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Military uniforms have had a great influence on boys clothing. Boys have actually been in the military. President Andrew Jackson as a boy of 12 was taken prisioner by the British in the Revoluntionary War. Through the American Civil War boys served as drummer boys. Many countries have military schools. Such schools are particularly popular in the United States. Various countries have set up cadet or ROTC programs for boys interested in the military. Besides actual service, military styles havde had a tremendous influence on both men's and boys clothing.
Military uniforms have had an important impact on boys clothes. Often there were differences between what the parents, especially the mother, wanted their sons to wear and what the boys themselves wanted to wear. The use of military styles for boys appears to have bridged that gap, at least until the mid-20th century when sailor suits became associated with very young children or even girls--making them unacceptable to most boys. Some sstyles like sailor suits were actual military styles. Other non-military styles had elements like double breasted styling or epeletes that were inspired by military uniforms.
Boys have worn military uniforms in a variety of organizations. Boys have sereved in the military as well as worn military uniforms in school and cadet groips. Many youth groups also had military-inspired uniforms. Boys also wore uniforms or more commonly uniform garments even though they were not in the military or a uniformed youth group.
Military schools began to appear in Europe during the 18th century. By the 19th centurt schools were founded at both the elememtary and secondary level. The first American military schools were established in the 19th century. Uniforms varied greatly at the many different schools.
British schools and schools in their colonies had a cadet program. American schools had comparable programs, the Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC). I do not yet have detail on the creation and organization of these programs. Some information is available on their uniforms. HBC has included in this category all school military ptograms and not just those formally known as cadet groups.
Children before our modern era commonly joined the military. Boys served a drummer boys during the Civil War. Young boys entered the British navy as ensigns leading to a commission and as powder boys leading to service as seamen. These boys wore unforms just like adults. Even today in the interminable conflicts in developing countries, especially, Africa, often boys are actively involvefd.
Most youth groups have had militarily-inspired uniforms. This was certainly true of the Boys' Brigade, Boy Scouts, Hitler Youth, as well as many others. An exception here was the German Wandervogel.
Boys also wore uniforms or more commonly uniform garments even though they were not in the military or a uniformed youth group. Many military garments have become popular boy's garments. The most obvious of course is the sailor suit and the many garments (cap, middy blouse, reefer jacket, ect.) associated with it worn by boys. Other popular items included the balaclava, various navy and army caps, aviator cap, bomber jacket, duffle coat, poncho, and a variety of other items. Camouflage garments became popular in the 1990s.
We have primarily looked at the types of military organizations in which boys have served. Our information is still limited, but we want to eventually cross index these pages by country.
An American reader writes, "One thing I notice that seems to be missing (although I might have missed it) are the "military" boys' groups that are loosely connected with the actual armed forces. In the United States we have the Sea Cadets and the Young Marines. Neither is officially part of the Navy or the Marine Corps, but the Navy and Marine Corps provide support, and military personnel serve as leaders in their off-duty time. These groups wear modifed Navy or Marine uniforms.
I think, but I'm not sure, that the Civil Air Patrol is an equivalent Air Force Program, although I think it's for older teenagers. When I was in the Marines, I recall groups of Young Marines at Camp Pendleton in California. We called them "Devil Pups" as a variation on the US Marine nickname of "Devil Dog". I was connected with a Sea Cadet group a few years ago which actually used an old Navy 80-foot yard patrol boat." [Reed]
There are quite a large number of images throughout HBC showing individual boys wearing clothing with obvious military styling. This includes boys of all ages. We note even younger boys wearing skirted garments and boys with long ringlet curls that had clothes with military detailing. Here we are not talking about uniforms, but regulat clothes with military styling.
Skirted suit: United States, 1862
Kneepants suit: England, 1903
Reed, Mark. E-mail message, July 6, 2005.
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