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English Boys Suit Trousers: Long Pants Chronology--19th Century

English long pants suits 19th century
Figure 1.--This CDV portrait shows an unidentified boy wearing aut-away jacket suit with a vest and long trouswrs. He has a small white collar and what looks like a small bow tie. He looks to be about 8-9 years old. He is posed by what looks like a music stand , but without an instrument. Perhaps it was meant to be a speakers stand which might explain the what we think may be a stick. A reader thinks it is mausical instrument. He writes, "If you look carefully at the bottom of the "stick" you will see it has a horn opening making the stick resemble a clarinet. Also you can see air holes." The studio informtion on the back refers to the London International Exhibition in 1872. This suggests gives us the approximate time frame. The studio was Alfred Chambers in Clapham, a London neighborhood.

Long pants became standard for boys in the early-19th century. The skeleton suit was the first dedicated boy's garment and long pants became standard for skeleton suits. at the beginning of the 19th century. This included younger boys after breaching. Men also began wearing long pants in he early-19th century. Long pants were worn almost exclusively until the mid-19th century. Several different types of shortened-length trousers appeared at mid-century for younger boys. This is a little difficult to follow at mid-century because there are so few British Dags and Ambros. With the advent if the CDV in the 1860s we have a much larger photographic record to work with. But only younger boys wore them for some time. Older boys continued to wear long pants suits into the late-19th century. We notice younger boys wearing bloomer knickers and knee pants suits . Subsequently knickers also appeared. These shortened-length pants gradually became more commonly worn in the second half of the 19th century. At first only younger boys wore these shortened-length trousers, but they gradually not only became more common, but we see older boys wearing them as well. We note younger teenage boys wearing knicker suits at boarding school, but not all schools. This varies quite a bit. We see boys wearing shortened-length suits in the 1870s, but mostly only to about 8-10 years of age and even many younger boys still wore long pants suits. We still see boys mostly wearing long pants suits through the 1870s and not just teenagers. . School uniforms somewhat complicates the subject of suits. Some boys had suits which they wore when not a school, but many boys wore their school uniforms as a suit when dressing up. Here a factor was the family's affluence. Long pants seem more common in England than America during the 19th century. We see many teen age American boys wearing knee pants by the 1890s. This was much less common in Britain. Only in the 20th century did this begin to change.

The 1800s

Long pants became standard for boys in the early-19th century. The skeleton suit was the first dedicated boy's garment and long pants became standard for skeleton suits. at the beginning of the 19th century. This included younger boys after breaching. Men for the most part, especially men of any status, coninued wearing 19th century knee breeches. Working-class men, especially lower class men, the 'sans culotes' incresingly wore long long pants. This included many solders during the Napoleonc Wars. At sea sailorsodten did not wear unforms, but did wear long pants. heir offcers like Lord Nelso sid wear unifoirms which included knee breeches.

The 1810s

Long pants were standard for Englisg boys (1810s). WEe see long pants becoming stard for me of all ocial classes, especilly the end of the decde. Long pants would be worn almost exclusively by boy until mid-19th century.

The 1820s

We see virytually no boys or men wearing shortened-length pant in the 1820s , They were rare at the beginning of the decade and virtully nonexistent by the end of the decade. We do see a few worn by upper-class men and their servants for ceremonial affairs.

The 1830s

Long pants contnued to be standard for men and boys (1830s). A technological development changed fashion reporting at the end of the decade. AFrench experimenter developed the first commcial photograohic system--the Daguerreotype (1839), lthough are few survving Dags from the 1830s

The 1840s

Most photographs taken in the 1840s were Dags. Photography spread very rapidly in America, but les so in Biain and the rest of Europe. Even so, we have far greater images of people and how they dressed than earlier eras when uch images were pained. The reason for this was economic. A Dag could be btained for a fraction of te ost of a painted poertrait. The first photographs were expensive, but not in comparison to contactin=g a painting. And almost all the davalavle Dags from the 1840s show boys wearing long pants.

The 1850s

We have archived quite a number of 1850s potraits. Most of them, however, are American. And they show boys continued wearing long pants. We note a few images of British boys wearing shotened-length pnts, but they tend to be very young boys. Unlike America we have found very few Brtish or Continntl images from this decade. New priocess es appear (the Ambrotype and tinn-type). but cased poertrait were just not ppular in Britain than in America.

The 1860s

Anther technological development had a huge change on fshio reporting. The Carte-de-viste chnged every thing. It employed the revolutionary albumen process using negatibves which made multiple copies of a sing setting possible and in expensive. The process was also developed in France. I was developed (1850s), but did not become popular until (until the 1860s). Suddently e hve an explosion in the numbers of phoographic images. So beginning in the 1860s we know every detail about fashion trends which were party set in Britain and France. We see school-age boys wearing shortened-length pats for the first time in real numbers. Tee was no sandard type. Most boys, especially older boys coninued to wear long pants suits. The boy here is a good examole. amnoyther good example is Johnny Wilka?ssel at about he same time. We also, however, see quite a number of boys weariig staight-leg knee pnts and knickers suit. And unlike the earlier formats, CDVs were made in huge numbers. Several different types of shortened-length trousers appeared at mid-century for younger boys. This is a little difficult to follow at mid-century because there are so few British Dags and Ambros. With the advent if the CDV in the 1860s we have a much larger photographic record to work with. But only younger boys wore them for some time. Older boys continued to wear long pants suits into the late-19th century. hese shortened-length pants gradually became more commonly worn in the second half of the 19th century.

The 1870s

We notice younger boys wearing bloomer knickers and knee pants suits. We akso see proper knickers. While ome boys worestright-legs knee pants, knicker suis were much more common in Britain than America. We continue to see many CDVs in Briin, while merians turned nore to the larger cabinet cards. At first only younger boys wore these shortened-length trousers, but they gradually not only became more common, but we see older boys wearing them as well. We note younger teenage boys wearing knicker suits at boarding school, but not sat all schools. This varies quite a bit. We see boys wearing shortened-length suits in the 1870s, but mostly only to about 8-10 years of age and even many younger boys still wore long pants suits. We still see boys mostly wearing long pants suits through the 1870s and not just teenagers.

The 1880

School uniforms somewhat complicates the subject of suits. Some boys had suits which they wore when not a school, but many boys wore their school uniforms as a suit when dressing up. Boys wardrobes were much more limted in the19th century than today. Here a factor was the family's affluence. Long pants seem more common in England than America during the 19th century.

The 1890s

We see many teen age American boys wearing knee pants by the 1890s. This was much less common in Britain. Only in the 20th century did this begin to change.







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Created: 7:07 AM 5/4/2016
Last updated: 12:41 AM 3/30/2025