Figure 1.--This little American boy ;ooks to be about 4 years old. He was from Selingsgrove, Pennsylvania. The photographer was Ulrich and the card had unusual edge perforations. The cabinent card is undated, but was probably taken in the 1870s, probably the late70s. He wears a rounded-crown hat with his kilt suit. It looks like a sraw hat. Note the polkadot hat band. There were no streamers.

American boys wore Kilt suits were worn with a variety of headwear, both caps and hats. We are not entirely sure about the different varities of headwear worn or their relative importance. Headwear was commonly worn in the 19th century, so most boys would have had a hat or cap worn wih his kilt suit. Part of the reason that our information is incomplete is that outdoor photography was not yet common place and studio portraits commonly do not show the head wear. We have begun to collect some images. Given the time that kilt suits were popular, we suspect that at least some boys wore rounded-crown hats. As sailor styles became more popular, some boys must have worn wide-brimmed sailor hats. Sailor styles were so popular that they were often worn with other styles than sailor suits. Another option surely were Scotish styles like balmorals and glengarys.

Jockey Cap

We see some boys in kilt suits wearing peaked caps with very pronounced caps. These were different that the peaked school caps that were popular in Britain. I'm not sure just what they were called in the late-19th century. They look to us rather like a jockey cap. Some had pronounced bands, unlike school caps. And some had crowns done in sections, rather like school caps. The colors might be made to match the kilt suit. This was not a particularly common style, but we do see them being worn in the 1890s. We are not sure about others outfits with which they were worn.

Rounded-crown Hat

The rounded-crown hat was one of the most popular children's headwear style during much of the 19th century. Given the time that kilt suits were popular, we suspect that at least some boys wore rounded-crown hats. This was probably most common in the 1870s when kilt suits first began to be commonly worn. These hats were made in both felt and straw. Presumably boys wore both types.

Sailor Hats

As sailor styles became more popular, some boys must have worn wide-brimmed sailor hats. Sailor styles were so popular that they were often worn with other stylles than sailor suits. This was probably common in the 1880s anf 90s when these hats were particularly popular.

Scottish-styled Caps

Another option surely were Scotish styles like balmorals and glengarys. The styles would have been seen as particularly suitable for kilt suits. This was probably most common in fashionable big cities, but we are not positive about this. Presumably tams were also worn.

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[Lace collar] [Rounded-crown hat] [Floppy bows] [Cut-away jackets] [Kilt suits] [Velvet] [Long stockings] [Shoes]

Created: 4:06 PM 1/27/2008
Last updated: 7:47 PM 4/27/2008