Figure 1.-This English CDV portrit shows. three childer about 3-7 years old. There is no infoitmtion on the card. We wiuld guessthat it was taken in the 1860s. The youngest child wears a patterned dress with socks. We are nor sure if the child is a boy or girl. the two boys wear cut-away jackets, one with bloomer jnickers, the other with knee apnts. Notice that the stockings one boy is wearing are not very long.

Bloomer knickers, meaning draw-string closures rather than buckles, seem very popular, in England. They were much more popular than in America. We note English boys about 4-10 years old wearing cut-away jackets and bloomer knickers. Bloomer knickers seem the mot cimmon kind of pants that English boys wore with cut-away jackets. The younger boys here wear bloomer knickers and knee pants (figure 1). The boy on the previous page is another example. He looks to be about 10 years old. Another example is the Grange/Smith boys in the 1860s. These boys were on the upper cusp of the age range for cut-away jackets. Most of the cut-away jackets we have found in the photograohic record show English boys wearing bloomer knickers with cut-away jackets. There was no fomal rule for this. It was up the parents, but portraits of boys older than 10 years of age were rare. Cut-away jackets were also commonly worn in Ameriuca, but not with bloomer knickers. Bloomer knickers were much less common in America, although we do see some in 1860s. The other major occurnce in America was the tunnic suits that became very common after the turn-of-the 20th centutry. They were also worn by British boys, but not nearly as commonly. In the mid-19th century, European fashion was still setting Ameeican styles. It is interestung to see differences developing. We are not sure just why.

Created: 4:31 AM 8/14/2022
Last updated: 6:04 AM 8/14/2022