Figure 1.--Here are greeting card illustrations of sailor suits, including the headwear. One shows blue coloured suits. The other shows white coloured suits. They are unidentified, but look to be British. There is no written details on the card. Other than the picture they are blank. We believe they are based on early 20th century illustrtions. There are limitations to using illustrations for color and other fashion information, but the colors depicted here seem reasonable. Put your cursor on the image to see the white suits.
We have very little color information on English sailor suits. Virtually all the photographic images we have are black-and-white photographs. Of course we can tell that white was an important color, but the other colors are more complicated. And we have very little information from English catalogs which ofen had color information. Of course blue and white would be the predominant colors. We note blue and white in America as well, although we also note many more colors. We do not know how common these non-traditional colors were in England. We suspect they were not as common, but we can't confirm that with our relatively limited information. We have found some illustrations such as greeting cards and postcards. These are not the most reliable sources of color information, but they should not be ignored either.
re are greeting card illustrations of sailor suits (figure 1). One shows blue coloured suits. The other shows white coloured suits. They are unidentified, but look to be British. There is no written details on the card. Other than the picture they are blank. We believe they are based on early 20th century illustrtions. We do not know the original source or how accurate the depictions are. While we cannot tell the color shades in old photographs, we can tell a good deal about the use of color. The pants were almost always one color. The blouse could be one color, but was often mixed colors. The blouse also could be contrasted with the pants instead of matching them.
Research Problem
We have very little color information on English sailor suits. Virtually all the photographic images we have are black-and-white photographs. They provide very little color information.
Color is an important aspect of fashion. Using primarily photographs presents problems in assessing color. Of course we can tell from the black and white photographs that white was an important color. And we know that blue was a major color used in sailor suits because they were prijmarily based on naval uniforms. . Of course blue and white would be the predominant colors. We note blue and white in America as well, although we also note many more colors. What we can not tell is just what the dark colors in the old photographs were. Surely they were usually blue. But they were not always blue. Assessing these dark colors is very complicated. We do not know how common these non-blue or non-traditional colors were in England. We suspect they were not as common as in America, but we can't confirm that with our relatively limited information.
Infomation Sources
The best sources of color information are vintage garments. Paintings and tinted photograpghs are also useful, bit have some limitations. We have found some illustrations such as greeting cards and postcards. These are not the most reliable sources of color information, but they should not be ignored either. Here are greeting card illustrations of sailor suits (figure 1). One shows blue coloured suits. The other shows white coloured suits. They are unidentified, but look to be British. There is no written details on the card. Other than the picture they are blank. We believe they are based on early 20th century illustrtions. We do not know the original source or how accurate the depictions are. And we have very little information from English catalogs which often had color information.
Use of Color
While we cannot tell the color shades in old photographs, we can tell a good deal about the use of color. The pants were almost always one color. The blouse could be one color, but was often mixed colors. The blouse also could be contrasted with the pants instead of matching them.
