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United States boys clothes: suits chrnology 19th century 1850s jacket suits
United States Boys' Suits Chronology: The 1850s--Jacket Suits
Figure 1.--This 1/6 plate tin-type portrait of two brothers was done in a thermoplastic case. It is undated, but looks to us was masde in the late-1850s. It could have been the early-60s, but the boys' suits seem more in keeping with the 1850s. As it is a tin-type it could have not been the early-50s. Notice the older brother has matching jacket and pants. The younger boy seem to be wearing an early version of the cut-away jackets that became so popular in the 1860s. We would say these boys came from a city family in comfortable circumstances.
Thanks to photography, we know acgreatdeal about the suits boys wore in the 1850s. We see styles popular in the 1840s as well as new styles tht were to become fashion mainstys in the 60s. American boys in the 1850s were wearing suits more commonly than in the 40s. We know this because more boys are wearing suit jackes in the studio portraits being taken. The suits did not come with matching caps, although some of the military-style collar-buttoning jackets were worn with military-syled peaked caps. We also see a variety of different suit jackets, including collar-buttoning jackets, sack suit lapel jackets, early-cut-away styles, and frock suit jackets. Some suits were done with vests. Suits included both the jacket and pants, although as in the 1840s, the pants and trousers often did not match the jacket. Assessing the pants is a little difficult because of the oosing conventions often cut of the pants.
Headwear
Headwear was commonly worn in the 1850s, but usually was not included in the portraits. The suits did not, however, as best we can tell come with matching headwear. Hats were the most common. The most prevalent was rounded-crown hats. We also see caps. In some caeses the choice of headwear was affected by the jacket. Some of the military-style collar-buttoning jackets were worn with military-syled peaked caps. Here there might be some color coordination as blue was so common.
Jackets
Boys also wore suits with jackets. We notice boys wearing a variety of jacket styles. There is more cariety than in the 1840s. And we see the forerunners of styles that would become very popular in the 1860s. We note collar buttoning jackets and jackets with lapels. There were many styles of collar buttoning jackets. Blue jackes with brass buttons in a military style were popular for younger school-age boys. There were also non-military styles. Collars varied. We see substantial collars in the early 1850s, but by the end of the decade very small collars were more common. We see some Eton-styled outfits, presumably a British influence. Suits by the late-50s were conmmoly worn with small down-turn collars or just a hint of a collar. Most clothes were still hand made and thus styles were still quite varied. Many jackets were decorated with embroidery and piping. It was till common for men and boys to wear jackets and pants that did not match as well as contrating vests. We note younger boys wearing small jackers that see to be the precursors of the cut-away jackets that became so popular in the 60s. They did not have lapels, but were not collar buttoning. Older teenagers might wear the longer frock suit jackets that were worn by adult men.
Vests
The boys here wear collar-buttoning jackets which did not have vests (figure1). Vests were, however, very common with lapel jackets. And like pants, commonly did not match the jacket. This was also the case in the 1840s, but would change very sharply in the 1860s.
There are two characteristics that match boys' suit pants in the 1850s, length and pattern. Often the suits we see in the 1850s had jackets and pants that did not match. We see here a boy with matching suit pants, but much more common were suits that did not have matching jackets and pants. In fact they were often done in contrasting colors. Patterned pants (stripes and checks were also common. This was so common that we suspect that it was not just a matter at purchasing the farments 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, just that they were less common. And we tend to see the matching suits mostly in the latter part of the decade. Ambros and tin-types appeared about 1855 so were most taken in the late 1850s nd early-60s. Younger boys might wear suits with bloomer knickers or long knee pants, although they were not yet very common outside of fashionable larger cities. Most boys, even younger boys, wore long pants. Most Dags and Anbros show boys wearing long pants, although this is not always clear because of the posing conventions. The image s were dominted by the head and torso. Most boys wore long pants. Long pants suits were by far the most common. Assessing the pants is a little difficult because posing conventions often cut off the pants. This was the general pattern in the 1850s. Beginning in the 1860s we begin to see more differences betweem cities and rural America. These shortened-length pants were a style more popular in Europe.
