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United States boys clothes : specific skirted garments identification
United States Boys' Clothes: Skirted Garment Identification
Figure 1.--This unidentified little boy is pictured in a tin-type portrait with his loyal pooch. Noticevhow he is holding the dog's ear. The dog doesn't seem to mind and it helped make the boy feel more compfortble as he posed. The boy looks to be about 5 years old. We would say tht he is weating a tunic, largely because we have seen many tunics with this diagonal styling. Most, but not all tunics, however, would be belted. The primary difference netween a dress and tunic is that a dress was worn with underwear and a tunic with trousers. complication here was pantalettes, a garment that was a kind of hybrid betwen underwar and pants/trousers. he problem in identifying a dress orvtunic is that some dresses and tunics or long and knee pants were short and thus can not be seen in available photographs. Here you have to look closely, but what look like white pantalettes can becseen at the leg hem. Thus we are not ure to call this a dress or tunic. The diagonal styling and tripded knee socks, however, do suggest tht the portrait was taken in the 1870s.
Most skirted garments are reltively easy to identify, although there is some overlap., especilly when we only have photographs to work with and not the actual garments. This can be the case even of the photogrph clearly shows ehatbthe boy is wearing. This of course applies to skirted garments in general and not just to American garmnts, but our archive is primarily American so se are discussing this issue here. And some of the complicated garments, including kilt suits and tunics were especially common in America. We note some portraits in which the destinction between a jacketed dress and a kilt suit are difficult to work out. Another problem is destinguishing between tunics and dresses. Essentially a tunic is a skirted garment worn with pants. The definition of a tunic falls within that of a plain dress. The primary difference is that the tunic, at least in the 19th century, was a garment for boys who had been breeched and worn over pants/trousers. Younger boys might wear them with pantalettes. The problem destinguishing dresses and tunics comes as some tunics were quite long and when worn with knee pants, they cover up the boy's pants. Thus one can often not be determine if the boy is wearing pants/trousers underneath. Another issue is that given the way that the sunbjcts are posed, it is not possible to determine what they are wearing. We will post some of the images here that we are having trouble idenifying. Reader comments here are welcomed.
Obvious Garments
Most skirted garments are reltively easy to identify. Some are easier to identify than others.
Overlap
There can be some overlap between different vessel types, esoecially in the 19th century ehen garments were often sewn at home. This can be the case even of the photogrph clearly shows what the boy is wearing.
American Garments
This of course applies to skirted garments in general and not just to American garmnts, but our archive is primarily American so se are discussing this issue here. And some of the complicated garments, including kilt suits and tunics were especially common in America.
Major Complications
There are several major complications. We note some portraits in which the destinction between a jacketed dress and a kilt suit are difficult to work out. Another problem is destinguishing between tunics and dresses. The boy here is a good example. Essentially a tunic is a skirted garment worn with pants. The definition of a tunic falls within that of a plain dress. The primary difference is that the tunic, at least in the 19th century, was a garment for boys who had been breeched and worn over pants/trousers. Younger boys might wear them with pantalettes. The problem destinguishing dresses and tunics comes as some tunics were quite long and when worn with knee pants, they cover up the boy's pants. Thus one can often not be determine if the boy is wearing pants/trousers underneath.
Another issue is that the way the subjects were posed. In most group portraits, it is not possible to determine what everyone is wearing. We will post some of the images here that we are having trouble idenifying. This is often the the case when we only have photographs to work with and not the actual garments. Most photographs clearly show the garment, but this is not always the case. This is most commonly the case when the subject or subjects are sitting down. When there are multitiple subjects, inevitably some will obscure the clothing of others. The subjects in front cover up some of the subjects in back. Only if they are just lined up side by side and this is usually not the case except for groups of two. Just lining subjects up is not very artistic or pleasing to even the untrained eye. Thoughful posing helps to reveal social interactions and relationships, such as the parents situated at the center with the children around them. This is generally what the clients wanted, but of course affects the display of fashion. Notice that naive artists often lined subjects up, but rarely trained artists. Reader comments here of course are welcomed.
