silk or satin. Some sashes were, however, made out of the same material of the kilt or dress. The sashes involved were often not the fancy silk and satin sashes, but might be fashioned out of the same material as the suit. This was especially the case when the jacket was of the same material as the kilt skirt, rather than velvet. These plain sashes made out of the same material as the skirt was a departure from many of the sashes discussed on this page because they were not worn in contrast to the boys's outfit. This was probably because many kiltsuits were probably not a boy's best dress party suit, but rather often worn for less dressy occasions. The sashes worn with kiltsuits were often quite long sashes because the kuilt suits were generally worn at lengths well below the knees, down to below the boy's calfs. This was longer than the hem of the kneepants worn with Fauntleroy suits, which was generally the limit of the length of the sash.


Figure 4.--Note the knot on this boy's sash. Also note the suspender-style kneepants and small bow.

Knots

Sashes were often tied into large bows at the side or back. Back ties were most popular for girls' dresses, but were also employed on boys dresses. More common for boys were side sash ties. The sash was worn so that it hung unevenly, one end longev than the other. Several different types of knots were used for tieing the sash. The popularity of the knots varieed somewhay has to wether the sash was front or side tieing. Some sashes, especially the back tieing ones, were tied into a bow. Also instead of vertical sashes falling to to the knee, some mothers instead tied bows at waist level with the sashes. This was similar to the waist sashes often incorporated with the dresses worn by little boys and girls.

Styles

The style of the sashes also varried. The width of the sash cloth, the cut, fringe, and weave are all factors to be chsen by the mother. Many, but not all sashes appear to have been fringed.


Figure 5.--Note the sash worn by this boy, who I believe is French, around the turn of the century. Sashes for Fauntleroy suits were generally worn at knee lenhth. Rather than hanging low, his sash it tied in a distinctive bow. It is a white sash distinguishing it from the colored sashes more common before the turn of the century.

Length

The sash was worn at various lengths. One common length was down to just above the knee and hem of the kneepants. The sizes of waist sashes varied greatly. Some were quite copious lengths of material, ebcircling the waist and hanging down thevlength of the dress. Dress length varied, but what ever the fashion, the sash rarely was allowed to fall below the hem of the dress. Other sashes were more narrow and a less obtrusive design element.

Construction

The boy's waist was encircled by a silk or satin sash. The long edges of the sash were seamed, and the ends sometimes were gathered up closely and, often finished with tassels. The tassles while not common, could be quite elaborate. (See figure 2 above.)

Knots

The common convention for wearing sashes properly was to knot it on the left side and allow it to fall to uneven lengths.






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Created: March 30, 1999
Last updated: 3:18 AM 3/14/2009