Figure 1.--Here we see a studiom portrait of a fashion plate mother in a beautiful gown and her three children. The boys are dressed in matching classic white sailor suits. The family was clearly well-to-do if not wealthy. The portrait is undated, but looks like the 1910s. The studio was something like Tandeman in Stanstead.

The sailor suit was a popular boys outfit for neaely a century. Actually it was more popular in other countries, especially France and Germabny, than England. But it was very popular in England. The phiotiographic record suggests that there was a social class factor involved here. We believe that the sailor suit was primarily worn by upper-class and middle-class boys. We are not entirely sure why, but these groups were most likely to be infuenced by how royalty dressed the princes. Sailor suits were only used to a limited extent by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, but King Edward VII and King George V used them extensively probably in petr to please Victoria. Ideological issues may also have been involved, but we are not sure how ideology had affected the working class in the late-19th and early-20th centuries. Social class is a little difficult to assess with any surity, but there are clues such as how sharply the boys are dressed and their grooming. In additiion some images include the parents. We can also assess school photography to see how boys were dressed for school. The schools would include many working-class boys.

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Created: 12:53 AM 10/6/2022
Last updated: 12:53 AM 10/6/2022