Sailor Hats: Ages

Figure 1.--Wide-brimmed sailor hats were worn by younger boys to about age 8 years. Here the younger brother wears his sailor hat while the older brother wears a golf-style hat. This American photograph was probably taken in the 1910s.

The broad-brimmed sailor hat was mostly worn by younger boys. The boys wearing broad-brimmed sailor hats appear to be no older than 5-6 years of age. Occasionally a boy might wear them up to 7 or 8 years of age. Older boys by the later part of the 19th Century and early 20th Century were also wearing sailor hats, but these were narrow-brimmed hats with knee pants tweed suits. The wide-brimmed hats were clearly a style for younger boys.

Ages

The broad-brimmed sailor hat was mostly worn by younger boys. The boys wearing broad-brimmed sailor hats appear to be no older than 5-6 years of age. Occasionally a boy might wear them up to 7 or 8 years of age. Generally it was worn by boys to about 7 6 years of age, although older boys might on occasion wear them. Usually they were worn by younger boys.

Other Hat Styles

Older boys by the later part of the 19th Century and early 20th Century were also wearing sailor hats, but these were narrow-brimmed hats with knee pants tweed suits. The wide-brimmed hats were clearly a style for younger boys.

Convention

The broad-brimmed sailor hat was a style for a younger boy. Often when brothers were no close enough in age to be dressed in identical outfits, the younger brother would often wear a wide-brimmed sailor hat while the older brother would wear a more mature-looking hat style.

Chronology

The age at which boys wore sailor hats may have varied chronolgically. This may have varied some what chronolgically, but HBC does not yet have sufficient information to determine such changes.

Created: April 21, 2000
Last updated: April 20, 2000