Figure 1.--This English cabinet card portrait shows an unidentified boy wearing a cut-away velvet suit with knicker pants. The huge collar is done in an Eton shape, but it is not an Eton collar. Both the size and material are different. The flowers suggest a new Easter suit. The prtrait is undated, but the mount style suggests it was taken about the turn of the 20th century. The boy looks to be about 5 years old. The studio was J.A. Jones in Chelmsford and Walton on the Naze in Essex. Clock on theimage for a fuller discussion of the boy's clothing.

As was common in the 19th and early-20th century, collars were often strongly influenced by age. Basically the fahion trend was trend was large collars for boys. This varied somewhat chronological which also affected collar size. Often the dmaller the boy, the larger the collar, at least in relative terms. These large collars were done in various styles. There was some ovbr lap in gender, at least for younger boys. We see rather plain styles such as Eton collars and collars done in the Eton style. Peter Pan collars were also populr. In addition to the plan collars we also see more elabotate styles like ruffled and lace collars. Sailor collars were also affected by age. Open collars were also used for boys, but this varied chronologically. Here age was no so much factor as chronological trends. A major age impact was school, especially as public education became inportant after the mid-19th century. Basically as boys begam school the began to wear more mature collar styles, especialy after the first few years.

Created: 10:16 PM 4/27/2017
Last updated: 10:16 PM 4/27/2017