Figure 1.-This unidentigfied Canadian boy was from St. John, New Brunswick. He is wearing a sailor suit that was clearly intended for dress up occassions. It was probably his best suit. The cabinent card porteait is undated, but looks to have been taken about 1905. The studio was Issac Erb & Son. Put your cursor on the image to another pose.

The sailor suit was an especially flexible outfit. We notice boys wearing sailor suits for a wide range of occassions. We note boys wearing sailor suits for play as well as dress up occassions like weddings and other formal events. And we notice boys wearing sailor suits for a wide range of occassins between these two poles such as school, informal events, casual wear and other events. The standard sailor suit could be worn both for play and dressing up. This was especially the case for suits with traditional styling. Here traditional means styling like actual naval uniforms. But there were sailor suits made specifically for both play and formal events. Here both the fabric used and the design of the suits were factors in determining the approptriateness and suitability of the outfit.

Created: 9:27 PM 11/26/2008
Last updated: 9:27 PM 11/26/2008