Figure 1.--The 19th century photographic record was primarily studio photographywhen children were dressed up in gheir best clothes. The record of what children wore when not dressed up for portraits outside the studio is much more limited. Here we see an unidentified water color. An old msn telling the children tales of his life. Note thst even on an ordinary day and in the country, a boy is wearing an Eton collar.

The Eton collar has a very formal look to our modern eyes. And it was worn for formal occassions, usually with various syles of suits. Boys commonly ore Eton collsrs for formal occassions such as paries, church, and other activities. At the time, people including children dressed more formally than is the case today. Boys more commonly wore suits. In fact suits were often the primary garment boys wore for everyday. Most noys had much smaller wardrobes in thw 19th century than is the case dor modern boys. wear. The boy here is a good example. He looks very formally dressed. In this case we believe he is wearing a school uniform. This would have been a private school uniform, surely a public (elite private boarding) school. But it was not just boys at private schools that wore Eton collars. We see them buing widely worn at state primaries and grammar (semi-autonomous secondary) schools. Until the 20 century, Britain did not have a state secondary system. Boys at state primaries did not wear uniforms, but may did wear suits. Eton collars were not reqyired, but many mothers did dress the boys in Eton collsrs as a matter of choice. And boys may have continued wearing these suits and Eton collars after school. Thus boys wearing Eton collars are commonly seen involvd in what today would be beeb as casul everday activities. Of course in the 19th century, the photographic record was primarily studio photography. The record of what took place outside the studio is much more limited. And this did not change until after the turn-of-the 20th century when the Kodak Brownie and other simple cameras brought the familu snap shot into the reach of average families. School photographt was increasingly common by the 1890-s so we have a good idea of hat children were wearing to school.

Navigate the Historic Boys' Clothing Web chronological pages:
[The 1840s][The 1850s][The 1860s][The 1870s][The 1880s][The 1890s][The 1900s][The 1910s][The 1920s][The 1930s][The 1940s]

Navigate the Historic Boys' Clothing Web style pages:
[Long pants][Knickers][Short pants][Scottish kilts][School uniform][Sailor suits][Eton suits][Ring bearer/page costumes]

Created: 12:57 AM 1/14/2023
Last updated: 12:57 AM 1/14/2023