Long Pants Suits: Chronology--The 19th Century


Figure 1.--This American boy wears a long oants suit, probably for his confirmation. The photograph is undated, but was probably taken in the late 19th century, probably the 1890s.

Boys in the early 19th century began wearing long pants suits years before their fathers. Boys since the introduction of skeleton suits in the late the 18th Century have worn long trouser suits. The skeleton suit with long trousers was the most stylish fashions for boys in the early 19th century. For years, however, their fathers refused to wear them. It was not until the 1820s that gentlemen began wearing long trousers. Long trouser suits of various forms were common in the early and mid-19th Century. Boys at the beginning of the 19th century might wear a lace collared tunic over long trousers before graduating to a proper suit. After mid-Century knee pants became more common. American catalogs in the 1880s tended to show knee pants suits through 12 years of age and long pants suit begining at 10 years of age. By the end of the Century boys it was increasingly common for teenagers to be dressed in knee pants suits. Many boys might spend many of their teen years in knee pants. This varied greatly from family to family, but for teenage boys in knee pants, receiving their first long pants suit became a major rite of passage.

Decade Trends

Boys in the 19th century began wearing long pants suits years before their fathers. Boys since the introduction of skeleton suits in the late the 18th Century have worn long trouser suits. The skeleton suit with long trousers was the most stylish fashions for boys in the early 19th century. For years, however, their fathers refused to wear them. It was not until the 1820s that gentlemen began wearing long trousers. Long trouser suits of various forms were common in the early and mid-19th Century. A good example is the Wallis brothers in 1852. They were commonly worn with collar burroning jackets. A popular style for younger boys by the 1860s. was the cut-away jacket suit. It was often worn with shortenened-length trousers, but we also see them being worn with long pants. A good example is an American boy, Elmer Dayton in 1870. Modern styled suits began appearing in the 1840s. One interesting factor in the 19th century is that many of the pants seemed not very well tailored. Another charcteristic of 19th century trousers is the lack of creases.

Styles

Boys at the beginning of the 19th century wore skeleton suits with long pants. Short Eton-like jackets were also popular with long pnts. Boys might also wear tunics with long collars. Collars varied. We have noted lace collars as well as open collars. A good example is a Swiss boy in 1840. Older boys graduatted to long trousers with proper suits. We note various jackets such as short black jackets. Younger boys might wear fancy suits. Cut-away jacket became popular in the 1860s. We note many younger boys wearing button-on pants. A good example is Charles JJ. Carter. After mid-Century knee pants began to become more popular. Even younger boys might wear long trousers through the 1870s. This became less common in the 1880s. American catalogs in the 1880s tended to show knee pants suits through 12 years of age and long pants suit begining at 10 years of age. By the end of the Century boys it was increasingly common for teenagers to be dressed in knee pants suits. Many boys might spend many of their teen years in knee pants. This varied greatly from family to family, but for teenage boys in knee pants, receiving their first long pants suit became a major rite of passage.

Ages

The ages of boys wearing long pants suits varied substantially over time. In the early 19th century boys began wearing long pants skeleton suits after breaching. At the time mny of their fathers were wering knee breeches. Boys coninued wearing long pabys even when skeleton sits began to go out of style in the 1830s. Shortened pants begn to appear for boys in the 1850s. This was for younger boys from stylish families. Most boys continued to wear long pants. Kneepants became increasingly ommon in the 1860s, but did not become widespread for boys until the 1870s. Most boys by the 1890s wore kneepants oir knickers. There wer substantial differences amongfamilies. We note boy even older teenagers earing knerepants in the 1890s. At the same time otther boys were weaing long pants suits as younger teenagers. Social class, region, demographics, countries and other factors were all involved here. One observer who grew up in rural America in the late 19th century remembers accompanying their father to Chicago. Both were wearing long pants suits, but they found that fashionable Chicago boys their age and older wore kneepants suits and they felt like country hicks.

Country Trends

We do not yet have a great deal of information on varying country trends. We have begun to archive quite a number of images, but have not yet indexed them by country. We note Swiss boys wearing short black jackets with light-colored trousers in the 1840s.






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Created: April 21, 2001
Last edited: 4:31 AM 11/22/2007