Figure 1.--This ambro type shows an unidentified boy wearing a collar buttion jacket with a small white collar and pants that do not match. Akso notice the hair over half the ears.

Often the suits we see in the 1850s had jackets and pants that did not match. This means both the color and if there was a pattern matched. We see boys with matching and unmatching suit pants on the previous page. Here we see a boy with a jacket and pants that did not match but in two derinct colors (figure 1). The most common were suits that did not have matching jackets and pants. This can be clearly seen in the substantial photographic record even before the appearance of the ubiquitous CDV in the 1860s. We do see many matching suits in the 1860s, but this was not the case in the 1850s. Suit pants were often done in contrasting colors. Of course we can not tell about the colors, but blue, brown and grey were probably the main colors. While we can not tell what the colors were, we can tell for the most part wether the colors match. And usually they did not. Non-matching pants were so common that we suspect that it was not just a matter at purchasing the garments at different times. We see patterned pants (stripes and checks) in the 1850s. The convention was to have either matching jacket and pants or a solid colored jackets and patterned pants. As far as we cam tell, most suits were solid colors. Unlike colors, patterns can be seen in high quality portrais. Many Dags and Ambros are, however, not high quality so it is not always easy to make out the patterns. These include some bold patterns, but our general impression is that the bold pattrns were more common in the 1840s because we see more examples in Dags.

Colors

Suit pants were often done in contrasting colors. Of course we can not tell about the colors, but blue, brown and grey were probably the main colors. While we can not tell what the colors were, we can tell for the most part wether the colors match. And usually they did not. Non-matching pants were so common that we suspect that it was not just a matter at purchasing the garments at different times. This seems to have been a concious fashion decision. This is not to say that there were no suits with matching jackets and pants, we see quite a number. They were just less common than pants that did not match. And we tend to see the matching suits mostly in the latter part of the decade. There are very few Dag portraits of boys with matching suits. Many Dags were taken in the 1940s. Ambros are different, they appeared about 1855 so were most were taken in the late-1850s and very early-60s. The fact that many Ambros show non matching suits tells us that this was very common in the 1850s.

Solids and Patterns

We see quite a range of patterned pants (stripes and checks) in the 1850s. This is a continuation of what we see in the 1840s. We note the gratest popularity of these varied patterns, especially the checks (1840s-50s). The convention was to have either matching jacket and pants or a solid colored jackets and patterned pants. The pattrned pants raather than the jacket was the most common. We have found very few patterned jackets and sikid color pants. Just the opposite would be true avcebtury later in the 1850s and 60s. Thus it is a very estinctive feature of the 1840s and 50s. As far as we cam tell, most suits were natching solid color jackets and pants. We see a lot of suit jackets being worn nin he 1859s, but they were not bsuits with matching kackets and oants. We see a lot of patterned pants being worn with solid colored jackets Unlike colors, patterns can be seen in high quality portrais. Many Dags and Ambros are, however, not high quality so it is not always easy to make out the patterns. These include some bold patterns, but our general impression is that the bold patterns were more common in the 1840s because we see more examples in Dags. This is, however, just our ininial assessment and based on only a few images. And we see quite a few outfits wuthoatterned oanrs, The Dags are a little lomolicated to date, but Ambros and tin types did not appear until the 1850s-making them ansimprtant dating tool. We hope to make a more valid assessment as our archive expands. Patterns continues to appear in the 18560s, but not yr bold patterns we see in yjr 1840s and 50s. In factbmay are so muted that they are difficukt nake up in the avaialble photographic porttaits.

Created: 8:39 PM 2/25/2020
Last updated: 8:39 PM 2/25/2020