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American boys have worn a wide range of button-on outfits. Skeleton suits were button-on outfits. They were worn by well-off city boys, but America in the early 19th century was still largely rural so I doubt if very many boys wore them. We see large numbers of boys wearing button-pn outfits in the mid-19th century. A good example is an unidentified boy in the 1850s.
Button-on styling was very popular in the United States during the early 20th century. It was especially popular during the inter-War era in the 1920s-40s. We note large numbers of American boys wearing button-on outfits. We see both play and schoolwear outfits. Often this involved short sets, shorts and shorts sold together, There were also long pants sets. It was common to sell the garments as sets as the buttons and buttons holes had to be coordinated. A good example of a playsuit was a sailor outfit worn by Jackie Hardy about 1940. Much of the information in the main button-on page reflects American button-on fashion trends, thus we have noy yet created a separate U.S. section here at this time.
American boys have worn a wide range of button-on outfits. Skeleton suits were button-on outfits. They were worn by well-off city boys, but America in the early 19th century was still largely rural so I doubt if very many boys wore them. There were button-on suits better described as outfits, meaning coordinted tops and bottoms.
We notice button-on styling during the 19th and 20th centuries. Button-on styling was popular throughout the 19th century. Skeleton suits used button-on styling, although we think the skeleton suit was nostly worn by boys from well-to-do families in fashionable cities. Without photography, however, we have only limited infirmation on the early-19th century. We see large numbers of boys wearing button-on outfits in the mid-19th century. A good example is an unidentified boy in the 1850s. Another good edxample is Frank Tuche in the 1870s. By this timed it was considered stylish to cover up the buttons. Button-on styling was very popular in the United States during the early-20th century. A good example is the
Nethery boys in 1915. The boys wear a dressy button-onn outfit. Button-on styling was especially popular during the inter-War era in the 1920s-40s. We note large numbers of American boys wearing button-on outfits. We see both play and schoolwear outfits. Often this involved short sets, shorts and shorts sold together. A good example is the little boy outfits ioffered in the Wards' winter 1927-28 catalog. There were also long pants sets. It was common to sell the garments as sets as the buttons and buttons holes had to be coordinated. We note a Kindergasrden class in 1935-36 in which most of the boys wear button-on sets. A good example of a playsuit was a sailor outfit worn by Jackie Hardy about 1940.
Age trends for button-on clothing varied somewhat over time. Here therewas a general age limit because of the purpose of the button-on clothing. Fashion was a factor, but basically it was a way of holding up trousers for young people who do not yet have developed waists. Thus we do not see button-on clothing for children over 12 years of age. This varied over time as fashion trends for children changed. We are not yet sure about 19th century trends. We know much more about the 20th century because of the availability of catalogs with sizing information. We normally see shorts sets in the 1940s, for example, done for boys up to 10 years of age. There were exceptions to this, but age 10 was the general limit. This changed somewhat in the 1950s ad by the 1960s, button on styling became primarily a style for pre-school boys. We note button-on styling being increasingly used as dressy outfits for younger boys.
Button on styling was most common for boys. This was because girls wore dresses, one-piece garments that avoided the issue of suspension. Boys after breeching wore mostly two piece outfits, tops (blouses and shirts and bottoms (trousers). Ans will undefined waists, some method od suspension was required for boys. Button-on styling was one sollution. Of course not all girls wore dresses. Girl also wote blouses and skirts. And with skirt bottoms some method of suspensions was necessary. Here the same methods fir hlding up trousers were used for skirts and this included button-on styling, although our inintial assessmdnt it wa not as common for girls as it was for boys.
Much of the information in the main button-on page reflects American button-on fashion trends. Thus we have just begun to create a separate U.S. section here at this time. We know that button-on styling was very common in America. It may have ben more common than in Euope, but we can not draw that conclusion with any validity.
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