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We have just begun to build a kilt suit chtonology. This is, however very difficult to do without a substantial archive. And because kilt suits were not nearly as prevalent in Britain as America we can only make prelimanary assesments at this time. The decision of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert to dress the princes in kilts mean that the boys wore proper Highland kilts (1840s). There was, however, no precedence for any kilt-like garments like kilt suits. The earliest examples we have look to date from the 1840s, but it is very difficult to destinguish 1840s and 50s Dags. We note an unidentified boy, perhaps as early as the 1840s. If not the 1840s it would have been the 50s. A good example of an 1850s kilt suit is the one worn by Philip Saltmrshe about 1859. They are not dated examples, only our period estimate. We definitely note English boys wearing kilt suits (1860s). The CDV here looks to have been taken in the 1860s (figure 1). Note the jacket and kilt skirt do not match. Both children wear pantalettes. The CDVs are a little eaier to date and it suggests that they were worn earlier, but HBC does not yet have information as to the actual time line or the extent to which they were worn. We are, however, not sure about the date. Ernest on the previous page wears a kilt suit (1876). We note Stanley Clulow who looks to be wearing a sailor-styled kilt suit (1899). We have not yet found any 20th century image. But given the Clulow 1899 image, surely there were some, although we suspect not very many.
The decision of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert to dress the princes in kilts mean that the boys wore proper Highland kilts (1840s). There was, however, no precedence for any kilt-like garments like kilt suits. But the Royal Family's populrization of the kilt as a boy's garment layed the foundation for what would become the kilt suit. The earliest examples we have look to date from the 1840s, but it is very difficult to destinguish 1840s and 50s Dags. We note an unidentified boy, perhaps as early as the 1840s. If not the 1840s it would have been the 50s.
A good example of an 1850s kilt suit is the one worn by Philip Saltmrshe about 1859. They are not dated examples, only our period estimate.
We definitely note English boys wearing kilt suits (1860s). The popularity of the CDV meant that the pgotographic record sigbificantly expanded in the 1860s. The CDV here looks to have been taken in the 1860s (figure 1). Note the jacket and kilt skirt do not match. We are not sure how common thst was as we have so few eamples. Both children wear pantalettes. The CDVs are a little eaier to date and it suggests that they were worn earlier, but HBC does not yet have information as to the actual time line or the extent to which they were worn. We are, however, not sure about the date.
The 1870s decade was pme of the most common decades for kilt suits. And the same seems tgo be the case in England. While we haved founf a number of photographic imgds ofebglish boys wearing kilt suits, we have found very few that are asctually dated. As a result, we are left having to estimste them. We believe we can do thid to a fair degree of accuracy, but it is not the sane as hzving a dated image. We see a good exmple of what looks like a kilt suit with an unidentified boy dating to about the early-70s, but could be the late-60s. Ernest on the previous page here wears a kilt suit (1876). One indated portrait wih young children shows the two younger boys, probably 3-5 years old wearing kilt suits.
Kilt suits were also worn in England during the 1880s. We have, however, not yet found many examples. And thus do not know much about them. We are not sure if the lack of examples reflects the fact that they were niot very common or our limited English archive. We notice them being worn with panteletts well below the hem of the kilt. This was less common in America. The one example we have found has matching jacket, vest, and kilt-skirt. This seems to be the standard con vention, although with so few examples we cannot be sure. Theexample we have found does not have any Fauntleroy trim.
We see quite a few English boys wearing kilt suits in the 1890s. And kilt suits without any Highland kilt accessories. They may have been a little younger than in earlier decades, but our archive is not yet extensive enough to make any firm assessments. We note Stanley Clulow who looks to be wearing a sailor-styled kilt suit (1899). He looks to be about 3-years old. A cabinet card shows London children we think in the 1890s. The younger boy looks to be about 5-years old. He wears a Fauntleroy-styled kilt suit. The kilt suit looks just like the ones American boys wore. The only major difference is the knee socks he is wearing. American boys almost always wore long stockings.
We have not yet found any dated 20th century images of English boys wearing kilt suits. But given the Clulow 1899 image, surely there were some--although we suspect not very many. While we have not yet found a dated image from the 1900s decade, we think an early English snapshot showing a boy wearing a blouse kilt suit is an example. It is possible that the snapshotwas taken in the 1890s, but the early-1900s seems more likekly. The prevalence of the kilt suit was clearly declining, but we believe like in America, a few boys were still wearing them. Wev not only see fewwer boys wearing kikt suits, but increasingly younger boys.
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