Figure 1.--Few details are available on this photograph, except that the boy was Sidney Smith`s son and the photograph was taken September 1917.

It was in England that the Eton suit was created in the late 19th century and it was in England that the Eton suit reached its greatest popularity. For two generations a well dressed English boy was expected to wear an Eton suit for formal occasions. Many boys also wore them as a school uniform. The haracterisyically short jackets have been worn with a variety of pants.

Development

The development of the Eton suit in England is described on the main Eton suit page.

School Uniform

Eton suits and collars were worn not only at exclusive public schools, but also at state schools which did not require uniforms--a reflection as to just how commonly worn Eton suits were in England at the turn of the century. The state schools did not require that boys wear Eton collars, it was just that they were such an common style of the day. Many preparatory and public (private) schools as well as the grammar schools did require the boys to wear Eton collars. Some boarding schools even had collar monitors! Boys at day schools of course were looked after by their mothers.

Suits

For two generations a well dressed English boy was expected to wear an Eton suit for formal occasions. A formal Eton suit had a class image to it. Wealthy boys would have actual Eton suits and would wear them for most formal occasions.

Less affluent boys might not have a formal Eton suit, but they would often wear their suit with an Eton collar. These less affluent boys would not have a large wardrobe and would wear a suit for a wide range of activities that today would call for casual clothes. English boys at the turn of the 20th century wore their Eton suits and collars, just about everywhere, even to picnics or even beach outings. It is even difficult to fathom in our modern, casual era wearing a stiff Eton collar to a picnic or the beach.

Social Class

Until relatively recently, fashion was primarily set by the aristocracy or wealthy class. The average person, who often had little disposable imcome, tended to wear utilitaian clothing, often with limited attention to fashion. This changed radically in the 19th century when the new indutrial economy radically increased personal income and the size of the middle class. Many parents which before could give little attention to fashion sudenly found that they had the income to dress themselves and their children fasionably. The Eton suit and collar was one of the styles associated with this development. The Eton suit was initually the style worn by the boys at an exclusive English "public" school. Mothers all over England came to want to dress their sons in this initially posh style. As a result by the late 19th century virtually every English boy was wearing the Eton collar--no mater how humble his background. The full Eton suit complete with a top hat was an entirely different matter. While the detachable Eton collars were within the range of virtually evert family--a full Eton suit involved quite an expenditure. After World War II, class attitudes toward fashion begin to change. Biys from wealthy families continued to wear Eton collrs fir a while, but the average English boy soon changed to more comfortable soft collars.

Figure 2.--This is another photograph of an English boy wearing what to many would look like an Eton suit. Note that while the boy has an Eton collar, he wears a full sized jacket and not a short an Eton suit. Our British Eton suit expert, reports "The seated boy is NOT wearing an Eton suit of any description, since the Eton suit always featured the bum-freezer jacket." Although it is not a full-length photograph, you van just make out that ee wears knickers with his suit. The photograph is undated, but probably taken in the 1900s.

Styles

A formal Eton suit might vary somewhat but had many common features.

Hat

Hats were much more common in the 19th century and early 20thth century than would be the case today. An English boy would have worn some kind of hat when going out. With a formal Eton suit, a wealthy English boy would have worn a top hat. Of course less affluent boys simply wearing an Eton collar with a Norfolk or some other suit style would have worn a much less formal cap.

Jacket

The jacket for an Eton suit was modeled on the short black jacket worn by Eton schoolboys. The jacket ended just at the waist, much shorter than the jackets worn with oyher suit styles. Some Eton suits may have had grey jackets rather than the black jackets worn at Eton school. But by far the dominate style was black jackets.

Collar

Although not part iof the suit itself. The wide, stiff, detachable Eton collar was a key feature associated with the Eton suit.

Pants

Most boys black pants with Eton suits. Eton schoolboys wore stripped pants. Boys at other schools or as a regular suit wore solid colored pants. Most of the Eton suits I have seen had black trousers to match the black jacket, but I beleve that grey pants were also worn with black jackets.

Eton suits were primarily worn with long pants a worn at Etomn school. HBC has not Eton suits with knee pants, but less commonly knickers. [HBC note: The British refer to kneepants and later short pants as knickers, so some care needs to be given in assessing contemporary sources.] HMC is not yet sure how the different styles of pants were. This assessment is further complicated by changing fashions over time. HBC is making a preliminary assessment, but invites reader comments.
Long pants: HBC believes that Eton suits were mostly worn with long pants. HBC an not yet confirm this, but the great bulk of the available images show boys wearing long pants with Eton suits. HBC believes that the relative availability of images is one indicator of thr popularity of the fashion. Admitedly HBC has few British Eton suit images from the late 19th century, so long pants with Etons may not have been as common in the late 19th as they were n the early 20th century. HBC also believes that wheen an Eton suit was purchases for a stand along Eton suit, long pants were more likely than when purchasesd as a school uniform. But again this requires comfirmation. HBC's English consultant confirms HBC assessment. He reports, "Long trousers were much more the norm, judging from all the pictures I have seen--and I've looked at a lot of them."

Figure 3.--Fashion magazines from the late 19th century show Eton suits with kneepants. HBC is not sure how common these kneepants suits were. Note the British advertised them as knicker suits, but they were not knickers in the American sence of being closed and bloused at the knee hem.

Kneepants: Eton suits were worn with kneepants during the late 19th century. HBC is not, however, positive how popular kneepants were. Our initial assessment is that they were less common than long pants. This may have varied over time. Also younger boys would have been more likely wear the kneepants version. HBC believes that a boys formal Eton suit was more likely to have been long pants than the Eton suits worn as part of a school uniform. Eton School alwayd had a long pants school uniform. Many other schools adopted variations of the Eton suit as part of their school uniform. HBC had thought that some of these schools may have had kneepants uniforms. HBC English consultant, however, reports that, "It would have been long trousers only for school: that was the formal Eton suit. I expect the knicker suit was worn by younger boys, but at home rather than at school." Many of these wealthy boys were teribbly spoiled and HBC had thought that when a uniform did not require knsspants, that once they were about 12 or 13 years old that they would begin to get their way about their clothes. However, HBC's has only limited information about Eton suits and defers to the expertise of its English consultant.
Knickers: HBC has not noted Eton suits worn with knickers (in the American sence). In the British usage, 'knickers' were any type of short trousers. Hence the use of that terminology in the attached picture. Many schools had knicker uniforms in the late 19th century. While these uniforms often had Eton collars, they were not Eton suits. HBC has not noted any formal Eton suit made with knickers. We have noted, however, Eton-like suits worn with knickers. Probably some Eton suits were worn with knickers, but HBC believes they were not very common.
Short pants: Some English boys did wear short pants with Eton jackets, but I believe this was more likely to be a prep school uniform than a regular suit. Short pants did not become popular until the 1910s which was the last decade that Eton suits were commonly worn. By this time, however, Eton suits (but not Eton collars) had been dropped as school uniforms at most schools. HBC does not know of any proper Eton suits made with short pants. Some schools, however, did employ Eton collars with their school uniforms. The suits themselves were not DEton suits. Some of these schools did employ short pants.

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Created: February 20, 2000
Last updated: March 16, 2002