** boys' collars shirts : chronological trends -- United States America








American Shirt-like Garments and Collars: Chronological Trends


Figure 1.--Here we see a blouse worn by a younger American boy in the 1860s. There are not a lot of images showing shirts because most boys in the 1860s wore their suit jackets for portraits. These boys were from Germantown, Pennsylvania. Put your cursor on the imsage to see a Civil war era revenue stamp (1864-66).

We have very limited information on shirts and collars before the mid-19th century when photography was developed. The greatly increased number of images at that time provide a great deal of informatin on shirt-like garments and collars. Shirts with small collars seem the dominant type t mid-century. You can often varely see whay type of collar was being worn when worn with suits. We see a lot of boys wearing plaid shirt-like unics in the mid-19th century. Suit jackets, often cutaway jackets becomne nore common in the 1860s. In fact they are so common we rarely see the shirts boys are wearing. Often only a small collar shows over the jacket and vest. Gradually we begin to see larger collars, usually white collsars. Some were detachabe collars worn with shirt waists. Younger boys might wear Fauntleroy blouses with lace collars. At the end of the decade ruffled collrs were poplar, sometimnes huge, worn both with and without floppy bows. Often school age boys wore blouses with large collars and knee pants. Eton collars were popular for formall wear. The Eton collar continued to be worn in the early 20th century as did blouses with large collars. After World War I collars became smaller. Younger boys might wear blouses with Eton collars or Peter Pan collars. Detachable collars disappeared. Sport collars were popular for a while. Open collars became increasingly popular. Some boys buttoned their collars. Some parents believed it was proper to do this. After World War II, T-shirts without collars became increasingly popular. Preppy styles like Polo-shirts and button-sown collars became fashionable along with madras shirts. Rugby shirts were a popular casual style in the 1970s.

The 18th Century

The shirt is one of the most important of male garments. Available historical discussions commany descrive mens' shirts. It hould be noted that boys' clothing after breeching was for the most part small editions of their fathers' outfits and for the poorr classess, commonly hand me dons. The shirt is all one of the least well understood despite the fact that the basic shirt was worn for centuries begining in the medieval era. This is because without photography we have relatively few images to go on. And the great bulk of the available painbtings and other images show men and boys wearing jackets and waistcoats coverng up the shirts they are wearing. This we do not have a great deal to go on. And the popular image is that they wer silky, lace trimmed, and buttoed up the front. This is, however, inaccuat. One source tells us, "There are few historical garments more misrepresented than an 18th c. man's shirt. For European men from the middle ages into the mid-19th c., the shirt was not only an indispensible piece of clothing; it was a democratic one, too. The shirts worn by George III would have been cut exactly the same as the ones worn by his grooms, as well as by Thomas Jefferson, Beau Brummel, Tom Jones, and Mr. Darcy. You know what they looked like: silky, lace-trimmed shirts cut to open like a modern tux shirt, on everyone from those Founding Fathers in the bank commercials to Fabio." [Chase and Scott] Shirts like underwear in 18th century Europe and america were mostly made of linnen (flax). Cotton before Eky witney's cotton jin was too expensice, as was silk. And 18yth century shorts didn't button down the front. They were pull-on garments like modern Rugby shorts. There was an opening slit often to about mid-chest. The garment after being pulled on were closed with two or three buttons, including one at the collar. Another interesting aspect of 18th century shirts was that they were a sort of geometric jigsaw puzzle pieces. They were often tather complicated combinations of rectangular pieces cut without curved seams. This was an attempt to avoid wasting the fabric. Cloth and clothing was much more exoemnsive at the time than is the case today, especially when meaured in the hours worked to buy items. This was espcially the case before the Industrial Revolution. One characteristic of 18th century shirts which continued into the 19th century was that sleeves were luxuriously full, (20 inches or more). They were pleated into dropped shoulders and wrist cuffs.

The 19th Century

We have very limited information on shirts and collars before the mid-19th century when photography was developed. The greatly increased number of images at that time provide a great deal of informatin on shirt-like garments and collars. Shirts with small collars seem the dominant type t mid-century. You can often varely see whay type of collar was being worn when worn with suits. We see a lot of boys wearing plaid shirt-like unics in the mid-19th century. Suit jackets, often cutaway jackets becomne more common in the 1860s. In fact they are so common we rarely see the shirts boys are wearing. Often only a small collar shows over the jacket and vest. Some blouses do not seem to have had collars. Gradually we begin to see larger collars, usually white collars. Some were detachabe collars worn with shirt waists. Collars by the 1880s had become quite large, some enormous. Many younger boys seem almost enveloped by their collars. Younger boys might wear Fauntleroy blouses with lace collars. At the end of the decade ruffled collrs were poplar, sometimnes huge, worn both with and without floppy bows. While neckwear was optional, the collars were almost always buttoned. Often school age boys wore blouses with large collars and knee pants. Eton collars were popular for formall wear.

The 20th Century

The Eton collar continued to be worn in the early 20th century as did blouses with large collars. We see older boys wearing more adult styles like wing collars. After World War I collars became smaller. Shirts become much more casual. Specifically leisure styles appear. The standard pointed collar became increasingly common. Younger boys might wear blouses with Eton collars or Peter Pan collars. Detachable collars disappeared. Button-on shirts are commonly worn by younger and school-age boys. Sport colllars were popular for a while. Open collars became increasingly popular. Some boys buttoned their collars. Some parents believed it was proper to do this. This gradually becme less and less common. After World War II, T-shirts without collars became increasingly popular. Stripped_T shirts become standard in grammar (primary) school. Rebellious teenagersmight wear white-T-shirts with jeans. Preppy styles like Polo-shirts and button-sown collars became fashionable along with madras shirts. Rugby shirts were a popular casual style in the 1970s. Boys in high school also began wearing T-shirts. Collaed shirts gradually became seen as a formal attire. T-shirts with sports and other logo become a fashion statement. Neckwear gradually became less and less common and by the 1980s was only worn for formal occassions.

The 21st Century


Sources

Chase, Loretta and Susan Holloway Scott. "The Finer Points of an 18th c. Man's Shirt," Two Nerdy Girls Website (Aoril 11, 2011).






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Created: 6:48 AM 6/16/2007
Last updated: 11:02 PM 7/23/2020