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Finally in the 1860s with albumen photography like the CDV developed in France we begin to see really large numbers of photographic images and by the 1880s we have an increasingly substantial photographic record. This is jocularly the case of the United States because of the enormous economic growth and the prosperity that this created in America. The major factor in photography is economics. People with money spend it, including have photographic portrait taken. This is why the American photgraphic record is so large. American fashion n the 19th century was dominated by European fashion houses, mostly English and French. Interestingly the first American fashion to corss the Pond in the other direction was of all things the fancy boy's Little Lord Fauntleroy suit (1885). Many Americans today view the fashion as decidedly UN-American. HBC has been steadily expanding our country sections. Many of those sections include chronological sub-sections and we have begun to create country pages for the 1880s. Our most detailed section is on America but we have increasingly detailed European sections. We have an 1880s page on England. It is no accident that England was another very prosperous country in the 19th century. In the early-19h century it was the most prosperous count, but was replaced in that lofty position by America after mid-century. This is of course especially important because England has played such an important role in boys' fashions. England was the leading country in male fashion, but it was France that was more important n female fashion. We also has a page on Germany which was the rising Euorpean country and finally unified (1871). France was a leader in the development of photography, but for some reason the photographic record in France and Europe in general was much smaller than in America. .
Britain was at the peak of its power in the 1880s. Russia was the dominant European power at conclusion of the Napoleonic Wars (1815). but the Crimean War showed that the Industrial Revolution had changed great power calculations (1840s). Germany was united, but only beginning to achieve great power status. America was challenging Britain economically, but not yet in great power terms. The United States had not yet even begun to build a modern navy. The 1880s was at a turning point of world history. Europe was still dominated by monarchical led empires. The Russian Empire was absolutist. The German Empire had some representative features, but the military was no under the control of representative parliamentarians in the Reichstag. The only truly representative republic was the United States, but America did not have a military of any importance. Britain was moving in the direction of representative government with Parliament now in control of Government. And Britain was finally building a public school system to benefit the wider population. France was now a republic, but its power greatly diminished. Europeans and Americans were beginning to think that war was becoming an archaic phenomenon. Capitalism was remaking the world, but there were two forms of capitalism. Market capitalism in America and Britain and state guided capitalism in Germany. At the time it was not understood that the two would collide. Another force was beginning to attract interest. Marl Marx published the Communist Manifesto (1848) and Das Capital (1867). Socialism was only a theoretical construct at the time, but it generated great appeal because it sounded so appealing. While the Industrial revolution created great wealth and enabled society to enable society to address many long festering problems, providing the fiscal and technological capabilities. Not all people benefited from the economic change set in motion. The Industrial Revolution had begun in Britain with textiles. Industrialists had long since moved on o heavy industry. But there were changes in textiles. Ready wear was becoming important providing increasingly less expensive clothes and enabling the middle-class to dress like the swells. Europe, specially Britain and France had long dominated the fashion industry, But for the first time, an American fashion had crossed the Atlantic and had an impact on Europe. Until them fashion had all flown in the other direction from Europe to America. It is fascinating that a fashion hearkening to aristocratic splendor would be the first fashion trend created in the United States. Little boys continued to wear dresses and other skirted garments in the 1880s. We also notice English boys wearing kilt suits, but this style was not as common as in America. We see more boys, however, wearing Highland kilt outfits. The Fauntleroy suit appeared in England during the 1880s. The style was an important fashion for boys after breaching. We no longer commonly see cut-away jackets, except for Fauntleroy suits. Like kilt suits, Fauntleroy suits were not as common as e in America. English boys tended to wear bloomer knickers with Fauntleroy suits, while American boys were more likely to wear straight-leg knee pants. The sailor suit was a well established style, although often it was not worn by boys older than 8 years. That was because this was the approximate age that boys began to attend their preparatory boarding school. Shortened-length pants became increasingly common for boys in the 1880s. While long pants were still very common, shortened-length pants were much more common than in the 1870s. Here there were variations from family to family as well as social-class factors involved. They were widely won by boys at private schools, although this varied from school to school. We note both knee pants and knickers. Eton collars were standard for well dressed boys. We see large numbers of boys wearing these gleaming white, stiff collars. We note boys wearing both Eton suits as well as other styles like Norfolk suits with Eton collars. Also helpful are our family and school pages for the 1880s.
Finally in the 1860s with albumen photography like the CDV developed in France we begin to see really large numbers of photographic images and by the 1880s we have an increasingly substantial photographic record. American fashion in the 19th century was dominated by European fashion houses, mostly English and French. England was the leading country in male fashion, but it was France that was more important n female fashion. Interestingly the first American fashion to corss the Pond in the other direction was of all things the fancy boy's Little Lord Fauntleroy suit (1885). ctually the insoration for Mrs. Burnett ws the fabcy outfits she saw boys wearing while livng for a time in France.
France was a leader in the development of photography, but for some reason the photographic record in France and Europe in general was much smaller than in America. France was also a leader in the development of department stores and their catalos is anothrb imprtant source ofvfashion ingormtion.
Wide-brimmed sailorchats become popular for younger boys. Younger boys still wore dresses, but were generally breeched before boys in many other countries. We note some boys wearing kilt suits, but they not nearly as common as in America. Little Lord Fauntleroy suits appeared in the 1880s, but were not as popular in Germany as in many other countries during the 1880s and 90. We do note boys wearing floppy bows in the 1880s. Collars increased substabtially in size. There were a variety of suiy styles foir boys. Norfolk suits become popular. We note knee pants beginning to becone popular, at least for younger boys. We also notice bloomer knickers. Most boys still wire long pants. We do see German boys wearing sailor suits in the the 1880s. Children commonly wore long stockings in Germany during the late 19th century. Younger children might wear socks, especially during the summer. We still some white stockings, but dark stockings were becoing standard.
No information available on HBC yet.
The photographic record provides a wonderful record of fashion trends. We do not yet have family snapshots, but we have huge numbers of studio portraits. We see all kinds of head wear which was still important garments. Hats were still common, but we do see some caps as well. Little American boys still wore dresses and other skirted garments in the 1880s as had been dome for centuries. There was, however, a shift. We see fewer boys wearing dresses and more wearing kilt outfits. Kilt suits had become became increasingly popular. Sailor suits had also become popular. The major development in the 1880s was the appearance of the Little Lord Fauntleroy suits.. Fancy suits existed, but Mrs. Burnett book published at mid-decade generated a fashion sensation. We see both Fauntleroy suits as well as Fauntleroy trim to be worn with standard suits and other garments. Fancy velvet suits for boys appeared before the publication of the story in 1885, but the popularity exploded after the story appeared in print and on the stage. The result was a fashion arms race for little boys with mothers competed with how many ruffles and bows could he heaped on their sons. Lace and huge ruffled collars and bows soon increased greatly in size, virtually engulfing younger boys. Other styles such as Eton collars for older boys and sailor suits grew in popularity. We school-age boys wearing a variety of suits. Collar-buttoning suits were especially common. Norfolk suits were becoming increasingly popular. Cut-away jackets were mostly for Fauntleroy suit. We also see a range of lapel jacket suits. We see more boys wearing knee pants which were still cut well below the knee, but began to approach the knee by the end of the decade. Knee pants were mostly for younger boys at the beginning ofv the decade, but this had changed substantially by the end of the decade. American boys almost always wore knee pants with long stockings. It was consider immodest for boys above the toddler stage to wear socks. Of course boys in rural arras often went barefoot. Older boys wore long pants. Long pants were also more common in rural areas. High top shoes predominated footwear for both boys and girls.
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