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We note a lot of American boys wearing Norfolk suits for First Communion. Dark suits were very common. The boy gere are searing cut-away jackets. Norfolk suits were much more common. For reasons we do not understand, American boys suddenly switched from knee pants to knickers in the late-1900s.decade We see knickers in large numbers for the first time in America about 1908-09 thus for the first time we see boys wearing knicker suits. Knee pants did not entirely disappear. We see younger boys continuing to wear knee pants, sometimes with blouses and long white stockings when dressing up. First Communion suits in the 1910s mostly done with knickers and worn with long stockings. Some boys had knee pants outfits, but knickers were virtually universal in the 1910s. Boys mostly wore dark long stockings with the knickers as was the case with knee pants. The pants changed, but not the hosiery. And often the boys in the early-1920s wearing solid colored dark socks are wearing long stockings rather than knee socks. A good example here is Grant Fahvenbach about 1910. The fact that he is wearing just a blouse wihout a suit jacket may be an economy measute on mom's part. Catholic families wre mostly relatively recent immigrant families and still mostly working class, although some were beginning to enter the Americn mainstream. This was still seen in the 1930s, but was not very common. We note a lot of boys wearing blouses in the 1900s, but by the 1910s actual suits seem increasingly common. We interpret this as increasing ecinomic success of American Catholics.
A good example here is Grant Fahvenbach about 1910. Grant wearsa blouse with a dtachable collar, probably an Eton collar along with a large white floppy bow. His knickers are full cut, probanly plus fours. The fact that he is wearing just a blouse wihout a suit jacket may be an economy measure on mom's part. Catholic families were mostly relatively recent immigrant families and still mostly working class, although some were beginning to enter the American mainstream.
We note both individual outfits and group outfits with the children dressed alike. A lot of the white outfits were the coordinated groups. They were probably Catholic school groups. But they could be Catholic church groups. Not all Catholic childre attended Catholic schools. And many Catholic churches did not have associated schools. Here all the children are dressed in white with black long stockings. The boys all wear white jackets or blouses, but of different styles. They also wear white pants, both knee pants and knickers. This mix helps fate the portrait. Knickers only appeared in any numbers in the late-1900s decade and only became standard in the 1910s. We see some younger boys wearing knee pants in the early-20s, but knickers were much more common. This all suggests that the portrait was taken in the early-1910s. The girls all wear junior wedding gowns. Both the jackets/blouses and wedding dresses varied, but stylistic deails are basically lost in a sea of white. Unfortunately there's no identifying info and we have no deails such as where the schoolor church was located.
This studio portrait has a dark brown folding paper frame, It looks like the 1910s, but we are not sure just when. The early-1920s is possible. The boy is unidentified, but he looks to be about 7-years old. The boy wears a dark Norfolk suit, a very popular style at the time. We can't tell if it is a knee pants or knickes suit, probably it was knickers suit as knickers became standard in the 1910s. He probably wears his suit with long stokings and what looks like low-cut oxfords. The studio was Arthur Gillette in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
This unidentified postcard back portrait shows four brothers and sisters. We at first thought the children might be British, but think the building in the background identifes it as American. The younger boy appears to be celebrating his First Communion, but is dressed just like his slightly older brother. The boys wear white boaters, Peter Pan collars, scarfe-like ties, cut-away jackets, vests, shortened-length pants (we think knickers), and long stockings.
This studio cabinet card portrait shows an unidentified boy in his First Communion suit. The boy looks to be a boy about 10 years old, a little older than most boys doing First Communion. He wears a dark suit single-breasted suit. It looks like a dark blue Norfolk suit with a flap pocket. We don't see vertical pleats, but we do see a self belt. It is a knickers suit worn with long stockings and lace-up high-top shoes. These dark suits were commonly boughtnew for First Communion, but could be work as a best suit for many other occsions. The white suits incontrat were mostjust used for Frst Communion and had limited general use. The boy seems to be wearing a white tie, but it is difficult to make out. He has a lapel boutonnière and sleeve bow and holds a missal and gold cross necklace. A candle and date card is on a side table. The cabinet card is done in a olive grey color popular in the early-20th century. The studio was J. Prusinski and J. Kroll in Chicago. The Polish and German partnership is interesting.
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