Figure 1.--This CDV is one of the longer American tunics we have found. Notice that there is no belt. The boy wears long pants, standard at the time even for younger boys, with his tunic. Also notice the boy's top curl hair style. The CDV is undated, but looks to have been taken in the later-1860s. The studio was Mrs. Hinman Exchange Block, Holliston, Massachusettes. Female photographers at the time were rare. Puy your cursor on the image for a different view.

American tunics were done in various lengths. They extended from the shoulders to lenghts just a little below the waist knee to as low as the calves. Most American tunics were relatively short. Most were lengths from somewhere below the waist to above or just at the knee. We see realtively few really long tunics. This varied over time. Many of the tunics we begin to see at mid-century were just a little below the waist looking like like blouses (without shirt tails) that were not tucked in at the waist. We see many such tunics in the early photographic types in Dags and Ambros (1840s-50s). With the advent of CDVs we see far more images (1860s). And the mid-century blouse-like tunics disappear. We see more recogniseably tunics extending far below the waist, but few extended much below the knees. It should be noted that the tunic was an ideal garment for home sewers because it was such a plain, simple garment. This made it one of the easiest garments to sew. Thus until late in the 19th century we belive that most were purchased in the same dress making shops where mother purchased her dresses, remember that the tunic was mostly worn by boys in fashionable families in comfortanle circumstances. Or they were sewed at home. This meant that there are huge variations in the design of the garments. And this includes the length. Even so really long tunics are not very common.

Short Tunics

Short tunics extended just a little below the waist to well aove the knee. Most American tunics at mid-century were relatively short, just a little below the waist. Many of the tunics we begin to see at mid-century were just a little below the waist looking like like blouses (without shirt tails) that were not tucked in at the waist. We see many such tunics in the early photographic types like Dags and Ambros usually done as cased portarits (1840s-50s). We also see tin-types, but unlike the Dags and Ambros, we contuinue to see the tun-types for severl deadades. Thus helps to date these images. It is a little difficult to assess length becaue so many of the subjects were posed sitting down. This is largely a result of the long exposure times required. We have found a few early images where the boys are standing which gives us a good idea about length in this early period. These standing portraits also show that these were tunics and not just blouses. The buttoning is commonly all above the waist which can only easily observed when the boy is standing. With the appearance of the CDV (1860s), we see more diverse poses and it is no longer unusual to see standing poses. The albumen emulsion was faster than that used for Dags and Ambros, but still slower than modern emusions, so stands are used to help standing subjects hold still for the shoot.

Mid-length Tunics

Mid-length tunics were cut at knee lengths, right at the knee or just a little above or below the knee. Most were lengths from somewhere below the waist to above or just at the knee. With the advent of CDVs we see far more images (1860s). And the mid-century blouse-like tunics disappear. We see more recogniseably tunics extending far below the waist, but few extended much below the knees. It should be noted that the tunic was an ideal garment for home sewers because it was such a plain, simple garment. This made it one of the easiest garments to sew. Thus until late in the 19th century we belive that most were purchased in the same dress making shops where mother purchased her dresses, remember that the tunic was mostly worn by boys in fashionable families in comfortanle circumstances. Or they were sewed at home. This meant that there are huge variations in the design of the garments. And this includes the length. Even so, these mis-length tunucs were by far the most common. really long tunics were not very common.

Long Tunics

Longer length tunics were cut well below the knee to calf lengths. We see realtively few of these really long tunics.

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Created: 7:02 AM 10/25/2020
Last edited: 8:58 PM 5/19/2021