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We are not yet sure of the precise chronology of American Eton collars. I have noted collars with the Eton look as early as the 1840s. I have not noted American boys wearing formal Eton collars during the 1860s. White collars were common, but they were gebnerally smaller and not as stiff as an Eron collar. The earliest Eton collars I have noted in America date to the 1870s the Eton collar had become increasingly important for a well dressed boy's wardrobe. We note them being worn with jackets that had Norfolk styling in the 1880s. Boys differed greatly as to the neck wear that might be worn with Eton collars. We see bows in the 1880s. Some were large floppy bows making it difficult to determine just what kind of collar was being worn. The Eton collar was commonly worn through the 1910s, but less commonly. The style was little seen by the 1920s as soft collars made inwards. They were added to play clothes for yonger boys. The
only exception to this was the small boys wearing blouses with collars looking like Eton collars and the American Eton suit. American boys wore this Eton suit style with a variety of collars. HBC has noted the Eton collar as late as the early 1950s with a Eton collar. Afterwards the Peter Pan collar became more common. American boys during the 1930s increasingly wore soft collars, but some boys also wore Eton collars with some informal outfits, including sweaters.
I have noted collars with the Eton look as early as the 1840s. I have not noted American boys wearing formal Eton collars during the 1860s. White collars were common, but they were gebnerally smaller and not as stiff as a formal Eron collar.
We note white, but generally small collars being worn in the 1860s.
The earliest Eton collars I have noted in America date to the 1870s the Eton collar had become increasingly important for a well dressed boy's wardrobe. An example here is Dan Brown, but unfirtunately the image is not dated. We believe the portrait was made in the 1870s, but we can not be certain. Note that the collar tips are not sharp.
We note them being worn with jackets that had Norfolk styling in the 1880s. A example is the boy here in 1883 (figure 1). Boys differed greatly as to the neck wear that might be worn with Eton collars. We see bows in the 1880s. Some were large floppy bows making it difficult to determine just what kind of collar was being worn. A good example here is MC Agnew. Another American boy wears an Eton collar and floppy bow. We can not tell, however, if the portrait was taken in the late 1880s or the early 90s.
We note many portraits of American boys wearing Eton collasrs in the 1890s. While a boy's first suit might be a Fauntleroy suit, many boys next wore sck suits with Eton collars. It was a popular style for boys. They were worn with a variety of suits. They were very common with school age boys. The effort to assess available portraits is somewhat complicated by the fact that they were often but not always worn with floppy bows of different sozes. This we can often not be completely sure that they were Eton collars with pointed tips.
Eton collars continued to be worn after the turn of the 20th century. We note 5-year old Harold Howes wearing an Eton collsar with a tunic suit in 1905. We note a younger boy, but not his older brother wearing What looks like a small Eton collar in a Texas family in 1906. Here we think there may have been differences among social classes. In a more affluebnt family, the older brother might have been more likely to wear an Eton collar. We see Charles Dorff who wears a floppy bow with his Eton collar about 1905.
The Eton collar was worn through the 1910s, but less commonly. We see quite a number of boys wearing Eton collars, but a desrinct minority. It seems rather a formal style. Thus we see more boys wearing Eton collars when they dressed up for formal occassions. Some boys wore them to school, but less than in the 1900s. They would have been most common at private schools. We believe that social class factors were involved here. Eton collars were most common with boys from affluent families, especially those families with rather conservative attitudes. We are not yet sure about age trends. We note Frank Bailey wearing a small Eton collar at his private school about 1915.
The style was little seen by the 1920s as soft collars made inwards. They were added to play clothes for yonger boys. The
only exception to this was the small boys wearing blouses with collars looking like Eton collars and the American Eton suit. American boys wore this Eton suit style with a variety of collars.
We note a well to do Ohio boy wearing a classic Eton collar with an Eton suit, we beleve in the 1930s, but it could be the 40s. He wears his Eton collar with a necktie.
The Eton collar was not commonly worn in the 1940s, but we do see some boys wearing them. It was primarily a formal style. Boys might wear them for formal dress occassions. Curiously we see the Eton collar with some casual situations. This seems an unlikely combination. Here we note mostly magazine fashion and catalog advertising. A good example is a Sears 1943 catalog page for long stockings. We do not think this was very common with actual boys. At least we do not have any family snapshots to confirm it. Here there were social class factors. One contributor reports. I was born in 1943 and never wore an Eton collar. Neither did my brother who was boen in 1936. We were, however, middle class, actually barely middle classs." More affluent boys were more likely to wear Eton collars. A HBC reader reports, "I wore shirts with Eton collars when I was about 8 or 9 years old. And as you note, I came from an affluent family and went to a private school. My Eton collars were attached to the shirts, not put on with collar buttons like the original Eton collars. I wore shirts a bit like the boy in the Pilgrim stocking advertisement. Of course I'm a bit vague about it now. But my long stockings were just like the ones this kid is wearing." Readers may want to read more about our readers personal experiemces. We also note younger boys wearing Eton collars with juvenile Eton suits. After the 1940s, Peter Pan collars began increasingly popular with these Eton suits.
HBC has noted the Eton collar as late as the early 1950s with a Eton collar. Afterwards the Peter Pan collar became more common. American boys during the 1930s increasingly wore soft collars, but some boys also wore Eton collars with some informal outfits, including sweaters.
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