Figure 1.--This illustration from "La Mode Illustée" showed a sailor kilt for a boy 5-7 years of age from Mlle de la Torchère, rue de Rennes. Note the wide brimmed sailor hat and streamers. Note the boy wears ankle socks and the girl long stockings. Click on the image to see another 1884 illustration from Mlle de la Torchère which showed just the opposite. |
The original sailor outfits in the mid-19th century were sailor suits styled on the middly blouses and trousers worn by actual sailors. Younger boys at the time, however, wore dresses and were not normally breched until 4-6 years of age. This meant that younger boys could not wear the increasingly ppular sailior styling. As a result, skirted sailor outfits appeared so that younger boys coud wear the popular sailor style. HBC has noted sailor kilts or middy blouses and skirts before actual sailor dresses. The first such outfits we have noted were in the mid-1880s, but this is just a prelininary assessment at this time. This was about the same time that sailor outfits appeared for girls.
The original sailor outfits in the mid-19th century were sailor suits styled on the middly blouses and trousers worn by actual sailors. Younger boys at the time, however, wore dresses and were not normally breched until 4-6 years of age. This meant that younger boys could not wear the increasingly ppular sailior styling. As a result, skirted sailor outfits appeared so that younger boys coud wear the popular sailor style.
HBC has noted sailor kilts or middy blouses and skirts before actual sailor dresses. We are not positive that sailor dresses did not also exist at this time, but we can conform that sailor kilts did exist. The first such outfits we have that noted were in the mid-1880s, in France. This is just a prelininary assessment at this time, they could have well existed earlier. Sailor outfits for both girls and boys appeared in France at about the same time. Savailiable information for these outfits suggest that they were most popular for boys 5-7 years of age. We do not yet know about the chronological trends in other countries. There were two popular headwear to be worn with these sailor kilts. Both wide brimmed sailor hats woth streamers and tam o'shanters (referred to as "berets" in Framve were popular.
No information developed yet.
This was about the same time that sailor outfits appeared for girls. The sailor suit for boys was popularized by Queen Victoria when she first dressed the future Edward VII in a white enlisted man's suit with bell-bottom trousers. HBC at this time does not have sufficent information to assess when girls also began wearing sailior inspired outfits. HBC notes sailor styling being used as early as the 1880s for girls dresses, but the
first use may have even been earlier. The middy blouse, especially the white middy blouse with a blue skirt was commonly worn by American girls to school in the 1910s-20s. This may have been a factor explaining why the sailor suit declined in popularity amony American boys. Dresses with sailor suit collars were very popular as gym suits in girls schools
during the first half of the 20th century. Also, many girls and women's bathing suits used both versions of the sailor collar.
This illustration from "La Mode Illustée" showed a sailor kilt for a boy 5-7 years of age from Mlle de la Torchère, rue de Rennes (figure 1). The boy has a short hair cut and wears a wide-brimmed sailor hat with streamers. The boy wears a front buttoning sailor blouse with contrasting cuffs. His dicky hasan unusual neckline woth a small triangular cutout. The sailor kilt/skirt is pleated and worn at knee level. Note the boy wears colored ankle socks and the girl long stockings. Other 1884 illustrations from Mlle de la Torchère showed just the opposite. Both the boy and girl have bows on their shoes, but there are larger bows pn the boy's shoes.
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