Figure 1.-- Brown was a very common suit color for boys. We note various brown shades in both the 19th and 20th centuries. Several of the 19th century color images are brown. The 1859 image here is a good example. We had thoughts thatthese military styled collar-buttoning jackes were commonly blue, but this one is clearly dark brown. This is of course an artistic work, but given thedetail in the portrait, we think it was probably done accurately. Of course it is possible it was done from a Dag or Ambro. Notice the bright red used for the girl's dress.

We note a range of colors used for boys' suits. Brown was very common, but we also note blue and grey and even green patterns of varying hues. We see white or very-light colored suits, but these were primarily for seasonal wear or special occassions. A good example is two unidentified boys wearing summer suits about 1920. It is not possible to assess these colors in the black and white photographs of the day. A good ideas on colors, however, is available in store catalogs. The photographs if clear enough can show whether the boys are weaing suits with colors or solid colors. Here social class was a factor. The classic, dark solid colored suits were a conservative style referred by the upper class. Boys from more modest families would be more likely to wear the suits with patterns. The patterns were often, but not always muted. After the turn of the century we see many boys begin wearing dark-colored suits done in navy blue and black. These two colors became classic American suit colors. These seems much less common in Britain.

Black

We see a number of boys wearing black suits in the photographic record. Here it is virtually impossible to tell if the suits are black or navy bklue. They both show up virtually the same in bkack and white photography. We tgink navy blue suits were more common, but black suits were also worn. Here we have to rely more on avalable catalogs to get some idea how common black suits were. We think they were more common in the 20th century than the 19th century, but this we are still attempting to assess. Commonly black suits were th boy's best suit if he came from an affluent family and had more than one suit. If not, he would be less likely to have a black suit, although navy blue suits were possible. Black suits were a conservative color and most common fior boys from affluent families. It was also somewhat destinctive to the United States. We do not know any country in which black or navy blue suits were so common. In Britain, for example, grey was vert\y common for suits. Amrican boys also wore grey suits, but black an navy blue seem even more common in America. We see both standard suits done in black as well as the junior Eton suits that many younger boys wore, again a conservative style.

Blue

Blue was a very popular color for boys' suits. We are not entirely sure how popular blue was in the 19th century. There were blue suits, but we are not sure how common they were. We know that by the 20th century, blue seems to be the most common color--especially dark or navy blue, often difficult to descriminarte from black. AAavy blue was astandard suit color for boys, especially in the 20th century. Navy was, however\, not the only shade. We see blue shades being used for all kinds of different suit styles, including juvenile Eton suits. We note a blue grey in additiion to navy blue. A good example was Robert William Strong wearing a blusish grey suit in 1897. In addition to suits, we also notice blazers done in navy blue. Blue was also a popular color for girls dresses, although the darl blue shades often used for boys' clothing was not as popular for girls.

Brown

Brown was a very common color for boys suits, perhaps for some time the most popular color. We are not sute jusr why brown was so popular. It was a color not nearly as common for girls. This may have been a factor in its popularity. We are not yet sure about the early-19th century, but we notice brown suits in both the mid- and late-19th century. nd we notice brown suits in the 20th century, especially the early- and mid-20th century. We note quite a variety of brown shades, but this is difficult to assess because of the black-and-white photograohy of the day. We have to rely on colorized images which may accurately depict the color, but not the actual shade. Clothing catralogs mention brown, but often do not addrss the shade. There is also vintage clothing, but we have not yet archieved examples. Several of the 19th century color images we have found show brown shades. The 1859 image here is a good example (figure 1). We had thoughts that hese military-styled collar buttoning jackets were commonly blue, but this one is clearly dark brown. The number of images, however, is very small. We thus can not yet make any valid assessment of suit colors.

Green

We note various shades of green. Some could be dome with grey that toned down the green. We do noy see boys wearing bright green at least not until the post-World war II era. . we are not sure just how popular green was, Color images are limited in the 19th century. A best we can tell, howevr, green was a more popula color for suits than inthe 20th century. Here we have an example, we think from the 1870s. Green was a kind of neutral color. Blues anf greys and to a lesser extent browns were popular suit colors in the 20th century. Green seems to have been an important color for suits in the 19th century. The shades see are muted, darker or greyish green shades. Both boys and girls could wear green. And destinct color conventiond were more of a 20th century than a 19th century phenomenon. Some information is available from period clothing catalogs. It is impossible to detect green in the vailable black-and-white photograhic record. As far as we know, they are indestingushable from colors like brown and blue. Each was done in various degrees of darkness. The best readily available sources are period catalogs which often desribe color. Vintage clothing is perhaps the best sources, but 19th century clothing collections are limited. There are also colorized photographs, which we think usually report the color accurately, but of course not the precise hue.

Grey

We notice grey suits throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. Grey became a very important color for boys' suits in the 20th century. We are less sure about the 19th century. We know it was a color that was used, but we are not sure how common it was. Grey is mentioned in available catalogs. And we see colorized portrais showing 19th century grey suits. We note grey beng used to tone down the brightness of colored suits. This is often described in the period catalogs, we note references to grey-blue and grey-green. Clearly bright colors were not as acceptavle for boys as they were for girls. Hrey gave a more muted color hue. Grey became increasingly important in the 20th centry for boys's suit. We think it was more important in Britain than America, in part because it became associated with school wear. Many British boys wore grey suits to school. But we also see American boys wearing grey suits. We suspect that British usage may have influenced Amercan tastes. Thisas a process that might tae some time. British fashions were most influential with the Northeastern elite, but then might gradually defuse among the wider oulastion. Grey suits were never a standard American school uniform itemm but gradually became a popular color for conservative dress. The term grey flannel suit became a fashion standard for men and boys. It was also a color used in American military school uniforms which also may have been an influence, especially in the 19th century. And of course with the advent of color photography and increasingly common color printing, we have much more color information in the 20th century, especially the second half of the 20th century. Grey was one of the popular colors used for juvenile Eton suits.

White

We see white or very-light colored suits, but these were primarily for seasonal wear or special occassions. White was a very popular color for boys in the early-20 century, but this was often tunic suits and sailor suits and not standard suits as we think of thm now. A good example is two unidentified boys wearing summer suits about 1920. White also becae popular for the First Communin suits wrn by Catholic boys. We also see juvenile Eton suits bing de in ehite, but this was often for weddings or other special occassions

Bright Colors

We do not see bright colors being used for boys' suits. We do notice brightly colored blazers. The most populsar color, however, was a navy blue flannel blazer. In contrast, bright colors might be used for girls' dresses. Notice the bright red dress worn by the youngervsiuster her in 1859 (figure 1).

Color Sources

It is not possible to assess these colors in the black and white photographs of the day. A good ideas on colors, however, is available in store catalogs.

Patterns

The photographs if clear enough can show whether the boys are wearing suits with patterns or solid colors. Patterns complicate the color discussion as they mightused different colored thread in the weave. This was especially true of stripes, but it also was the case of other patterns like herring bone. Patterns unless bold often do not show up well in the studio record. Here social class was a factor. The classic, dark solid colored suits were a conservative style referred by the upper class. Boys from more modest families would be more likely to wear the suits with patterns. The patterns were often, but not always muted. After the turn of the century we see many boys begin wearing dark-colored suits done in navy blue and black. These two colors became classic American suit colors. These seems much less common in Britain.

Created: 4:30 AM 10/11/2010
Last updated: 7:57 AM 7/6/2014