Figure 1.--This brother and sister were from Sydenham. This CDV portrait was probably taken in the 1880s. She wears an elegant dress. The boy wears a stling sailor suit. Note that he is wearing a sailor jacket with a bloyse underneath and not a middy blouse. He has matching knee pants ahnd long stockings.

Quite a range of garments were made with sailor styling. Some are a little difficult to classify. There were many different styles of sailor headwear. We note boys wearing sailor headwear with many diffeent outfits and not just sailor outfits. The two basic sailor suit garments were the middy blouse and trousers. Middy blouses were primarily pull-over garments, but we also note button-up topss. This inclided both blouses and garments that look more like jackets than blouses. The first trousers worn with the sailor suit were the bell-botton trousers worn by British sailors. Gradually as kneepants and knickers became common for boys to wear, many boys began wearing these shortened pants with middy blouses as well. There were many other sailor garments such as Jack Tar suits, reefer jackets, sailor tunics, and square cut blouses all of which were done in a wide range of styles. And there were dresses and skirts done with sailor styling for both younger boys and girls of all ages.

Sailor Headwear

There were many different styles of sailor headwear. We note boys wearing sailor headwear with many different outfits and not just sailor outfits. Sailor headwear has been on of the most popular styles and extreemly varied. The sailor hat first appeared as a boyswear style in the 1840s when thge Royal Family began dressing the princes in sailor suits. The fashion gradually became popular in England, in part because of the prestige of the Royal Navy. The fashion soon spread soon spread to other countries, both in Europe as well as America. It was the broad-brimmed sailor hat that was first worn. We see these wide-brimmed hats in various styles. Variations appeared in both the crown and brim. We notice flat and rounded crowns. There were also brims of different widths and configuration. After the turn of the 20th century, some of these hats had turned-down brims. We also note in the 19th century a sailor had with a narrow brim. It was dark and shiny. It seems to have been a Royal Navy style that was not very popular for boyswear. Gradually boys began wearing sailor caps as well. The initial inspiration was Royal Navy uniforms. There were many popular styles of sailor caps. The large number of sailor styles were in part due to the long period in which sailor fashions were popular for boys, about 100 years. We notice sailor hats with various size brims. There were sailor caps with flat tops, soft crowns, tams, and other styles. The styles usually followed the standard uniform styles of the Royal Navy, but some like tams were specifically for children. These were notable in that sailor headwear was often worn by boys and girls. This was one of the few headwear styles that were gender neutral.

Skirted Garments

We notice a range of sailor tunics. This includes both tunic with V"-front sailor styling as well as square cut blouses. These tunics were done in a range of styles. And there were dresses and skirts done with sailor styling for both younger boys and girls of all ages.

Middy Blouses

The two basic sailor suit garments were the middy blouse and trousers. No garment more epitomized the sailor style than the classic "V"-front middy blouse. Middy blouses were primarily pull-over garments, but we also note button-up topss. This included both blouses and garments that look more like jackets than blouses. Of course the classic middy blouse is a pull-over garment with a "V"-front collar and back flap. Traditionally middy blouses were detailed with stripes, but this was not always the case. They were based on the Royal Navy uniforms. Some diverged from the traditional uniform suit, but the great bulk of these blouses were based on Royal Navy styles or were stronly influenced by it. We note other collars as well, bit they were not nearly as common as the traditional uniform styles. Some middy blouses had pointed collars. We also notice middy blouses without collars, but a aquare neck opening. This was a more casual, summer style. Middy blouses were mostly done in blue and white, but there were other colors.

Jackets

There were many other sailor garments such as Jack Tar suits which included more of a jacket than blouse. We also note reefer jackets.

Scarfe

Sailor outfits, especially the classic V-front pull-over middy blouse, was commonly worn with a dark scarfe. This was based on the scarves that Royal Navy sailors wore.

Trousers

The first trousers worn with the sailor suit were the bell-botton trousers worn by British sailors. Gradually as kneepants and knickers became common for boys to wear, many boys began wearing these shortened pants with middy blouses as well.

Created: November 27, 1998
Last updated: 5:37 AM 7/6/2005