Figure 1.--This snapshot was made with a glass negative. Ponderous and complicted systems like glass plates are why amateur photography was so limited in the 19th century. This suggests to us it was taken before the turn of the 20th century, probably in the 1890s. The boy wears a blouse and skirt, but unlike his sister is not wearing a pinafore.

We do not yet have sufficient information to build a meaningful chronology of skirts in America. Our information on the early-19th century is very limited. We do note boys wearing skirts in the 1860s. Certainly it must have been common earlier. Notably kilts and kilt suits were not very common in the 60s. This changed in the 1870s when we begin to see more kilts and fewer skirts. We see far more boys wearing kilt suits than jusk skirts without a jacket. We are not sure if this was a good relection of actual prevalence. It may have been that skits were a kind of casial alternative and for a formal portrait, mothers wanted their sons dressed more formally. We see skkrts throuhghout the late-19th century. A good example is George Knapp in 1887. Even so we see more kilt suits. Just when skirts first became commonly worn by younger American boys we are not sure. we see boys wearing skirts in the 1880s and to a lesser extent the 1890s, especially the late 1890s. Here the photographic record provides great detail on the late-19th century. Skirts seem to have been an informal style, so they may have been under-represented in the photographic record. Skirts for boys were much less common after the turn-of-the 20th century. Kilt suits went out of fashon, but we still see some boys wearing skirts, especially in rural areas.

The 19th Century

Our information on the early-19th century is very limited. We do note boys wearing skirts in the 1860s. Certainly it must have been common earlier. Notably kilts and kilt suits were not very common in the 60s. This changed in the 1870s when we begin to see more kilts and fewer skirts. We see far more boys wearing kilt suits than jusk skirts without a jacket. We are not sure if this was a good relection of actual prevalence. It may have been that skits were a kind of casual alternative and for a formal portrait, mothers wanted their sons dressed more formally. We see skkrts throuhghout the late-19th century. A good example is George Knapp in 1887. Even so we see more kilt suits. Just when skirts first became commonly worn by younger American boys we are not sure. we see boys wearing skirts in the 1880s and to a lesser extent the 1890s, especially the late 1890s. Here the photographic record provides great detail on the late-19th century. Skirts seem to have been an informal style, so they may have been under-represented in the photographic record. Skirts for boys were much less common after the turn-of-the 20th century. Kilt suits went out of fashon, but we still see some boys wearing skirts, especially in rural areas.

The 20th Century

We have not yet found any information on the 20th century.

Created: 7:10 PM 6/18/2008
Last updated: 6:12 PM 7/22/2017