Figure 1.--This cabinent card portrait shows three brothers from Belmont, New York. The studio was Aplin & Lewis. The portrait is not dated, but looks like the early-1890s to us. Notice how the boys are all dressed differently wearing different types of suits. The youngest boys wears a blouse rather than a suit jacket. The middle boys wears a collar-buttoning jacket. The oldest boy wears a lapel jacket. Mother has not used any of the decorative items that were so popular at the time. All three boys wear knee pants and long stockings. In the 20th century, the type of pants became more important in age grading.

We see many period portraits in which the children are dressed differently depending on their age. Our ability to follow these trends was sifgnoficantly enhnced with the invention of photography and the creation of a vast number of photogtraphic images which are our primary source of information. This is something about which we have been able to find reltively limited informtion in the written record. And age grading seems to become increasingly prevalet in the second half of the 19th century. We suspect that the increasing prosperity of the United States was a factor here. Mostly pre-school boys might wears skirted garments like dressess or kilt suits. School age boys mostly wore suits with pants. Both the types of suits and pants were utilized in age grading. There were several devices used for age gradeing of boys wearing suits. They included suit styles as well as decorative items such as neckwear and collars. The pants were also used in age grading, especially the length of the pants. Also younger boys might wear blouses rather than suit jackets. These were all at times used for age gradeing. The popularity of this approach and the specifics of each item have vaied over time as well as the actual age deemed appropriate for these various devices. Formality, hosiery, and footwear could also be used in age grading. Hair styling was also used, but usually in addition to the various suit devices. There were a range pf general patterns here over time, but there were also variations in the conventions from family to family.

Headwear

Skirted Garments

Mostly pre-school boys might wears skirted garments like dressess or kilt suits. This continued until breeching. The age of breeching varied iver time and from family to family. Dressing younger boys in skirted garments in the longest and most common form of age grading. This began at about the same time pants appeared which means before the British colonization of North America. Unlike many of the other decices, this was mostly for younger boys up to about 506 years of age, although this varies over time and from family to family.

Suit Types

School age boys mostly wore suits with pants. Both the types of suits and pants were utilized in age grading. Here we see brothers in which different types of suits (jackets and tops) are used for age grading (figure 1). Notice that here we do not see the decorative items wthat were so commonly used at the time.

Decorative Items

Age grading was not just done by different types of suits. There were several devices used for age gradeing of boys wearing suits. They included suit styles as well as decorative items such as neckwear and collars. These devices could be used on brothers wearing both different suits as well as the same style of suits. Age grading was notable in the 19th-20th century. Decorative items were particularly common during the Fauntleroy era (late-19th -- early-20th centuries). The primary decorative decices were fancy collars and neckwear. The fancy collars included both fuffled and lace collar. Some were so large that they seemed to almodst engulf the boy. There were both pin-on collars and fancy blouses with attached large collars. These might include fancy fronts and wrist cuffs which matched the collar. There were also large,but not so fancy tyles like Eton collars and Peter Pan collars. The Eton collars had a wider age range than the Funtleroy nd Peter Pan collars. Another important item the neckwear. Particularly important were floppy bows, often quite large bows. Other neckwear was wide worn, but not important in age grading. They came in a wide range of colors, patterns, and sizes. The largest bows were generally used for younger boys and smaller bows for older boys. We see various combinations, the bows being used both with and without the fancy collars. Buttons were another decorative item, but here there was also a functional factor. Younger children could manipulate larger buttons better than small buttons. Also buttons also had a military look. Buttons of course were employed in button-on clothing, although sometimes cobered up rather than used for decoration. Another purely decorative item was sashes, but they were far less common than fancy collars and floppy bows.

Pants

The pants might and might not be used in age grading, especally the length of the pants. Note all the boys here are wearing knee pants and long stockings, albeit with differt types of suits (jackets or tops) (figure 1).

Formality

Younger boys might be allowed a degree of informality not proper for adults. We are not sure about the early 19th century, but we do see this to some extent in the second half of the century. It is particularly evident by the turn-of-the 20th century. Also younger boys might wear blouses rather than suit jackets. This is the origin of the term 'shirt-tail' boys.

Hosiery

Footwear

Hair

Hair styling was also used, but usually in addition to the various suit and other clothing devices.

Created: 9:07 PM 2/19/2009
Last updated: 2:42 AM 10/14/2014