Figure 1.--This is one of the many different styilized sailor suits worn by English boys in the late 19th century. This Birmingham boy was probably photographed in the 1880s, but the portrait is undated. Note the detachable V-mcollar that has been added and buttoned on as well as a smaller white collar added to that. Also notice that like the standard V-collar blouse that there is a back flap.

The initial English sailor suits for boys had traditional styling meaning they were minature reproduction od the uniforms worn by Royal Navy enlisted men who the British call ratings. As the style began to become a popular fashion for boys a variety of more styilized creations appeared in the mid- and late-19th century. Many diverged significantly from traditionl styling, but for the most part were instantly recognizable as sailor suits because of the V-collar and back flap. Even without these key attributes, sailor styling was often achieved by stripe detailong. These more creative versions came in many different styles. Designers also played with the standard blue and white colors, but this is difficult to onserve in the black and white photography of te day. Traditional styling never disappeared and gradually by the turn of the 20th century was the dominant style. Thus in the 20th century most English sailor suits were made with traditional styling and after World War I was virtually the omly sailor styles available. By this time the popularity of sailor suits was significantly declining.

V- front Styling

The initial English sailor suits for boys had traditional styling meaning they were minature reproduction od the uniforms worn by Royal Navy enlisted men who the British call ratings. As the style began to become a popular fashion for boys a variety of more styilized creations appeared in the mid- and late-19th century. Many diverged significantly from traditionl styling, but for the most part were instantly recognizable as sailor suits because of the V-collar and back flap. There were many variations such as button-up blouses and jackets worn open. Sometimes iun addition tob the standard dickey, other cevices wee added like a collar or a vest. Notice the blouse here. here is a V-collar, but notice that there is no spece in between the V for a dickey, Rather the V-collar seems to button on. We are not sure what these different styles were called. These more creative versions came in many different styles. Designers also played with the standard blue and white colors, but this is difficult to observe in the black and white photography of the day. Traditional styling never disappeared and gradually by the turn of the 20th century was the dominant style. Thus in the 20th century most English sailor suits were made with traditional styling and after World War I was virtually the omly sailor styles available. By this time the popularity of sailor suits was significantly declining.

Only the V-front

The third style of sailor suit was a variety of outfits that had a V-front or hint of a V-front, but no other element of sailor styling. This was perhaps the least common approach to sailor styling, but we see quite a number of examples in the photographic record.

Other Styling

We see several variations on the traditional V-front sailor collar. While the V-front collar was the central feature in the vast majoeity of sailor blouses, it was not always employed. We see small numbersof other styles. Here we have a V-front collar, but without the open space within the V and several other features (figure 1). Other styles dispensed with he V-collar all together. Even without the key attribute of the V-front sailor styling was often achieved by stripe detailing. We notice various collar configurations. We see a square or squarish collar, meaning the outer perimeter. in some cases with the empty interior V space as created by the standard V-collar. These suits may have blouses with standard pointed collars. We see these styles in America, but are less sure to what extent they were found in England. We have found a few examples. Note that even with the blouse styles done without the V-collar, there is often the back flap associated with the V-collar. We see the style variants in both the 19th and 20th centuries.

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Created: 12:07 AM 2/10/2007
Last updated: 12:29 AM 10/18/2016