Figure 1.--This American boy in a photograph taken about 1910 wears a kind of informal suit. Notice the blouse worn without being tucked in with a large Peter Pan collar and untied plaid bow. Click on the image for a close up of the collar and bow. It is unclear to HBC just what were the conventions for wearing this suit.

Collars that look much like Peter Pan collars can be found on boys clothing thoughtout the 19th century. It does not appear commonly, however, until after the turn of the 20th century, when elborate lace collars had declined in populrity. Boys wearing dressing outfits increasinly wore ruffled collars, but less formak clothes might be worn with Pete Pan collars. The Eton suit for younger American boys which became popular in the 1920s were at first worn with Eton collars, but gradually the Peter Pan collar replaced the Eton collar. Other styles such as shortalls and button-on suits were also worn with Peter Pan blouses giving them a dressy look.

Chronology

It is difficult to develop a timeline for Peter Pan collars as the collars clearly existed before the name-sake play and they were called Peter Pan collar. Collars that look much like Peter Pan collars can be found on boys clothing thoughtout the 19th century--although the sized varied widely. It does not appear as a commonly worn style, however, until after the the late 19th century. They seem to have become populat in the 1890s as a kind of alternative to the elaborate lace abd ruffled collars. This is of course before they would have been called a Peter Pan collar. A good example is a Reading boy. Boys wearing dressing outfits increasinly wore ruffled collars, but less formal clothes might be worn with Peter Pan collars. A good example is the Whitney boys in 1895. We note boys with large Peter Pan collars in the early 0th century. A good example is Floyd Van Horne about 1915. The Eton suit for younger American boys which became popular in the 1920s were at first worn with Eton collars, but gradually the Peter Pan collar replaced the Eton collar. Other styles such as shortalls and button-on suits were also worn with Peter Pan blouses giving them a dressy look.

Sizes

Early Peter Pan collars could be quite large. The term was first applied at the time when boys still wore large ruffled collar. These early collars were smaller than the ruffled collars or the large collars worn with Fauntleroy suits, but they were much smaller than the ones worn today. Relatively large Peter pan collars might be worn with dressy velvet and other outfits in the 1920s and 30s, but had declined significantly in size by the 1940s.

Blouse Collar

American boys almost always wore Peter pan collars with blouses. they were not commonly pinned on coats. Many of the blouses were buttoned on to the boys pants. Meaning buttons at the waist of the blouse matched button holes in the boy's pants. Of course such garments had to be sold as a seyt so the buttons matched the button holes.

Conventions

The Peter Pan collar as worn by boys in the early 20th century appears to have been considered a less formal alternative to the large ruffled collars that boys were still wearing in the 1900s. This began to change in the 1920s has ruffled collars had passed from style. While Eton collars were the most formal style, gradually the Peter Pan collar replaced the Eton collar as the most formal collar style for the younger boy. One question HBC is assessing is when Peter pan collars became primarily a style worn by girls. The collar by the 1940s was being widely worn by girls, but I believe that the style was adapted for girls' clothing even earlier than this.

Bows and Ties

American boys generally have worn the the Peter Pan collar without bow or ties. This was not generally the case before the turn of the century when we see many examples of boys wearing Peter Pan collars both with and without bows. After the turn of the 20th century we increasingly see boys wearing the Peter Pan collasrs without bows. This was not always the case, but it is the most prevallent pattern. The early more informal outfits with Peter Pan collars were often mafe for play so they did not require bows which were going out of style. Some mothers could not help but add a bow, but usually did not tie it into a perky little bow, but might let it hang untied.

Clothing Styles

Peter Pan collars are now most commonly associated with girls' clothing. I do not think they were common in the 1920s when sailor, ruffled, and Eton collars were still common. I do not recall seeing large numbers of photographs of boys in Peter Pan collars before the World War I era--although I'd be interested in the observations of visitors to this page. Some of the earlier appearances of Peter Pan collars that I have observed include. Some of these styles were especially associated with American boys.

Figure 2.--This American boy in the suit above wears kneepants, darl long stockings, and patent leather strap shoes. The stockings and strap shoes, along with the bow, suggest it was not being worn for play--despite the tricycle. Thus HBC is not sure about the conventions for wearing a suit like this.

Play suits

A variety of informal suits appeared for boys in the 1900s and 1910s. Many were play suits or worn for a variety of informal occasions.

Eton suits

Younger American boys dressed in Eton suits for formal occasions wore Peter Pan collars beginning I think in the late 1920s. The first Peter Pan collar I have noticed is a 1929 article for fashionable clothes worn by boys from wealthy families. A I don't think this became common until the 1940s.

Rompers

Peter Pan collars were also commonly worn with rompers. Younger American boys after the turn of the century wore rompers, but they appear o have been more popular in Europe than America.

Blouses

Blouses for younger boys often had Peter Pan collars during the 1960s. They were a very utilitarian garmet. They could be worn for play as well as for a variety of informal and formalm occassions. They were usually worn with short pants. Just a Peter Pan collar and shorts gave a quite dressy look. Blouses with Peter Pan collars were also commonly worn with shortalls, especially during the 1960s-70s. For a more dressy look, a Peter Pan collar blouse could be worn with an Eton suit.

Figure 3.--For a dressy touch, shortalls were often worn with Peter Pan collars during the 1960s and 70s. They were also useful devices for brother sister outfits.

Shortalls

This utiliarian garment made dressing a small child simple. The shortall could be worn for play, but adding a blouse with a Peter Pan collar gave it a quite dressy look.

Button-on suits

Peter Pan collars have been used on other garmets besides blouses. Various garments including one-piece suits for small boys, for example, were often made with Peter Pan collars. Various color schemes were used. White of course was the most common. Sometimes white collars were edged with colors or patterns matching the suit. In other cases colored collars wrere used.

Hair Styles

Boys wearing Peter Pan collars at the turn of the century and the 1910s might commonly wear Duch boy bangs as in the photograph at the top of the page. Boys were not commonly seen with ringlet curls as ringlets had begin to go out of style by the time the Peter Pan collar was popular. Later boys wearing Peter pan collars in the 1960s might have Jojn-Jojn bangs a less form style of bangs.

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Created: March 18, 1998
Last updated: 2:22 AM 11/16/2007