Figure 1.--This is a good example of what Brirtish boys wore for seaside outings. This boys wears a knit shirt, sdhort pants, knee sicjs, and strap shoes. The knee socks look like school scocks. Americans looking at these portraits should understand that the water at Brirish beaches is cold, even in the summer. Note the spade and kite. The portrait is undate, but looks like the 1920s.

We have a very good record of what children wore to seaside resorts for vacations and other outings. This is because a part of a beach outing was stopping by local studios for a portrait. This was the case from the point in which the British working class began commonly taking annual seaside vacations in the late-19th century up to about World War II. Most of vthe portraits we have found come from the first half of the 20th century. We have countless portraits of the children. They are usually taken in the studio with a beach backdrop. There were outdoor photgraphers as well, but based on the photographic record that we have been able tob find, the studio portraits were much more common. They show both the clothes the children wore as well as all kinds of toys and equipmebt for having fun on the beach. This often meant pails and spades for digging in the sand. Stranfly we do see some swimsuits at the turn -of-the 20th cebtury, but in the inter-War era we mostly see playwear. This may reflect a shift in who was taking beach vacations and the cost of the portraits. After the War, the vscations continued and by the 1970s began to becomed more adventuresome with chreap flights to Spain and other places with warmer weather. Family snapshots replaced seaside portraits.

Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing Web Site:
[Sailor suits] [Sailor hats] [Buster Brown suits]
[Eton suits] [Rompers] [Tunics] [Smocks] [Pinafores]

Created: 9:05 PM 12/10/2010
Last updated: 9:06 PM 12/10/2010